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

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

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~



caterpillars. a live hawk. and a dead crow.

before i get to the caterpillar invasion...

or even the dead crow for that matter...

have a look at this Red-shouldered Hawk silhouette shot.

sam pointed out the hawk sitting on the electric line...out near the road.

facing west. early evening. dark clouds rolling in.

he flew out of the shadows (the hawk, not sam), landing farther down the line. just for a minute.

and then he was gone. 

oOo

on to the caterpillars.

when it's just about dusk, and the birds are all snug in their nests...

and you're very quiet...

you can hear the caterpillars feasting in the trees.

really. it can be a bit disturbing.

this is what the TENT caterpillar builds. in the Oak trees.

when they emerge...they emerge hungry!

and those aren't the ONLY caterpillars, competing for food.

the Tussock Moth caterpillar is...right now...

EVERYWHERE. 

not only are they crawling all over...but they spin these sticky little cocoons around themselves.

wherever they feel inclined.

on trees, all over the porch, car tires, window sills...

i hate to admit it...

the critter lover that i am...

but i've been plucking them off the front porch.

NOT squishing them...but plucking & flinging...into the yard.

so.

you can hardly walk under the trees right now without something landing on your head.

now it's the caterpillars. soon it will be the spiders.

no entering the forest without a big stick to wave in front of your face.

so what keeps the caterpillars in check?

from taking over the world?

or at least from taking over florida...

the lizards. maybe the bats? birds. baby snakes perhaps?

and other critters & bugs that have an appetite for fat juicy caterpillars.

like this black and white wasp.

flying around the front porch, carrying something green.

quite a heavy load.

landing here and there...on the porch ceiling...trying to get a better grip.

it seemed like he was looking for something.

he was.

he found it.

his hidey hole in a wooden beam...a hole drilled by a Borer bee (or Carpenter bee), i think.

the perfect place to stash his meal.

oOo

now...about the crow.

on our way back down the drive...from seeing the hawk...

i spotted something kind of big and dark...like it was just hanging in a tree.

i thought it might be a big black plastic garbage bag that the wind tossed up there.

so i walked over for a closer look and to grab that bag down.

it was a crow.

it was creepy.

just hanging there...like it fell right out of the sky.

we have LOTS of crows.

lots of aggressive...noisy...crows.

i like them. except when they chase a hawk away.

then i wish the hawk would stop in mid flight...turn around...

and chase the crows back to the trees where they came from.

but to see this poor dead crow.  it was sad.

we left him there. for now.

oOo oOo oOo

i leave you with a curly-Q and thorn picture.

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”  

~Dr. Seuss 

~be cool. be safe.~

laura