Friday, June 29, 2012

friday's fringe - 11 (mum's the word)



mums  (chrysanthemums)


and the original...

mums after the rain


every friday. just one of my nature shots.
once in a while...a 'morph' thrown in (like today).


oOo

(yeah...yeah...no talking on Friday's Fringe...BUT i just wanted to give an update to
any one who might be wondering how we faired through the storm...
Tropical Storm DEBBY.
she has left many people here in north florida, under water. we were lucky to 
only have minor damage, due to a tree that snapped...and landed on the roof...
broke the bathroom skylight and twisted the metal edges of the roof in spots. 
all repairable.
lots of dead wood...a couple of other trees down...
we'll be doing a lot of gathering, sawing & burning. 
so THAT's my excuse, if you don't see me at your place...out there in bloggerland...
or if i don't get on here to comment back...or check my emails...
i'm just stuck outside...in the heat...sweating...fighting off hungry mosquitoes...
swatting at gnats in my ears & eyes...plucking off ticks...breaking my back. 
just kidding. well, no i'm not.)


my thoughts are with those who have had it much worse. hang in there. time heals.




lk




Tuesday, June 26, 2012

a dinosaur on the loose


there's a tropical storm...Debby...in the gulf, off the west coast of florida.
(who picks these names? who spells Debby with a 'Y' and not an 'IE'?)

anyway, she's causing flooding along the shores, rivers and lakes...especially here in north florida.
we're not near any major body of water...but she's still creating quite a bit of standing water out front.

looking west, from the front porch

i like the rain.
a lot.

and we always need it to replenish the water table...
but my thoughts go out to those who are under evacuation due to flooding.

REMEMBER mr. bOnes?
he showed up last year, around halloween...and he's never left.

here he is with his screaming buddies last halloween.

i did a post with him last october:

well,
a friend of his showed up over the weekend.
he sloshed through all the huge puddles and i found him coming up the front steps.

meet T-rex.
i know, he's pretty small for a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
he was the runt of the litter.


he was so excited to get inside...

dry off and see his old friend mr. bOnes.
mr. bOnes riding the gargoyle and T-rex drying off
so they visited for a while...just, shooting the shit...catching up on old times.


me and T-rex sneaked outside between downpours.
he wanted to wander the yard.
so, i followed with camera in hand.


he LOVED all the mushrooms!


he even had a snack...

he spotted some feathers on the ground...

and more fungi!


he thought the cow skull hanging out back was pretty cool...
and wanted his picture taken sitting on top.

(notice the bullet hole? NO! i did not shoot this cow.
years ago, when i lived farther south, in plant city, the elderly couple across the road had cows.
cows for milk. cows for meat. they let me collect bones from their land.)



T-rex found a BLUE mushroom! BLUE!!  ever seen one like this?


the rain water pooled in the mushroom cap was not only making him a little thirsty...
it was giving him the idea to look for a place to get wet. go for a swim.

he found the perfect place.

after that he was getting a bit pooped.
and the clouds were about to burst...
so we made a quick detour to the Resurrection Fern at the base of a pine tree.


contrary to what we read about these dinosaurs,
T-Rex says they DID eat some 'roughage'...
good for their digestion.
so after he had a bite...
we headed inside where he and mr. bOnes could spend more time together.

one more stop along the way.

SO  now you've met them both.
they want to do a Halloween post together this year...
THAT'll be something to look forward to.

later on...the road dirt/sand...started washing in...
filling the yard and drive with white tinted deep puddles.

and it still goes on...until thursday they say.

i leave you with a picture in contrast to the dreary rain.
Tropical Sage, taken last week, before all the rain knocked the flowers off everything!

gotta run. have an appointment this morn. the worst part about all this rain...for ME...
is having to lug all my massage stuff out of the car...and into people's homes...in the rain! ugh.

stay cool & be safe.
laura


Friday, June 22, 2012

friday's fringe - 10 (nature's spiral)



a millipede seen at Florida's Torreya State Park 


every friday. one of my nature shots.
(sometimes, a 'morph' tossed in.)





Sunday, June 17, 2012

more fungi. winged insects. more berries.


6.15.12  at  5:50 am

 STILL
so many mushrooms...

such a variety of colors, shapes, sizes...


popping up all over the yard...at the edge of the woods.

