Monday, February 27, 2012

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...
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.

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.



21 comments:

  1. I am so jealous. You are having spring.

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  2. ...and of course you know that little stinker of an earring will show up, later! It was so incredibly helpful though, alerting you to the other unfortunated situation! I've never seen a cooler fern....I really like how it is in a kind of pinwheel look before it opens up...at first I'd never guess it was a fern even! You have the coolest stuff out there.....and that's not even forgetting all the cool bugs you have too! Well good luck on the new and improved safe tub and shower!!! Enjoy your week! Oh yeah I really like that cat quote at the beginning and it is so true!

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  3. laughing at your *shit* insertions! :) glad you found the plumbing damage before it got worse.

    that little bird looks like a yellow-rumped warbler, but doesn't show the yellow, so maybe another warbler type? looks a bit bigger than a pine siskin...

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  4. You turned this into such an enjoyable post, despite the revelation of the nasty surprise that awaited Sam. As both you the others have pointed out, it was indeed a timely discovery, dealt with promptly and efficiently. Hope you'll soon be showering happily again. And, good luck with getting those nasty tax returns completed and out of the way. It's the same for all of us, right around the globe. Always, always love your meanders outside in your own little Eden. Thankfully the tax man cannot rip you off for being the richest woman in the world in terms of your abundant love for and deep appreciation of the natural world right beneath each footfall you take.

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  5. Oh wow- I did something kinda like your potty room once, only it started with a butter knife (yes, really) that I used to pop off some wood paneling on a fireplace wall...
    2 hours later, the panelling was gone- but the HUGE HOLE it covered was exposed. NOT GOOD...Rain + Winter= GREAT BIG MESS.

    I'm sorry you didnt find your earring.
    Milo is adorable.
    Very nice to meet you-

    Tracy

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  6. LOL!!! Love your post....from one thing to the next. And when you've had enough...escape outside!!!:) Bathrooms. Bathrooms. I have yet to tackle that monster. Good for you.....and good luck:)

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  7. Gosh all the great words have already been given... but I'll add mine...

    Celtic energy flowing strong... missing earring alert leads to preventing you going through the floor during ablutionary bliss.

    What a mess to deal with... though it looks like you and Sam have just about got it all solved.

    Pleased you were able to replace the earring. Very timely loss of the one you can't find... it was doing it's job for you... maybe it simply forgot where it put it self to find you again once you discovered what was heading for catastrophe.

    Isn't it awful when losing something significant like that... I feel like I move about with a piece of me missing when similar occurs.

    Don't walls hide a multitude of non-pretties... for structures, the saying of Beauty being only Skin deep certainly doesn't apply... remove the walls and the sight is rarely attractive.

    Milo is always so contented. Pretty the way her markings align with the timber's markings. She's abstractly camouflaged for her nap!

    Your little mystery Bird reminds me of a Sparrow. Do you have Sparrows in Florida?

    Very striking is the American Robin. Looks tougher too.

    Fascinatingly interesting how knobbly the Cinnamon Fern is as it unfurls, and gosh the Mushy photo is beautiful.

    Your Orb Spider is doing really well, and growing too.

    Isn't it the way with all those tax bits... into a box or folder, all heaped together, one can try and some do succeed, but for most, it's hours given to putting them all into coherent order.

    Love what Desiree wrote about your footfalls with the Natural World being safe from the Tax Collector... but then maybe that should be whispered... who knows what will be considered useful to Tax in the future.

