bathroom grief & nature stuff.

milo. snoozing on the back porch.

"The problem with cats 

is that they get the same exact look 

whether they see a moth or an axe murderer." 

~Paula Poundstone

oOo

and here is the tale of

the little earring that ripped our bathtub out!

well, not really. but...sort of.

a few years ago, sam & i bought a pair of tiny gold celtic trinity knot stud earrings.

we each wore ONE.

always.

about 10 days ago, on the way to one of my appointments,

i realized that my earring was gone!

*shit*

after calling my previous clients from that day...

and searching in my car...all over the house...in bed...

we decided it was time to look in the elbow or trap...of the shower drain pipe.

we live in a mobile home, so sam would have to climb underneath.

he was sort of hoping i would find it some place else.

no such luck.

while under there, he noticed the tub had been leaking.

the wood flooring under the tub was wet. 

another *shit*.

but better to have realized it NOW, than to have fallen through the floor

while taking a shower.

so off come the walls...

out comes the tub.

yuck!

(the rectangular hole, back & center is where the tub was leaking

around the drain...the insulation soaked.

fortunately, the wood floor is just wet, not soft. it could've been much worse.)

OH, and my earring wasn't in the trap.

*shit* X3.

with a dehumidifier running 24/7...

a little bleach and scrubbing...

it won't be long before we can put it all back together.

(ps - i ordered another pair of the tiny celtic knots, from the same place...

Island Ireland Marketplace

so now we'll have an extra earring if this unfortunate loss should arise again!)

oOo

ok, time to move on...

how about if we get out of this musty bathroom and head outside.

i heard the Red-bellied woodpecker...and then spotted him!

one of the coolest looking ferns is starting to sprout up out back...

at the edge of the woods.

cinnamon fern

one week later...it's starting to uncurl...

it's been raining a lot the past couple of days.

i've been hoping for mushrooms.

BUT with the temps jumping from highs to lows...

from one day to the next...

the mushroom spores are lying in wait i guess.

i  didn't give up though...and finally spotted a little cluster.

i haven't seen any of the BIG swallowtail butterflies yet.

 but there are quite a few Orange-barred Sulphurs and Carolina Satyrs  braving the weird weather.

Orange-barred Sulphur/Phoebis philea

Carolina Satyr/ Hermeuptychia sosybius

and Robins.

the yard is filled with American Robins.

and there's a lot of these little guys too.

the only reason i was lucky enough to get this shot is because he was thirsty...

and stood still for longer than a couple of seconds!

what is he? a wren?  i'm not sure.

*thanks to Run*A*Round Ranch Report  &  A Quiet Corner

for IDing this bird as most probably a Warbler! Run*A*Round thinks possibly

it's a Pine Warbler...and the latest ID confirms this, from Viewing Nature with Eileen, who thinks

this little bird is probably a female Pine Warbler or a First Year, due to her coloring.*

oOo

well, it's time to get started on our TAX stuff.

i've been procrastinating long enough.

i have a whole year of business receipts...

just tossed in a file folder.

i'm bad.

"It's income tax time again, Americans:  

time to gather up those receipts, get out those tax forms, sharpen up that pencil, 

and stab yourself in the aorta."  

~Dave Barry

i'll leave now, with a cool night shot of our front porch Orb Weaver!

stay cool & be safe.

laura

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. 

Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. 

Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.

~Martin Luther King Jr.