pecking order & webs

have you noticed the pecking order in nature.

this example has to do with a few birds.

looking out the back door

i see buzzards

on the ground.

then 

i see a hawk (the Red-shouldered kind).

he swoops down and chases the buzzards away.

(i wasn't fast enough to get a picture of THAT, you'll have to take my word for it)

then,

enter the crows.

who proceed to 

chase away the hawk.

they take over the yard.

one crow calls from the treetop...that the coast is clear!

for the time being...the crows rule the yard.

until they get tired of it and move along.

then the whole routine repeats itself!

maybe one day i'll see them ALL together!

getting along. sharing. 

tolerating.

(nah. i doubt it.)

~O~

it's that time of year

when the Banana spider (Golden Orb)

weaves her web between the trees.

oh.

lovely.

nothing like wandering through the yard or woods,

and getting slapped in the face by a sticky web.

then frantically brushing at yourself,

hoping the spider didn't land on your back or in your hair.

another good reason to carry a big stick...

waving it in front of yourself as you head down your path.

ok.

i'll leave you with a moon shot!

that moon shot is courtesy of Bart Simpson.

this one's from me.

1 sept 2012       9:17pm

"Let your heart guide you.  It whispers, so listen carefully."  

~Littlefoot's mother, Land Before Time

stay cool. be safe.

laura

longhorns. ocklawaha. birds & a couple of bugs.

this past sunday we took a ride to 

Rodman Reservoir (or Lake Ocklawaha)

you might remember, we went there to check it out a couple of months ago...

because this spot is known for it's good fishing.

but the reservoir was on a draw-down back then...and it was just about bone dry!

it was supposed to be back up in april.

along the way, we passed a 'Longhorn' farm.

sam pulled over so i could get a few shots!

what beauties, huh?!

well, the water's back up!

and flowing!

there were lots of people fishing...and catching!

and lots of  birds too...happy to have the reservoir filled with food!

Cormorants

Cypress tree knees (roots) along the Ocklawaha river

buzzards...sunning & waiting for hand outs...

discarded fish carcasses i guess.

this one got tired of waiting and decided to try and sneak onto the fishing pier.

SO

we made reservations for the first weekend in may!

whether the bathroom is finished or not...

we're finally getting out of town!

(bathroom update: sheetrock up and primed & painted. shower pan in but not yet hooked up to the drain.)

there were some other birds flying...circling...hunting...overhead.

do you know what this bird is?

at first i thought maybe Shrike....or Osprey...

but after looking them up in my HUGE north american bird book...

i'm just not sure. 

the Shrike has a band through the eye...

but doesn't seem to wrap around like this one does.

maybe these birds are juvenile Ospreys???!!!!

also...i guess just the fact that they are hanging around the lake...means Osprey is more probable.

any ideas?

anyway...

we are excited!  yeah!  camping and fishing.

not this coming weekend, but the one after.

now

i don't mind

if

T I M E

flies.

stay cool. be safe.

laura

( i still have some catching up to do in blogland.

i'm home between appointments and thought i'd get this posted before it becomes OLD news!)

buzzards. hawk. skull art & my fractured heart.

sometimes

life

just gives you an unexpected curve ball.

a kick in the ass.

a slap in the face.

just

when 

you

thought

life was good...

it takes you by the

heart

and tries to rip it out.

oOo

saturday morning i had an appointment.

15 minutes before i had to leave, travis noticed buzzards roosting in a tree out by the road.

sorry, it's a little on the dark side...looking into sun...

we wandered down the driveway to see what they were guarding.

a dead deer.   road kill.

don't worry...no picture of that very sad sight.

the vultures had already begun their feasting.

then travis pointed out a Red-shouldered hawk.

not a cloud in the sky!!

when i left my client's house...travis had left me a text.