    Gosh gotta go... lawn going to be mowed... need to get my Big Goslings under the house...
    sorry for any misspellings.
    lots of love... xxxx

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  8. Sam and you are doing an awesome job, Laura! Just think what you'll have in the end!! Oh, the little bird? Shaped like a Warbler...:)JP

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  9. thanks to
    Delores, Karen, TexWis, Desiree, Tracy, Rohrebot, Magda & quiet cornerJP...for leaving notes & sending your BEST WISHES FOR A FINISHED BATHROOM SOON!! haha
    and of course thanks for all your kind words...encouragement...funny story from Tracy (welcome!! i will go visit at your place REAL soon!)...and thanks magda...for your looooong note :)

    theresa/TexWis and JP seem to agree that little bird is a Warbler...i'll go add that in & give you credit!! :)

    HEY! almost done with the tax (shit) haha
    :)

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  10. Hi Laura...You never fail to entertain me with your post from the crapper to the beauty if a green unfolding of a delicate fern to a lovely butterflies ...lol!!
    Thanks
    Grace

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  11. Nice catch on the bathroom and avoiding disaster!!! And it's nice to see all the wildlife down there, as things are pretty slow up here right now, but change should be in the air soon. Send those robins up the midwest way, please!

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  12. what a big project caused by such a little thing gone missing!

    blessing in disguise perhaps


    love that cinammon fern

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  13. Your Milo sure is a cutie, what a life. I love the RedBellied Woodied and the pretty fern curled up. You always seem to find nature's beauty. I am sorry the earring went missing hopefully it will still turn up. I believe your bird might be the female Pine Warbler or a First Year. They have the double white bars on the side and are olive-graysish sides sometimes more yellow in the male. Also the white around the eye. Great post and photos, have a wonderful day!

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  14. Well, you are the unluckiest person I know. Finding the damp patch in your bus, I know, I use to have a bus, 1960 Bedford coach. It is hard. It was good of you to lose your earring, or its losing forever, bye bye VAN.

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  15. You were meant to lose that earring so that you'd find out about the leak so you didn't fall through the floor. How lucky are you! ;)

    I love that red-headed woodpecker! And I can't believe you have ferns unfurling and mushrooms and robins! We're just finally getting winter up here. (And I'm thrilled!)

    Above all--I LOVE that picture of Milo!!!! :):) Hope you are having a great week.

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  16. Milo probably stayed laying like that through all the bathroom dismantling.

    Sometime I wish I was a cat and could just lay around...

    Liked how you put multiple robin pics together.

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  17. THANKS grammie/Grace, Casey (i'll send u some robins, if you'll send some snow!), Kel, Eileen (gave u credit for the Pine Warbler ID!), Bob (well, here in the USA a mobile home isn't really a bus...it's a home brought in on a flat bed truck...sometimes in 2 pieces, and put together on property. it's not on wheels. i wish it was...), Rita and Jean...thanks to all for reading...and commenting.
    it's nice to know what you thought...seeya! :)

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  18. Oh No! Cripes, that wasn't a good day! Good thing Sam is handy, that could get expensive. i hope the earring turns up too!

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  19. Love that Milo! And, your quote about a cat's expressions...ain't it the truth?

    Hope you get your bathroom back together soon, it's the pits when you have to go thru that...you could still find your earring you know! But always good to have an extra of your favorite one.

    I had some Cinnamon fern for a few years, yours looks better than mine did. But it's the coolest fern, the colors are different-not your typical fern. And, love your birds! Those robins have good color. SURE, you've got the biggest Woodpeckers EVER! One day, my friend, I'll find one...you'll see! Enjoyed your post and quotes, Laura. Happy hunting. I think you're right about the smaller bird being a Warbler. They run with Robins and some of the ones we've seen. See you soon...hugs! ☺

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  20. Glad you were able to come to a solution of sorts. And that you were able to salvage the bath floor in time. All things happen with purpose.

    The shots on this post is amazing, I have to say - the mushrooms, the ferns. Absolutely beautiful. Such a reminder of this wonderful world we live in.

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  21. We have been through that tub mess - or something similar- I don't know how many times. I commiserate with you.

    Yes, that erring just might show up some day, but then you will have a replacement.

    So glad you are having Spring. We just had our winter up here, but Spring is slowly creeping in.

    Hope this week is a better one for you!

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thanks for stopping by! it's always nice to hear from fellow wanderers!