nature's hoarder

the

eastern gray squirrel is a scatter-hoarder.

unlike me...

who tends to be a scatter-brain.

(at times)

i'm not a hoarder...i'm a collector.

this past week i took so many pictures of squirrels,

i couldn't decide if i should climb a tree,

stick my head in the bird feeder

or squat & bury some acorns!

it took me so long to pick out a few squirrel pictures...

i didn't have time to do any of that.

my favorite...

i had to 'morph' this guy. 

here he is in 'emboss' mode...

and now...what would a blog post about squirrels be, without squirrel bones.

well, yes, i do have squirrel bones, but decided to just go with the skull.

squirrel skull

flip side, squirrel skull. look at those 2 front teeth!

time to get outa here...signing off with last night's moon.

life's a journey.  enjoy the ride.

laura

“My friend is going to save a little girl from monsters. I am going with him. That's what friends do.” 

~Jim Butcher, Changes

(i read  A LOT! right now i'm loving Jim Butcher's 'dresden files' series!)

a couple of critters and bOnes...

a leaf...dangling by a web strand :)

it's still been pretty chilly here in north florida.

tonight it's supposed to get down to 33° F.

right now it's a windy 51°! 

i can hear the wind whipping around outside.

dead branches falling.

a couple of days ago the sun was finally peeking through the dense clouds...

and i spotted some critters. yay!!

a couple of (anole) lizards on the side of the house.

i got pretty excited when i heard the distinct tapping away of a woodpecker.

he was at the very top of an old dead tree...and i couldn't get a very good shot.

but, hey!!  it was another critter coming out from hiding, braving the cooler temp's!

a Red-bellied woodpecker.

and here's a pretty cool little (garden) spider's web...iridescent with the sun hitting it just right!

sam & i still go for hikes across the street...into the wooded field.

and i still collect bones!!!

hog skull & jaw

assorted deer bones

NOW THIS is a first!!!

ALLIGATOR TAIL!

obviously someone must have poached a 'gator...cleaned it...and dumped what was left.

i would've liked to see the entire skeleton...but all there was, was the tail!

ok. that's it.

i'll sign off with a couple of pic's of our furry kids!

~ emo ~

~ otis ~

have a nice week!

stay cool & be safe.

laura

“Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is ajar.”

~Jim Butcher, Dead Beat

...testing...

it's been a long time.
more than a year!
we moved more north in florida...but now we are back
to our humble, comfortable home.
aaaaaaah. home sweet home.
where i can wander out back...
in the woods...or across the street in the wooded field.

i'm going to work my way back into blogland.
yes, i finally got a 'smart' phone...which is why this is a test. i hope this works! fingers crossed...
then i can do either phone or comp.

so...i'll attach 2 pictures & see how it goes.
(fluffy otis up a tree & a big skull i found over the weekend)

in the meantime...
be safe. stay cool.
laura

sent from my...uh...phone  ~:)

time to peek in...

i'm back.

where have i been?

nowhere in  particular. right here.

living life.

reading books. a lot!

taking pictures. a lot!

enjoying...

a purple passion flower

i've thought about entering blog-land...many times.

but for some reason i just couldn't get motivated to do so.

this morning

emo found a snake in the garden...right by the front steps.

fortunately he (emo) was smart enough to leave it alone!

i did pick him (emo) up and bring him indoors...just to play it safe...

while the  VENOMOUS Moccasin  moves on!

pretty, eh?

(pretty scary too!)

a snake.  

it's the year of the snake.

and i was born in a snake year too.

so i thought it an omen!??

today seemed like a good day to poke my head in and say 'hi'.

i want to ease my way in.

one of the reasons i took a blog hiatus, was i started to feel overwhelmed.

now i plan to take it slower.

less often posting...and not trying to read every post of every blog i follow!

so

come on in

and enjoy a few pictures.

tiny tree snail, out back at the edge of the woods.

a Fence lizard

the next two pictures are of STINK BUGS!

stink bug nymphs

Green stink bug

one morning in may...about 7am, i looked out the back door...

and here's what i saw!!  a Barred Owl perched on the bird feeder...looking right at me!!

a Barred Owl

this is one of my favorite dragonfly shots i've taken lately (in june)!

perched on a cactus

a Zebra Longwing - the state butterfly for florida...feeding on lantana

about dem bOnes.

of course i'm still into bones.

finding them. cleaning them. turning them into...art?  jewelry? it all depends...

a hog skull my son travis found for me! =)

another great find!

i'm pretty sure these are Opossum feet!!

ok

the end is near.

