Friday, August 31, 2012

friday's fringe - 20 (night time ribbet!)







a couple of back door visitors. 
clinging to the sliding glass door.
hoping the light from inside will tempt some tasty morsels to come within their tongue's reach.


“There is no way I'm kissing a frog and eating a bug in the same day.”  
~Tiana, The Princess and the Frog


lk



Tuesday, August 28, 2012

parallel play


(thematic 210 - parallelism)



you never realize how many parallels there are 
(not including the universes of course!)
until you search.

here are just a few!

parallel plants growing along the side of our parallel wood home   



the parallel lines of the Six-lines Racerunner



parallel lines running down the driveway



the Yellow Rat snake's parallels



parallel lines of the shed's wall



parallel waves at sunrise. Neptune Beach, Florida (8 aug 2011)




even concentric circles are considered parallels



and
so 
i leave you with a misspelled sign!

even though this sign was previously in one of my posts...a long while back...

(e-mailed to me by Susan @ This n That.
she snapped this picture while looking for a place to PARALLEL park
in a little town called Nimmitabel, 
which is in New South Wales, Australia) 

it seemed very fitting to post it again now!




i'm linked up with carmi's thematic weekly photo sharing.

join in!  check it out here:  Thematic Photographic 210 - Parallelism



thanks for stopping by!
stay cool. be safe.
laura


catch you later. i'm home between appointments, and was anxious to get paralleled!!  =)



Friday, August 24, 2012

friday's fringe - 19 (filigree wings!)










“If you see the dragon fly,
best you drink the flagon dry.”
~Zarost
~Greg Hamerton, Second Sight: Second Tale of the Lifesong




lk


“Speak politely to an enraged dragon.” 
~J.R.R. Tolkien





Wednesday, August 22, 2012

better to be at the rear...



(thematic 209 - From Behind)



~being this close...it's a good thing to be behind.~

alligator,  at Alachua sink trail, Paynes Prairie, Gainesville, Florida  (march 2011)

***
i decided to link up with 
carmi's thematic weekly photo sharing -   this week's theme is 'From Behind'.

(i know...like i don't have enough going on...but i'm gonna give this a try!)

join in!  you can read about it here: written inc/thematic


thanks for stopping by!
stay cool. be safe.
laura


“Live each day like it's your last, 'cause one day you gonna be right”   
~Ray Charles




Monday, August 20, 2012

(more) feathers and frog, spider, lizard !




i know i have a lot of catching up to do.
BUT
since my birthday was yesterday...
i didn't want this to all be OLD news. old pictures.


early yesterday morning, i asked sam if he wanted to brave the 'skeeters'...
and wander out back.   yep!

i just KNEW i was going to find a few feathers!
after all...finding a feather is a message...letting you know that a spirit is nearby.
someone who has passed away...who you were close to. someone who cared.

I FOUND ELEVEN FEATHERS!!

that's more than i ever expected...and more than i've ever found in a day...
unless there was a dead bird attached. which there wasn't.

that's a lot of spirit signs...i felt good.




yesterday i also saw a teeny-weeny frog on a hibiscus leaf...



(it rained on and off during the morning.
by the afternoon...we were in the midst of a downpour that never let up.)



and the underside of a 'banana' (Golden Silk Orb Weaver) spider...

  

(the rain put a damper on the BBQing  sam had planned to do,
it just didn't happen.  so we ordered out.)



AND a baby lizard...an Anole, on a planter, 
changing from green to brown (or vice-versa)


we all hung out at home...us and my sons.
we watched "The Hunger Games".
maybe if i hadn't read all 3  books first, i would've thought the movie was ok.
but no one was how i had them pictured in my mind...
and there was SO MUCH missing!!
if you see the movie, and liked it...READ the book!!


THANKS so much to everyone who visited my previous post.
thanks for ALL your good wishes...humor...kind words...
and for taking the time to read and leave a note!
thanksthanksthanks!