"30 min after u left buzzards cleaned deer i dragged it in yard so you'll have bones"

when i got back home we buried it...out back, with the little mole & squirrel.

oOo

have i mentioned in previous posts that travis has been in trouble before?

he was court ordered TWICE to a residential Rehab facility.

over one year each time.

he has a record.   a felony.

oh, but that's not all.  a couple of misdemeanors too.

damn.

i REALLY thought things were going good.

i thought HE was doing good.

monday i had a voice mail from the arresting officer.

petit theft.  travis was on his way to jail.

again.

OH, but that's not all!

the officer told me that while he was running travis' name...

a warrant popped up!!

for petit theft in another county.

farther south.  where i picked him up when he said he wanted to come up here.

fuck.

sorry.

so.  

here i sit.

shocked.

but not really.

disappointed (in travis)...yes.

deja vu.

i don't want to go on and on about this.

my troubles.  my sadness.  

my fractured heart...

turning harder

with each of his 

self inflicted

setbacks.

his lies.

my blindness?

but i needed to say the words.

and i needed to give (you) an update on travis.

oOo

on a HAPPIER note...

over the past couple of weeks

i've been decorating a couple of deer skulls...

ONE is finished & i have already added it to my 'etsy' shop.

(pressed flowers, cicada & butterfly wings, art pen & acrylic paint)

this next skull is somewhat of a FIRST.

i used the skull as my canvas.

i painted!!

or course, a swirly moon. with a little glitter.

hmmmmm.   what do you think?

oOo

well.

as a mother...all this travis stuff tears my heart apart.

again & again. over & over.

as a mother...i can't help feeling 

like a failure.

frustrated.

drained.

i can only hope that

one day

he will 

learn

to

have respect 

for himself

and

others.

oOo

have a happy rest of the week...

stay cool & be safe.

laura

"I've never had a problem with drugs. I've had problems with the police."

~Keith Richards

(sounds like something travis might say)

woodpeckers. weird fungi. spider & buzzards.

just a nice relaxing weekend.

cooler weather. 

flannel shirt weather! i want to be outdoors weather!

we picked up some fresh oysters...

steamed...shucked...and gobbled 'em up

with HOT cocktail sauce (mostly horseradish with just a little ketchup) & crackers!

cooler weather also means no mosquitoes or ticks,

so we wandered out back...into the woods...

following the trails made by the deer and smaller critters.

i'm no mushroom expert...but i think a good name for this one would be the

Umbrella Mushroom.

one day closed...next day...open!

first we heard...then spotted a woodpecker.

we can usually find the Red-headed, Red-bellied and the Pileated.

we thought it was a young woodpecker...smaller than the ones we normally see.

but when i put the pic's on the computer, and looked it up...

we realized this is a new one we've never seen here before.

A Downy Woodpecker.

(pic's not too clear. he was very fast!!)

Downy woodpecker

a    VERY    fuzzy   'shroom

Cinnamon fern

the Cinnamon fern first sprouts as a green curl...

then opens & straightens in a cinnamon color...

and then opens to a full bright green fern.

another woodpecker. the BIG Pileated. going from tree to tree.

tapping away.

Pileated woodpecker

Pileated woodpecker

LOOK at this SPIDER!!  have you ever seen one like this?
i hadn't!!!!!  it was a first!!  see how it hangs by its back legs, head down?!! 

Arrowhead spider

very weird looking fungi. i think it might be the kind that turns into

these puffer things. if you poke them with a stick, dust, that looks like smoke,

comes out the center hole in top!

oOo

walking out of the woods...crossing the yard...

shadows across the ground. 

i look up.  a few buzzards (black vultures).

more are circling in...

and more...

a bunch of buzzards is called a wake. i can see why. they move in a wave across the sky.

the wave is climbing. higher and higher...scanning the woods...looking to eat.

i know they can't be waiting for this guy, 'cause he literally has no meat on his bones...

not anymore!

Mr. bOnes perched on a mushroom

have a good week.

stay cool and be safe.

laura

moon 7:18 AM ~ oct 18, 2011