(more) feathers and frog, spider, lizard !

i know i have a lot of catching up to do.

BUT

since my birthday was yesterday...

i didn't want this to all be OLD news. old pictures.

early yesterday morning, i asked sam if he wanted to brave the 'skeeters'...

and wander out back.   yep!

i just KNEW i was going to find a few feathers!

after all...finding a feather is a message...letting you know that a spirit is nearby.

someone who has passed away...who you were close to. someone who cared.

I FOUND ELEVEN FEATHERS!!

that's more than i ever expected...and more than i've ever found in a day...

unless there was a dead bird attached. which there wasn't.

that's a lot of spirit signs...i felt good.

yesterday i also saw a teeny-weeny frog on a hibiscus leaf...

(it rained on and off during the morning.

by the afternoon...we were in the midst of a downpour that never let up.)

and the underside of a 'banana' (Golden Silk Orb Weaver) spider...

  

(the rain put a damper on the BBQing  sam had planned to do,

it just didn't happen.  so we ordered out.)

AND a baby lizard...an Anole, on a planter, 

changing from green to brown (or vice-versa)

we all hung out at home...us and my sons.

we watched "The Hunger Games".

maybe if i hadn't read all 3  books first, i would've thought the movie was ok.

but no one was how i had them pictured in my mind...

and there was SO MUCH missing!!

if you see the movie, and liked it...READ the book!!

THANKS so much to everyone who visited my previous post.

thanks for ALL your good wishes...humor...kind words...

and for taking the time to read and leave a note!

thanksthanksthanks!

SO

see you this week...as i get caught up in your part of the world!

stay cool.  be safe.

laura

feathers & hawks

feathers.

i find them everywhere.

i have vases & jars...filled with found feathers.

i always take pictures before i touch them.

a couple of years ago...i stopped in at this little shop, 'Mystikal Scents'.

stones, gems, tarot, herbs, books...the kind of stuff that always draws me in.

one of the healers behind the counter waved me over.

she took my hand and told me i've had a lot of losses...

(yep, i am the last of my immediate family...the oldest of 3 siblings)

and that all the feathers i find are signs.  messages.  a spirit is close by.

that made so much sense.

not only because i've experienced so much loss...

but i DO find a lot of feathers...

and each time i pick them up...i feel connected...my heart races a little.
i feel a warmth spread through me.

a candle burns right now for my sister

who would have been 56 on july 23.

she succumbed to a long...five year battle...with breast cancer, in 2007. 

my brother, nov. 1955  -  sept. 2008

my dad, july 1917  -  may 2001

mom  -  march 1923  -  dec. 1989

the feathers i find...the visits in dreams...that strange sensation i get from now & then...

makes me realize they're still here. all around me.

“I am a feather for each wind that blows”

~ William Shakespeare

ANYWAY,

speaking of feathers...

some of the feathers i spot on the ground are from the Red-shouldered Hawk.

here's a hawk in the backyard.

not a very good picture...he was a little too far for my camera

and i didn't want to scare him away by getting any closer.

this past weekend...early morning...after sam & i went to the field across the road

to see if there were any more wild blackberries (nope!)

we heard the hawks.

we stopped. listened. followed the sound...and then spotted one.

high up in a pine tree...facing east...looking into the sun...

not the best camera angle.

>she's calling out to another hawk<

>and one flies in...can u see? under her...on the branch below<

>a third hawk flies in

and chases the other away<

males fighting over the female?
young ones competing for mom's attention?

and life goes on...in the hawk world.  we headed up the dirt road to our (dirt) driveway.
(no wonder i'm constantly dusting!)



SO,

if you happen to come across a feather...
smile.

someone you know who has passed on, is letting you know they're near.
just a little reminder...to celebrate the life you had together.

stay cool. be safe.
laura

(on to run errands, do chores and another massage app't. see you at your place...soon.)

fire and water

just a sliver away from full!    tuesday! FULL!

yesterday we needed a break,

from all the sawing, collecting...

hauling & burning...

of the downed trees and limbs left in tropical storm debby's wake.

so we took a short drive north,

to one of our favorite florida state parks...Stephen Foster.

it's on the Suwannee River.

sam drives by there each day on his way to work...

and he wanted to show me how HIGH the water is.

the banks over flowing.

we had to go some round about ways to get there because 

so many roads are closed and still under water.

just outside the park entrance, is the Spring House.

the water is OVER the second floor.

in the park itself, all the trails were closed because of the flooding.

this is a gazebo in the park...where they hold weddings and stuff.

pretty much underwater.

a water fountain...

at least not EVERYTHING was underwater...

we spotted this rabbit just before he hopped away.

stairs...

which head down to a small shore line area. 

you can see how much the water has already receded...

by the water marks on the trees and the wood braces.

a blue jay feather...

on our trek to the canoe launch...

under water.

i think the 'gators saw a comma on that sign...

because we didn't see any!  alligators, that is.

ALLIGATORS,  NO SWIMMING!

(get it?!)