SO
see you this week...as i get caught up in your part of the world!


stay cool.  be safe.
laura



Sunday, August 19, 2012

what day is it?


oh yeah.
it's the 19th of august.
i have lived 21,550 days.


wow. how time flies.

i honestly never thought i'd make it this far.
i've outlived both parents (which is how it's supposed to be)...
but i've also outlived my younger brother and sister.

me.
yeah, this post is ALL about me.

things i like. love. and things i don't like so much.

i was born in south carolina.
adopted.
((searched for my birth mother & found her when i was 18. that's another story for another time.))
i was raised in NY.
started running away from home at 12, moved out for good...at 15...
when i got my first job, working in an art store near grand central station (NYC).
assorted jobs since then...including my own screen printing business.
went back to school in my 40's...became a licensed massage therapist.

went on cross country road trips 2X...
the northern route from new york to california when i was about 18...
southern route from california to florida  in  1987.

i love to read.   and write.
years ago...i even made an attempt at writing a couple of children's books.
after LOTS of rejection 'form letters'... 
(although i did get a few nice personal letters of encouragement)...i gave up.

i have a lot of energy. it's hard for me to sit still. 
i always have too many projects going on at the same time.
when i see different ART forms or mediums or techniques...i want to try them all.

i care. a lot. about others. 
care a lot & you can get taken advantage of.
i've learned to say 'no', 'enough' over the years. well, not always.

i love a lot of things...but at the top of my list...

i love my sons.

  and sam.
(that beard, is braided under his shirt & goes all the way to his waist!)

  and milo.

i'd rather be anywhere else except florida...but if i never came here, i wouldn't have met sam. 

i have way too many collections.
maybe they're not all collections...just stuff i save. hang on to.
feathers. shells. rocks & stones.

fossils & artifacts.
(found) bones.

wolves. coins.
turtles. old books. (found) old glass bottles.

pens. insect wings. art/craft supplies.
trolls. boxes.
i think i'll stop there.

i like shades of purple.  spicy food, the spicier the better.
i tend to clean  when i'm upset.
i can slip into blue moods pretty easily.
i can be silly to the point of being obnoxious. so i'm told.
i'm a kid inside.
i'm out going and friendly. i don't like crowds. 
i get uncomfortable when i know i'll be in a 'social' situation with a group of people.
i'll just about hyperventilate beforehand...
forget to breathe...get light headed.
it's hard for me to get CLOSE to people.

i prefer the woods over the beach.
winter over summer.
i need to add some regular exercise into my daily routine.
after all, i'm 21,550 days old.

it was a sad day when i stopped being 'carded' to buy liquor...
at least it continued until i was in my early 30's.
it was an even sadder day when strangers started calling me 'Ma'am'.

i love being outside. nature. taking pictures.
bugs. spiderwebs. flowers. mushrooms. anything with dew.
waking before dawn.  the moon.  clouds.
twinkle lights.
halloween.
anchovies on pizza.
fruit pie, not cake.
i like (the natural) peanut butter, but it always seems to give me the hiccups.
mmmmm, cheese. onions. garlic. red peppers. jalapenos.
artichoke hearts.
give or take meat.  i could easily be a vegetarian,
but sam likes his meat & potatoes.

i talk in my sleep. a lot. have very vivid dreams.

aaah, a few scents i like lavender. jasmine. orange blossoms. eucalyptus. gardenias. 
coffee. newly mowed grass. amber. rain. the woods. the ocean.

i don't like getting dressed up & will avoid it at all costs.
jeans. t-shirts. that's me. sneakers, crocs, hiking boots & winter boots.
i'm NOT trendy, don't care about fashion.

i don't like to talk on the phone.
don't have a smart phone or ipad.
DO have an ipod and e-reader.
don't like when people litter.  litters are for dogs & cats.
i've never spent $$ on a matching set of furniture.
i'm thrifty. love to shop thrift stores.

wool makes me itch and turtle necks make me feel like i'm being strangled.
all cotton.  polyester makes me sweat.
don't like to have my picture taken.