"You'll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut."  
~Dr. Seuss



pumpkin pie anyone?

this one reminds me of a sea urchin.

this looks like it's covered with tiny stones.

and
the
redundant
mushroom.
FUNGI on FUNGI

~O~

yesterday,  we went blackberry collecting again...
in the field...where the blackberries are growing wild all over the place.

it was so sunny...i couldn't see the butterflies on the camera's screen...
i was relieved when i uploaded them to the computer, and saw that they came out fine!
a Variegated Fritillary

Variegated Fritillary & a little yellow butterfly...maybe a Whirlabout

along one of the trails, i spotted this BRIGHT iridescent green beetle.
it was pushing something along...rolling it. 
but it got scared when it realized i was there...and started to run.
it looked like animal POOP...that it was rolling along.
a female dung beetle
when i got home, i looked it up...
it's what i thought...
also known as a 'tumblebug'.
did you know they ONLY eat animal feces?!
after rolling & burying their dung balls, the females lay their eggs in them.
(when i hear the words Dung Balls in my head...i can't stop humming the  AC/DC song...
know which one i'm talking about?)
they're very beneficial to our environment,
as they eat what other animals leave behind.
they are useful recyclers!

Dung beetles can be found on every continent except Antartica!

the males have this horn on top of their heads!
they look pretty prehistoric...have a look...i think you'll agree.

and one more tidbit of information on these amazing insects:
there is a species of African Dung beetle that navigates 
by the polarization patterns of the moonlight.

ok...i have decided that these beetles are at the top of my list for LIKES of bugs.
they're good for the environment.
they look cool.
they have a fondness for poop.
(i need to clarify that...no, i don't eat poop. never have. but i DO take pictures of scat.)
and they have a connection to the moon.


OK...
back to the berries.
i got a little sidetracked.  i think these dung beetles are the coolest!

after collecting about 8 cups of blackberries...we headed home.
the yellow lantana had a few butterflies feeding.

a Gulf Fritillary

a Long-tailed skipper

some type of banded skipper.  this butterfly was tiny. under and inch.



SO with EIGHT cups of FRESH blackberries...
i found myself in the kitchen...again.
baking.
TWO cobblers. one for us and one for sam's mom.

no, i haven't learned to enjoy baking...i'd rather be doing just about anything else.
but these cobblers ARE SO EASY...mouth watering-ly good...
especially warmed up with ice cream on top!  yum.

~O~

this is long enough.
i hope you made it to the end.
because milo has a gift.
she brought it to the back screen door.
well...cats do what cats gotta do.
poor lizard.

i asked her to please let it go.  she did.  good kitty.  and the lizard scurried away. whew.

"Prowling his own quiet backyard or asleep by the fire, 
he is still only a whisker away from the wilds."
~Jean Burden



stay cool & be safe.
laura


Friday, June 15, 2012

friday's fringe - 9 (lizard blizzard)


a 'morphing monday' on friday!





and the original...
lizard or Anole, turning from brown to green

every friday. one of my nature shots.
(sometimes, a 'morph' tossed in...like today!)




"Precisely the least, the softest, lightest, a lizard's rustling, a breath, a flash, a moment -
a little makes the way of the best happiness."  
 ~ Friedrich Nietzsche



Wednesday, June 13, 2012

mushroom mania. lizards. skull art.



we've had lots of rain lately- which is a good thing
since we're usually in drought conditions.

the rain and the heat...the overall humidity...
means the ground gives birth to MUSHROOMS!
i love mushrooms.
we have such a variety...popping up all over...
i wonder if some are edible.

i think even if i had a mushroom ID book,
i still wouldn't pick them and cook 'em up...or add to salads.
would you?

anyway, i have tons of 'shroom pic's, but don't want to overload you.
so i've picked out some of the more unusual ones...
with a few lizards tossed in, just to add a little spice.



"Life is too short to stuff a mushroom."  
~Shirley Conran


(uh...no it's not. stuffed mushrooms! yum!)

a Green Anole in the brown phase


a Green Anole


"I'm just some lunatic macaroni mushroom, is that it?"  
~Joe Pesci


EarthStar 'shrooms

a Five-lined skink 

growing on the base of a pine tree

down for the count

a Brown Anole. a bit blurry, i was lucky to get this...he took off running a nano-second later.


~O~

you may know i like to collect...bOnes.
i decorate some of them.

here's one of my found deer skulls, after cleaning it up...


same skull after i gave it a mottled purplish look...


after giving it a moon...and a few stars...


and then painting a crow or a raven...or something in between...
on a tree branch...
after some touch-ups i'll seal it front & back with Acrylic spray.


~O~
well, that's it. gotta run. have two more massage appointments today.

stay cool  &  be safe.
laura