ONE more thing to mention.

emo!

he sure has grown!!

and what a personality!

he is a butterfly, dragonfly, mole & mouse chaser.

he is an expert climber,

drinks out of the sink faucet,

and still sucks on our fingers at night.

here he is...deep n thought.

and here he is...passed out in sam's lap.

“No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.”

~ Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own, and Three Guineas

stay cool.  be safe.

laura

thursday internet woes & a few pictures

i'm sitting outside the local library right now

because they have free wi-fi.

something's wrong with our internet at home,

we keep plugging, unplugging, replugging...

the modem...the router...

and, as they say, still no joy!

it all started with our cable connection.

we had to buy a booster because the signal coming into our home

wasn't strong enough.

tv channels coming in pixelated...and the audio not in sync with people's mouths.

so since we hooked up the booster a couple of days ago...no internet!

i don't have much time during the week, to wander around cyberspace...

whether aimlessly or with some destination in mind.

but since i had a cancellation yesterday...i was going to do a little blog reading.

oh well. nix that.

so, while i'm here...

let me share a few pictures from the past few days.

and then i have to run.

one of the Sulphur butterflies on a still blooming lantana

a squirrel posing on one of the old cow skulls out back

remember...wherever you go...take only pictures, leave only footprints!

Opossum footprints in our driveway

and for the grand finale,  last night's moon!

i love the way the crescent shape is open at the top...

like it's getting ready to tilt and pour it's magic out...on us all!

16th  of  january  2013

take care. be safe.

and by the way...thanks for all the kind words many of you left on my last post...

your comments on my watercolor attempts!!  i appreciate the encouragement & support!

laura

found somewhere on the web...
years ago...

hawk.bones.fungi.lizard.spider. and emo.

since i'm trying to

balance

my time better...in 2013...i'm not online as much.

(perhaps driving travis to the day labor place by 5:45 each morning...waiting, and then taking him to the job site...

that may have a little to do with it also, since that was my usual computer time...EARLY!)

anyway,

i want to wander more.

be more creative with my hands.

take more pictures.

spend more time reading books.

so

here's a week crammed in to one post.

and that's a lot of cramming, i even cut it back!!

while we had the 'little climber' outside

i could hear the crows causing a ruckus.

i knew right away what they were up to.

they were trying to chase something away.

i found them...in the same tree with a Red-shouldered hawk.

doing their best to scare the hawk away.

but he held firm.

the crows didn't win that day!  yay!

~~O~~

i found some more bones...already pretty clean...thanks to mother nature.

and dug up some deer bones. still need to be cleaned & sanitized before i can decorate them.

~~O~~

the weather's been very strange.  freezing one day,  up to 80 the next.

the azaleas have buds, some of the lantana & blanket flower haven't stopped blooming...

and the mini daffodils are in full bloom!

i hope winter isn't gone for good.  that would be depressing.

assorted fungi is still popping up too.

fuzzy-wuzzy

mushroom colony

and a HEART 'shroom...

or a BUTT 'shroom...

however you happen to see it!

~~O~~

FENCE lizard spotted in the side yard, soaking up some sun.

now let me zoom in...crop...and take a look at the iridescent blue underside!

ooooooooh...aaaaaaah!!

~~O~~

here's a cool little spider...out back...between a couple of trees.

i've never seen one like this before!

it's a Triangle Orbweaver!!

~~O~~

bare with me.

no, no...you don't have to take your clothes off...

i mean, BEAR with me!

just a couple of more things.  i know, this is all a lot to absorb.

i guess if i had the time to sit and do this looong post, i could have divided it up into many

and just scheduled them to post every few days, eh?

but then i wouldn't have to time to visit your blogs in return, during the week.

just put up with me...for a another coupla minutes!  thnx!

besides working with bones...and doing a little sandblasting now and then...

and making window hangers with butterfly wings...and occasionally clay mushrooms...

i want to be a better watercolorer!!

is that a word?

i want to learn to use watercolors.  i love how they look.  how the colors blend.

i mentioned how i want to spend more time being creative with my hands.

so

this past week i've been fooling around a little.

playing...with pen & watercolors.

i have A LOT to learn, i know.

this weird tree, and uh...ground spiders?? bushes??  was blowing air through straw at blob of india ink. ha.

~~O~~

AND NOW,

last but not least...

it was emo's birthday on the 6th!!

he was FOUR MONTHS OLD!!!

~happy birthday emo!~

here's a good shot to show how high he climbs!!

look at that loooong neck...

i remember when mine was that long...

(te-he)

ok.

that's it.

i'm outa here.

back on tomorrow...before dawn...for more catch up and cyber-space travels!

take care & be safe.

laura