OH, and what would you think if i didn't have a mushroom picture here?

nice grouping of fungi at Stephen Foster.

we wanted to go check out Suwannee Lake  and  also  Suwannee River State Park,

but we gave up. too many closed roads. we were riding in circles.

so we headed back home...and continued to burn...

stay cool & be safe.

laura

blooms. feathers. carcass. bird. squirrel - - - and milo.

the Azaleas are budding.

they like the cold.   so do i.

this past week we've had a few hard freezes.

no snow here in north florida...but the water in the bird bath froze!!

here's a close up of the water...which i thought looked pretty cool...

with the leaves beneath and the reflection of the trees.

just before the freeze...i noticed the camelia was about to bloom.

luckily it did.  for one day. then it froze, turned brown and shriveled up!

oOo

remember the three little bananas growing in our yard??

this was the first year we had bananas on this plant!

well...they never had a chance to mature.

maybe this year they'll sprout bananas a little earlier.

this is what they look like now.

:(

i found TWO more (Barred) owl pellets, but haven't had the chance to dissect them yet!

THIS is the BIGGEST i have ever found!

2 ¼ inches long and 1 ½ inches wide!!

it's hard to imagine a pellet this size making it up & out of the owl without choking him!

i find myself wanting to gag just imagining that.

feathers on the ground...in piles...in one area...

hmmmm...i think someone...something... has been munching on a Red-shouldered Hawk.

AND that's NOT ALL that has been munched on.

fur spotted on the ground. clumps of it.  appeared to be Opossum fur.

i followed the trail. to the far back of the yard...just beyond the tree line into the woods.

sam spotted it first.

there, on the ground.  

a fairly clean carcass.  still much fur clinging.

definitely a 'possum.  poor little guy.

(you know i'm keeping the bones!)

look at the little skinny ribs in the picture below.

we're thinking maybe a bird. hawk or owl...ate him.

if it was a fox or coyote...or a dog...it would have been dragged off.

but a BIG bird (no, not the yellow one!) would have caught it & pulled it apart right there...

on the ground.

-

too much information?

-

ok...smile...here's a Pileated Woodpecker in the front yard.

and a squirrel...

trying to decide if she wants to get a drink while i'm standing there on the porch.

too close for comfort.

but thirst won.

oOo

a quick note...i mentioned last time about my son travis coming to stay with us.

well...we THOUGHT he had a job. travis thought so too.

he worked LAST saturday, sunday, monday, tuesday, wednesday...

then the boss had to go down to south florida to pick up some palm trees from his palm farm.

travis hasn't heard from him since...and he doesn't answer his cell.

we drove by his business here in town, but the gate has been shut & locked ever since last week!

???

hmmmmm.  so travis is waiting (im)patiently to get paid for his time.

then it might be back to employment app's if this doesn't work out.  

will keep you updated.

oOo

SO,

i leave you with a milo snooze.

ummmmm...is she dreaming of gymnastics? the cat olympics?

it looks like she's getting ready to do a head stand.

In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this. 

~Terry Pratchett

stay cool & have a safe journey.

laura

fueling the fauna & flora...

with rain.

yesterday afternoon dark clouds started rolling in.

we heard a light drizzle on the skylights and metal roof...

then all of a sudden, a loud crack of thunder and the sky opened up!

it hasn't stopped.

Never run in the rain with your socks on.

~Greenday

can you feel my guilt?   if i could send this rain to other parts of the country...

other parts of  the world...where they're in desperate need...you know i would!

 

 where i live in north central florida 

we have only hit the triple digit temp...as in

"FEELS LIKE 104".

hot & muggy. 

you step outside...immediately start to sweat...and there's no breeze 

to help the sweat cool you off.

but at least we're getting the rain!

soaking into the parched ground without delay.

all the little critters come out to wet their dry mouths.

the plants seem to grow overnight...and the mushrooms just keep popping up.

i've been seeing a lot more young lizards scampering around...

and nymph grasshoppers munching away on the hibiscus.

===

 

the cicada, in its final nymphal stage, sheds its skin...

and emerges as an adult.

  

a mushroom saving some rain water...

 a baby anole

 

a juvenile 'five-lined skink'

you can see how little these skinks are...next to the acorn.

 

even though you can tell this is a baby skink...

the bright blue tail also means that it's a youngster.

a grasshopper nymph

 

i'm not really sure what type of lichen these are 

growing out the sides of the old stump.

 a tiny katydid nymph

 

 a 'gulf fritillary'

i THINK this is a 'fiery skipper'

 

uh.  a mushroom on a mushroom.   tier upon tier.   cauliflower lichen?!  :)

The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.

~John Muir

AND NOW...i was planning to save this for next time.

but i just can't wait.

that old instant gratification gnawing at me.
share.share.share. now.now.now.

we have nests of Red-shouldered Hawks all around the yard.

this very vocal forest dwelling  hawk...

can be seen and heard all day long.

the young ones dart back and forth in the sky...like they're playing tag.

saturday, we were lucky enough to spot this one out back.

but the back door was closed...as usual.

we carefully slid it open...and the hawk seemed not to care that we were there.

 

 

sunday...just before the rain came storming in...

i went out back to see if i could find any feathers.

 OOOoooooooh.   AAAAaaaaaaaaah.

that's it for now.  

have a delightful day and a week of wonder.

be safe.

 :] laura

Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.  

~John Muir