native blooms & critters...

 

my 'ironweed' is blooming!  yay!

it's a florida native...and over the past few years, i've decided to treat my

gardens with a 'survival of the fittest' attitude.  

i used to cover everything in the winter 

when it dropped to freezing or below.  not anymore. 

when i'm looking for a plant or two to add to the yard,

i now tend to go for native...the ones that can survive the summer & winter

on their own...plants that will invite butterflies 

and provide food for caterpillars.

 

'red spotted purple'

  

blue-eyed grass

if it's a native...

then it's sure to attract all the little local critters!

 'long tailed skipper'

 'anole'

black-eyed susan

 if it's a weed...if it has little flowers...

if those flowers attract the butterflies...then it stays!

 

'gulf fritillary'

the native plants help to conserve water once established...

and they provide food & shelter for all the little critters.

 the magical dragonfly

 

'buckeye'

of course,  if you have the butterflies...then chances are...

there's a caterpillar or two hanging out somewhere nearby!

 

above: 'checkered skipper' caterpillar

below: a 'checkered skipper'

beauty berry

 

a  'fiery skipper'

'hackberry'

 

i hate to leave a question mark here...but i searched...and can't be sure!

maybe...an 'army worm' caterpillar?

 

 

'clouded skipper'

butterflyweed

'gulf fritillary'

 oOo

well, that's a wrap!

 

literally.

some thing has rolled itself up in a fern leaf...and it looks as though

it's about ready to unroll...and fly...

have a safe journey & enjoy the ride!

laura

preview...next time...

crystal rainbows

 

and a BIG THANK YOU to

 lorna @ Artymess

AND

 

cindy @ Bug Safari

oh, and maybe some spiders and mushrooms and owls,

OH MY!

gotta get to an early appointment...will play catch-up later!
:) lk

turkey talk...and beyond

...so, the turkeys are safe now...
'til next year.
just kidding...i'm not trying to be cruel or insensitive to the turkeys.
but...really...the only time of year you can find turkeys in the market
is between thanksgiving and christmas.
so what are turkeys doing the rest of the year?
do they know their time is limited?

after leaving a client's home last tuesday...i saw a family of turkeys
on the side of the road. i felt like yelling "RUN! RUN for your lives!"
but i didn't.
who knows, but one of those turkeys may have been OUR turkey...
since i buy ours from a market that only sells FRESH and LOCAL meats and produce.

our thanksgiving turkey takes the plunge into the deep fryer.
it's a tradition.
for years...the day before thanksgiving,
sam's 'job' at work changes from 'machinist' to 'expert fryer'.
he spends all day frying turkeys
for his boss, coworkers...anyone involved with their company
who wants a deep fried turkey for thanksgiving.

sam's boss buys the (peanut) oil. sam might fry 5 or 6 turkeys on wednesday...
he brings everything back home...and we use the oil again for our turkey on thursday.
yum. fried turkey is the best.
it only takes 3 minutes per pound.
the juices are sealed in...and it's the tenderest...best tasting turkey ever!

at least sam's turkey is the tenderest & best tasting ever!
i'm sure it can be overcooked...or undercooked.
but sam's THE MAN when it comes to deep frying!

for turkey day...my two sons...and the oldest one's girlfriend & her son...and sam's mom...
came over to spend the day!
we gave away ALL the leftover turkey...so sam and i bought another one yesterday...
and we'll use that 'seasoned' oil one last time today!

well...enough turkey talk.

BE SAFE turkeys...
o~o~o~o~o~o

a couple of years ago, i downloaded gimp.

it's an image manipulation program.

it's free.

every now and then i play around with it.

here's one of flower my pic's...

and here's the same picture after 'oilifying' it and adding a border:

here's a picture of a visiting red-shouldered hawk:

and then the same picture after transforming it into a 'tile mosaic':

you can morph...stretch...twirl...blur...distort...enhance...

pretty cool, eh?

there's probably lots of programs out there that do the same thing...

but since 'gimp' is the one i use...that's the one i'll pass along...

o~o~o~o~o~o

our weather here has been really strange. 

we've had 'the hottest day on record'

AND

'the coldest day on record'

within about a week and a half!

one day the little critters and bugs are out and about...foraging for food...

the next day they're gone! no butterflies, frogs and lizards...oh my!

and so...i  leave you with a few pictures i've taken during the past week.

a checkered skipper

the underside of an orb weaver. 

they're nocturnal. 

this one comes out just after dusk...frantically building its web.

then sometime before dawn...she will take down the web, eating most of the silk.

we won't see her again until night time.

for some reason, she left her web up one day!! 

maybe she ate too much during the night...was too stuffed to take it down. 

i don't know...but at least i was able to get a picture of her web!

"The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine!

Feels at each thread, and lives along the line."

Alexander Pope

grasshopper

barred owl.

she's like part of the family...

her & her mate hang out in the yard all the time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do not go where the path may lead; 

go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson 

'til next time...

stay cool...travel safe...

laura  :]