i'm not into organized religion. i'm not political. 
i have a hard time dealing with people who are prejudiced...
people who hate because of race or ethnicity, religion, sexual preference.

i like mystical stuff. native american. celtic. tarot. crystals. candles. dream catchers.
tattoos (have 5). rock music. the sounds of birds, crickets, cicadas,
the bass guitar, wind chimes, waves crashing, the wooden flute, thunder, purring cats,
the bone rattling kick of nitro in the top fuel dragsters.

oh yeah, i saw a UFO once.  in hollywood, florida. looking to the sky. late night.
i spotted a V formation of tiny lights. just sitting. hovering.
and in a split second it was gone...appearing on the opposite side of the night sky.


usually sam & i go camping this week.

besides my B-day (59)...
our anniversary was the 16th (10 yrs together, 5 married)
and sam's B-day is the 21st (54).

but this year we're home. we have both my sons living with us.
travis is out of jail (after spending 7 months, we picked him up last saturday)
and justin, who turned 31 last week, split up with his girlfriend of 6 years.

it's a bit crowded, in our humble little home...
they're sharing the 2nd bedroom we have.
they are eating machines.
but at least they're working...concrete, stucco & stone...
and help out around the house...
like splitting wood, hauling dead downed trees...work for the young & strong!


justin snores so loud we can hear him in our bedroom with the door closed.
no wonder travis wakes up with a headache.


WELL,

i've made it this far.
i need to make it 'til the day i can retire.
downsize. live VERY frugally...in our truck camper.
hit the road.
with no destination in mind.

so, that's it.

i'll probably think   "oh yeah! i forgot to say..."   after i click on 'publish'.
there's always next year.

ONE MORE thing...
thank YOU for being a part of my life this past year...
for wandering & exploring by my side...
and for being there through my good times and down times!


i almost nixed this. felt like i was writing a personal ad or something.

anyway, have a nice week!


...i'm eager to begin my next 365 day journey under the moon and around the sun...


stay cool. be safe.
laura



Friday, August 17, 2012

friday's fringe - 18 (fungusamongus!)





every friday. just one of my nature shots.
with an occasional 'morph' tossed in now & then.



the fungus-among-us collage
ALL these MUSHROOMS and LICHEN were spotted around our home in july & august.


"In a rich moonlit garden, flowers open beneath the eyes 
of entire nations terrified to acknowledge the simplicity of the beauty of peace."
~Aberjhani,  Elemental: The Power of Illuminated Love




lk




Friday, August 10, 2012

friday's fringe - 17 (perfectly perched!)


this new FRIDAY'S FRINGE banner is made of armadillo & raccoon bones, deer teeth & feathers.
i'll be adding it to the 'bOne dOOdle' page above...and you'll see it each friday at the top of the post!  :)



every friday. just one of my nature shots...
with an occasional 'morph' tossed in now and then (like today - TWO!)



like an oil painting...



embossed...almost looks as if it's painted on cement...



and the original...
Great Blue Heron at Rodman Reservoir






lk



Tuesday, August 7, 2012

nature doesn't sleep...





There is no such thing as "Just a cat.”
~Robert A. Heinlein



While MILO is taking a CAT-NAP on the back porch...
(oh yeah...she said she wasn't sleeping...she was meditating.)


ANYWAY,
while milo's eyes were closed...



an itty-bitty grasshopper sat on a chrysanthemum,




a Buckeye butterfly rested on the dirt,




a mushroom pushed up out of the earth,




a squirrel quenched his thirst,




the Gloriosa Lily vine  climbed a tree,




a crow was yelling from high in a pine,




a Brown Thrasher listened between drinks,
(listened to milo snoring, no doubt.  oh...milo can't be snoring. she's meditating. i forgot.)



AND
a Fence lizard...is happy that milo is...uh...meditating...has her eyes closed...
so he can wander about without fear of being chased!



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



alright...back to some chores on my list...
laundry. run to store. feed milo. more laundry. mop. let milo out. wash dishes. feed milo.


stay cool.  be safe.
laura


~happy rest of the week~