stubborn 'possum, larvae & lubbers

for months we knew something was living under the trailer.

every night around 10:00 we could hear movement down there.

sometimes it sounded like something was trying to come up through the in-floor A/C vents.

we figured it must be a 'possum.

i hoped it was a 'possum...and not a monster boa constrictor...

or some other creature with beady eyes, long talons and big sharp teeth!

we finally decided to set up the (have-a-heart) live trap.

it took a few nights...but finally mr. 'possum's nose led him to some yummy smelling cat food!

poor opossum.

we hated to have to relocate him...

but we gave him plenty of time to move out on his own.

time to take action, before he tears into all the duct work down there.

bye-bye 'possum

(one of the most misunderstood & unappreciated critters)

sam took him up the road to a nice woodsy area...

where he moseyed away to find a new home.

*   *   *

i spotted some larvae this week. cool looking larvae.

finally ID'ing  them...i thought i'd share them here in case you happen to see the same.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail larva  (POOP goes the larva!)

the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail with 2 false eyespots to scare away predators

Eastern Tiger Swallotail

NEXT...

Pipevine Swallowtail larva

Pipevine Swallowtail

AND...

Red-spotted Purple larva

Red-spotted Purple butterfly

*   *   *

with all the rain we've been having lately...

the smart little Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers

are staying high & dry!!

young Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers

*   *   *

well, that was a look into a few little things from this past week.

anole with a bit of shedding stuck to his head

have a good one.

be safe.

laura

another tree...SNAP

we had a lot of rain this past week...

and as sometimes happens, the trees get waterlogged...top-heavy...

and they SNAP, or just keel over...roots lifting out of the ground.

this time, it snapped.

the whole top half of the tree...on the ground...

making for some good hunting grounds for anything that has a taste for bugs.

Gray Catbird

nearby, waiting his turn...

Cardinal

nearby...also waiting his turn to enter the tangle of branches, leaves & vines...

male Anole on a Bromeliad

a dragonfly also in on the action...

otis...a blur of motion on the branches...

off to my left...looking as though he just went for a swim in our 'swampy-ish pond' out back...

Pileated Woodpecker

same bird...scratching his face against the tree!!

caught him with his eyes closed!!  really weird looking!

if i turned that picture sideways...i think he'd look dead.

yep.

so while the critters are feasting...

sam's starting to cut some of it back. 

no rush. 

OK. one last picture. THIS is my lucky shot of the week...month? year?

it's that Red-bellied Woodpecker that made a nesting hole in this tree you see him on.

i didn't realize until i got the pic on the comp, that there's a dragonfly in the pic too!!

cool!

have a good week coming up.

be safe.

dragonflies and fungi. oh, and two dead bats.

last week sam & i watched this show about dragonflies  (suborder Anisoptera).

did you know that fossils of very large ancestors of the dragonfly have been found...

with a wingspan of over 29 inches!?  yikes!  i didn't.

did you know that there are about 3000 species of Anisoptera?  nope,  sure didn't.

up to several years of the insect's life is spent as a nymph living in freshwater; 

the adults may be on the wing for just a few days or weeks. 

dragonflies are an ancient group. they have been around for 300 million years!!

wOw!!!

all of this and more, interested me so much...and since i have such a fondness for bugs (and fungi!)...

i thought i'd go on the hunt for some cool dragonflies and fungi.

Four-spotted Pennant - Brachymesia gravida

earth star

Antillean Skimmer - Orthemis sp

Great Pondhawk - Erythemis vesiculosa

here's a Great Pondhawk munching away on...a butterfly? another dragonfly? something!

Seaside Dragonlet - Erythrodiplax berenice

Eastern Pondhawk - Erythemis simplicicollis

well, that's it!

oh yeah, i almost forgot...the bats!  dead bats.

sam knows me. no doubt about that. forget flowers. chocolates. just bring me some bones!!

(he found these at work. they were caught up in the big roll down warehouse door. poor bats.)

i'll be roaming around blogland this weekend...until then,

thanks for stopping by & reading, or just looking at the pictures!

be cool.  be safe.

laura

on the santa fe river...critters. creatures. poop. and the moon.

santa fe river - from suspension bridge

last saturday we did an overnighter at O'Leno State Park. weather was perfect.

30's at night. sunny and in the 60's during the day. great sleeping & hiking weather.

(quick side note: we left kitties at home. sam built a kitty door.

before we left, neighborhood cats started showing up. emo slyly chased them away.

hmmmmm. we think they were early...not supposed to show up 'til we were gone.

oh well. at least they cleaned up before we got home sunday. 

no furballs, signs of food fights, piles of poop or puke, or dragged in frogs or lizards.

good kitties.)

anyway...some of these pic's aren't the best. hiking early on sunday morning...

the sun was BRIGHT and so some of my pic's look kind of washed out. 

santa fe river sink

in O'Leno, 900 million gallons of water per day flows underground

at Santa Fe River Sink...flowing into a complex aquatic cave system...

and reappearing 3 miles away at Santa Fe River Rise.

(at River Rise, the Santa Fe flows for another 35 miles until it reaches the Suwannee River.)

at the river sink...all that gunky green algae stuff collects & coats just about everything!

weeeeeeeee!  get ready for take-off!

and the creature from the green lagoon rises from the swamp...

native wild azaleas grow all along the river

back to the woodsy part of the trails...

Buckeye butterfly

Red-shouldered Hawk

i am fairly certain...pretty sure...that this is a Palamedes Swallowtail. (right? wrong?) (or Black Swallowtail?)

if you know me...then you know i like to ID SCAT & TRACKS.

so here's a pile o' pOOp along the trail. BIG pile. scratch marks around it.

Coyote scat!  of this i'm certain.

finally, eh?

the end.

the moon, saturday night from the campground.

life's a journey. enjoy the ride.

be cool. be safe.

laura