r o u n d...things

whenever i'm wandering around...
especially outside...
i  notice all kinds of things.
i'm so much more observant of all the little things...
in nature...
than what kind of car someone owns...
or what the latest fad...or fashion is...
or who's marrying who...divorcing...cheating!

sometimes i get these bright ideas...weird ideas...
to do something a little different.

like...back in november, i did a post including shadows...

friday - shadows, wing art...and oh yeah, a snake 

...because shadows have always intrigued me. they inspire me. 

soothe me and...sometimes...frighten me. all at the same time. 

they're mysterious. other worldly. 

then, a couple of months ago, in february, i did a post...
yard textures...mostly
...because i just can't help myself...i like to touch! everything!
(well, not everything...)

from bricks to mushrooms...there are so many varied textures in nature.

oOo
for a while now, i've been looking for ROUND things in nature.

these photos are just a fraction of what i've collected.

i hope all the ROUND 'n ROUND doesn't make your head spin.

BUT if you start feeling a  little dizzy...sit down.
take a deep breath. maybe put your head between your knees.
it'll pass.

enjoy.

ROUND...

like a hole in the tree...

like part of a paper wasp's  nest...

like a mushroom...

Caterpillar:   “…and the other side will make you grow shorter.”

Alice:   “The other side of what?”

Caterpillar:   “The mushroom, of course!”

~Alice in Wonderland

ROUND...

like the swirly cinnamon fern before it opens & spreads it's leaves...

like the tiny honey comb holes...

like the thick vine wrapping around a tree branch...

like weathered wood...

like the sun...

"It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream."

Bern Williams

ROUND...

like the eye socket of a deer skull...

like the hole in a spider web...

like drops of water on a leaf...

like a sand dollar...

like an ant mound...

like the small vines wrapping around trees and bushes...

like...SPLAT!  bird poop on a leaf...

like...uh...what the heck is this anyway?

some kind of growth on a tree branch...

like the owl's eyes...

“I think everyone will remember the first time they saw an owl.”

~Kim Kuska

ROUND...

like the lotus flower pods...

like all the woodpecker holes...in the dead and dying trees...

like the casing that was shed by some morphing insect...

like some ocean coral...

and...round...like the moon.

Why ROUND?

why not square?  or rectangular?

hmmmm...i don't know.

maybe - subconsciously - i think...

round...circular...never ending...eternal.

the cycle of life...birth...death...continuous...infinity.

∞

the circle of life.

stay cool.

have a safe journey & enjoy the ride.

:] laura

"All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking."   

~Friedrich Nietzsche

PS - see that page up there under the header?

'misspelled signs' i've come across.

if YOU have a picture of a sign...deserving to be on this page...

go ahead,  email  it to me...say where the picture was taken (what state? country?)

and i'll ADD it to the page with a link to your blog (unless you tell me not to!) 

OR just your name!

glitch in cyberspace

what is going on with google reader

AND networked blogs?!!

i had to do my last post over & over...and over again...

until it finally posted.

i'm not doing that again...

SO,

here's the link to my NEWEST post  (april 15)

bugs, dewlaps, misspelled sign and a bone dOOdle!

this is getting OLD!

go wander...enjoy!

:]laura

bugs, dewlaps, misspelled sign and a bone dOOdle!

(florida anise in front yard)

florida.

land of sunshine.

beaches.  swamps.  alligators.  sharks.  hurricanes.  orange juice.  tourists.
and bugs. lots of bugs. flying. crawling. burrowing. biting. sucking. stinging.

luckily, the caterpillar invasion has died down.

i'm not constantly plucking them off the porch or the front door anymore!

BUT,  i am sweeping their tiny cocoons off the side of the house...
from under the porch handrail...off the porch roof...off the windowsills.
otherwise, we will be setting ourselves up for

a second wave of the tussock caterpillar invasion.

an invasion i can live without.

the 'Anoles' aren't any help either. they don't dine on these hairy caterpillars.
in fact, i've seen the lizards do a detour around the caterpillars
when their paths cross.

BUT i know what DOES think these pesky caterpillars are yummy! 

at first i thought it was a stink bug...

then i saw one chewing on a tussock caterpillar!

ok, i thought.    THIS IS NO STINK BUG!

i started to do a little research...and realized it's some sort of Assassin Bug!

they lie in wait...

then STAB their unsuspecting prey with their proboscis (beak) 

and inject a toxin that dissolves tissue.

the assassin bug then dines on the other bug's liquefied tissue.

UGH!

 the young assassins are called Nymphs.

i spotted one on the Mock Orange bush.

OR this could be a wheel-bug nymph. it's a little confusing. 

so many types. so similar.

they're very small...

it's hard for me to get a good close-up picture with my camera.  

( want to see MORE bugs & pictures? check out this very cool site! )

i know...you're wondering how i could confuse the cute little stink bug

with the terrorizing Assassin bug??!!

well...here...take a look...not necessarily the color...

but the body shape...the legs!  keep in mind, there are many shapes & colors...

here's another stink bug...

i finally realized, the stink bug doesn't have that LONG nose...neck...mouth...whatever!

oOo

another couple of weird bugs seen close to home...

this is an Army Worm (on the front of the house)

here's a Sawfly Larvae...

and a Ladybug...

this butterfly is a Gulf Fritillary...

and this little one is a Horace's Duskywing...

here's a beauty-ful dragonfly!

((thanks sam! he took this picture!!))

"The rich mind lies in the sun and sleeps, and is Nature."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

oOo

on to the lizards. (one of my) favorite critters! the Anoles!

in my last post i showed pictures of two males fighting.  testosterone flying!

this time...i wanted to show the more lovable side of these little critters.

here they're each displaying their dewlaps...that skin hanging from under their necks...

which they stick out when they're trying to attract a female!

(on the roof)

(on the front porch)

(on the side of the house)

(on a tree)

(another on the side of the house)

and this guy. i have to give him credit. he's creative. not afraid to be different.

while ALL the males are using their dewlaps to attract a female...

this one thought he'd try a little pole dancing!

well, it's a lizard thing i guess.

and finally...what ALL the males are trying their hardest to accomplish...

(caught in the act! up on the roof!)

oOo

and lastly...another misspelled sign!

obviously, this is an Air Conditioning company.

cute name...catchy, eh?  it's COLD in the ARCTIC...not the ARTIC!

maybe the owner's name is Mr. ARTIC?  

i hope so.

"It's a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word!" 

~Andrew Jackson 

(when i have time...i'm going to make a page up there...just under the header...

where i'll post the misspelled signs as i run across them!)

oOo

OH YEAH...i almost forgot!!  i did another BoNE dOOdle!!

made with deer teeth  & vertebrae, raccoon & armadillo bones, and a small pig skull.

(begonia)

'til next time, stay cool.

have a safe journey & enjoy the ride.

:]laura

(and a final message...from Milo...)