have a happy one!

“Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” 

~ Brad Paisley

leaf impression in drive way

(if this little guy isn't dancing for you...hover your mouse over him)

*CHEERS*  to  2013!

balance

lk

aaah. cuddle weather!

looking back over my shoulder...

i'm waving goodbye to christmas

and looking forward to the new year.

2013 is going to be a very good year!

SIX, being my lucky number.

2+0+1+3= 6

(Venus is the ruler of #6. 

harmony. balance.solutions. enlightenment. compassion. forgiveness.)

AND it's the year of the snake!

i was born in the year of the snake,  

1953.  

(oops. did i really say that? are you doing the math? i'll save u the trouble. 59.)

anyway.  it's been good cuddle weather...

dipping down to freezing temps at night...

AND in the morning.

ICE on the A/C unit outside

one of the nice things about having #2 son under our roof,

is that he can help sam with the wood splitting.

the wood...keeping us nice and toasty at night.

speaking of travis (#2 son),

when we wandered the woods out back...

he spotted a Southern Ringneck snake,

which he picked up for closer examination before releasing.

the Southern Ringneck snake

look at the bright orange under belly!

a CUTE little snake, fully grown at 10-15 inches long.

i saw a BIG dragonfly which i actually thought was dead because it let me get real close.

but i think it was just cold. it flew away after i snapped this picture.

THEN i spotted the (daytime) moon...peeking from between a tree's skeletal branches. 

22 december 2012

there aren't too many critters out and about...but on warmer days, 

when the sun is bright...a few can be spotted braving the cold in order to soak up some warmth.

Fence lizard

Zebra Longwing

Anole...in the brown phase against the house

Anole...in the green phase, blending in with some of the still green plants

a big old grasshopper

and lastly...a few birds in the yard, that don't seem to mind the cold too much!!!!

a female Cardinal

a male Cardinal keeping an eye on the female

a Pileated Woodpecker

tough to get a picture of this guy as he just wouldn't stop hammering away!!

thanks to the digital camera...take 20 pic's, get 2 decent ones!! ha.

same Pileated Woodpecker

i'm putting a hold on my Friday Fringes for now.

between running travis back & forth to work, my own work, home stuff & chores...

the weekdays are a blur!  i barely have time for ME.

i need longer...or slower...weekends!  (don't we all!)

ok, off to an appointment...

take care.

be safe.

laura

25 december 2012

emo magic

emo,
who turned FOUR months old...uh, young...on the 6th of december,

has been outside four times

(under strict supervision) since we adopted him.

it has come to our attention

that he REALLY LOVES to climb trees.

emo...the tree hugger...

is bringing on the magic!

'santa's little helper'...stringing up some lights

LOVE  &  BE MERRY!

HAVE A HAPPY EVERYTHING!

 laura, sam & emo

stay cool  &  be safe

laura

Love me, feed me, never leave me.

~Garfield

got the blues...& my wish

Courtesies of a small and trivial character 

are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.  

~Henry Clay

i haven't been able to get myself into 

the magic of the season.

i didn't feel like putting up the tree,

or dragging the box of decorations out of the closet.

(but i did.  but i left a lot untouched.)

the cooler weather, the twinkling lights,

the trees shedding their leaves...

just aren't doing it for me this year.

it's not unusual for me to get the blues at this time.

i start to think too much...

dwell...

on my losses, my life...the things i 

should have, would have...done differently, if only i could.

this year in particular...

when i see people shopping...pushing & shoving...

spend. spend. spend.

i want to just stay home. hide. close my eyes & wake up on jan 1, 2013.

i can't help but think of all the families in Newtown, CT

who will not have the smiles & excitement of their children this year.

presents already bought.  sitting in a closet.

presents that would have been put under the tree sometime before dawn on christmas morning.

santa.  leaving gifts.  magic.

it's unfathomable.

and not only those who are suffering in Newtown,

but also Aurora, CO...and those who have so recently lost so much in NJ and NY.

nature's wild side and the insanity of some people.

all over this world.

the suffering.   hunger.   cruelty.

happening every day

my 

wish

is to

send out

warm thoughts 

for love,  peace,  goodwill,

compassion,  healing and hope  to all those 

who need or want.

AND

a big hug.

PASS IT ON.

stay cool.  be safe.

laura

19th of Dec. 2012.

friday's fringe 35 ~ Orb Assault!

while squatting to get this shot of the Banana spider (Golden silk orb-weaver)...

i realized how it looked pretty cool with that monstrous Orb

descending on our roof!

ARACHNID ATTACK!

Spider Invasion!

and for those of you who get a little creeped out by spiders...

here's a view of the morning crescent moon from the backyard.

10 december 2012

“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?”   

~Henry David Thoreau

thanks for stopping by on

lk

friday's fringe 34 ~ barking at the moon

while trimming back some dead palmetto leaves

we spotted the largest tree frog i've ever seen...

a Barking Treefrog.

you probably won't mistake their bark for the neighbor's dog...

sounds kind of like a smallish dog with a sore throat!

"Time's fun when you're having flies"

~Kermit the Frog

(this next shot makes me think of the commercial "Got Milk?")  woof.

Barking Treefrog/Hyla Gratiosa

although they usually do most of their barking at night,

we saw this one during the day.

he didn't bark at us...

OR the moon.

but he could have!

the moon framed by the trees at 7:30AM  on the 1st of december

(go HERE and scroll down to the link to listen to their bark)

thanks for stopping by on

lk

i'll be in cyberspace this weekend. finally.
since i've been driving #2 son to job at 5:30am,
my occasional before dawn blog reading is non-existent!
seeya out there. have a good one.

friday's fringe 33 ~ morphing the moon

i couldn't get a full moon picture wednesday night...too much cloud cover.

BUT thursday morning, the air was crisp & cool (46F) & clear!

my youngest son (28yrs) travis, is living with us (again).

i've been driving him up to the 'day labor' place every morning at 5:30

and sitting in the parking lot waiting to drive him to a jobsite.

i grabbed my camera.

my first picture was looking toward the road with the moon & star

still high enough in the sky for a good picture.

those WHITE LINES toward the bottom of the picture are cars rushing by.

zooming in on the moon...in it's magical fullness!

29 november 2012  at  5:25am

and now comes the FUN part.

moon morphs!

mosaic tiles

cubism style

heat map

aaaaaaah.  the purple moon.

embossed

and just plain dreamy...

"Under the full moon life is all adventure." 

~Sigurd Olson, The Singing Wilderness

thanks for stopping by on 

lk

**all morphs on today's post done with gimp, a free image manipulation program**

ps - friday morning...after making my run to the Labor Force place...

will be my 'catch up' time.

see ya' in bloggerland!

the *poo*pusher*

if you know me at all...you know i take pictures of 'scat'.  poop.

it's part of my wildlife education!
i'm a self taught Poo-ologist.
(or is it a Poopologist? Crapologist? Shitologist?)

you'll know which critters have been visiting, by learning to recognize their scat.

you can even tell what they've been eating, or if they're herbivores or carnivores.

(need i ask if you care? well, if you do, take a look at this book "What Shat That?" by Matt Pagett.)

anyway, i'm getting sidetracked.

emo is an indoor kitty.

he's only been outside twice, under strict supervision!

(he'll be 4 months old on the 6th of December.)

emo uses a kitty litter pan.

we ceremoniously toss his poop out back, towards the woods.

(we do this 2 - 3 times a day. he poops a lot!)

a few days ago, sam hollered for me to grab the camera & head out back.

a Dung Beetle was frantically rolling one of emo's POO away!

"first come, first serve!"

this particular *poo pusher* was racing along,
hoping that no other of his kind would attempt to rob him of his bounty!

NOTICE the LONG CURVED HORN (male)

and the way he PUSHES that poop along...with his scooper!

at least we use the fragrance free & dye free litter. no additives. 100% natural.
we don't have to worry about the health of these amazing beetles...
OR their larvae, that feed on this excrement.

i recorded this little Tumblebug in action!

it's only 28 seconds.

check it out!!

ok, enough of this shit, i mean poop!

Always watch where you are going. 

Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the Forest that was left out by mistake. 

(Winnie the Pooh)

stay cool.  be safe.

laura