oh my! what big teeth you have...

(OR, one of the reasons, why i don't swim in florida's lakes!)

due to cable/modem/router problems (which are fixed!!), work, chores...and, well...due to LIFE...
and the fact that i've been addicted to the books i'm reading lately...

this is the first chance i've had to sit and get online.

the days are slipping by...these pictures are from LAST weekend, when we rode across town to

La Chua Trail, part of Paynes Prairie State Park. this part of the park is known as Alachua Sink, 

which includes the deepest & largest sinkholes in the park.

the air was still a little cool...and many gators were out soaking up the sun!

ENJOY the alligators and assorted birds!!

just remember...stay on the trail!!

and watch where you step because this park also has wild spanish horses

(which i posted pictures of in the past), bison,  and  feral hogs.

SO there is a scattering of humongous piles of POOP!

Great Blue Heron

(if i have mis-labeled any birds, PLEASE let me know!)

Heron:   "I'll just pretend i don't see him."

Gator:  "Have no fear. i'm not in  the mood for bird today!"

egret  &  ibis

great egret

Little Blue Heron:  "hmmm, i think i'll enter the water farther down the shoreline."

little blue heron

ibis

TURTLES!!!!

“Don't taunt the alligator until after you've crossed the creek. “

~Dan Rather

see ya later...yeah, Alligator!

be safe.

laura

...to the lake...

after watching the Cinnamon Fern uncurl...

(and missing milo terribly...)

yesterday, we decided to do the 40 minute drive to Lake Lochloosa.

since we've been having lots of rain lately, we figured the water level would be high enough

to get our 'gheenoe' in.

we could paddle around...troll around...sam could do some fishing...

and i could get some pictures.

rather than posting a long line of photos, i decided to do a collage...of the

Lochloosa skies, butterflies, alligators, egrets, anhinga, herons, water lilies and eagles.

click to enlarge  -  7 oct 2012

“A lake is a landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. 

It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.”  

~Henry David Thoreau, Walden

thanks for stopping by.

have a great week.

stay cool. be safe.

lk

dragonfly perched on my 'pokey-stick, which sam tooled for me at his work...

i use it to poke in the ground...searching for treasures out back...

blue moon. RattlerHeronDragonButterHopperHawk.

once in a blue moon...you just might see a blue moon.

i thought i should probably save this for a 'friday's fringe' morph picture...

but i didn't want to wait that long.

here's the original. taken last night, 8.31.12  at  8:55pm

(i DID give a wink to Neil A.)

plumbago blooming in yard!!

last weekend was kind of crazy. and a little heart-thumping.

sam looked out the back door and saw milo in a stand-off with a snake.

we have lots of snakes around here, but this was the first time i'd seen a

Diamondback Rattler this close to home.

this big.  and in the yard.

milo and the rattler standing their ground.

un-moving.

without getting too close...sam got rid of the rattler and scared milo away.

she's such a brave...and hard headed...cat.

no matter how many times i tell her...

"stay away from the snakes with the big triangular heads!!" 

it go in one ear, and out the other!

it's nice to have that zoom option on your camera.

of course after seeing this big fat rattler...i'm a little more leery of wandering in the woods out back.

from now on i'll always wear my boots! and carry a big stick.

gardenia blooming in yard!  yummy scent!

last weekend, before the milo & snake thing...

sam and i rode the 4-wheeler across the street, into the field.

no special reason...just to feel the breeze and explore.

sometimes i find bones. not this trip though.

the 'mud pit' had water in it due to all the recent rain.

this is the first time i've seen a Little Blue Heron!!

(right?  you birders out there...is my ID correct?)

we were half expecting to see another Rattler over there, but we didn't.

there were so many dragonflies...some were BRIGHT red!!

unfortunately...they were just way too fast...by the time i zoomed in...poof! gone!

but i did get one of the dragonflies in another part of the field.

away from the water...where they don't dart around so fast.

on our way back home...a grasshopper doing stretches in the vines along the trail (see his back leg?)

back home...

a Red-Spotted Purple on the old hummer feeder.

another dragonfly...

and a Red-shouldered Hawk...hanging out in a tree.

if you're lucky enough to have monday off...for Labor Day...have a relaxing time!

and if you're working...well, i hope your work hours go quick...and your off hours, slow!

thanks for stopping by!

stay cool. be safe.

laura

the supermoon over lake ocklawaha...

...and the fauna & flora of the Rodman Reservoir.

(part1)

supermoon over Lake Ocklawaha, FL

i had wanted to do a post yesterday

with pic's from our weekend at Rodman Reservoir/Lake Ocklawaha...

BUT

i had to do a Tampa drive on monday...over 2 hours each way...back to back.

and the next day i couldn't stand straight.

Sciatica!

i've never experienced it before.

it pains to sit, to stand, to lie down.

it's a REAL pain in the ass...literally.

so...after using ice...heat...ibuprofen...stretching...Kinesio taping...

today i'm not walking hunched over (as much) but i'm still feeling it.

SO

in order to not aggravate it...i'm going to make this quick.

so i can get off my butt.

not too much gabbing...mostly pictures.

FIRST,

on the way there we stopped at one of those big ice vending machines to fill up the cooler.

you know me...and misspellings...or grammatical errors.

CAN YOU see why i snapped this one??

(there shouldn't be an 'apostrophe' in cameras.  no apostrophe in plurals)

ok...on to Lake Ocklawaha  or  Rodman Reservoir.

Rodman Reservoir is a flooded forest.

there's plenty of underwater structure...and floating trees...stumps...logs...

so you have to be a pretty good navigator...or at least lucky...

to troll around without running into something.

we have a small boat. a Gheenoe. it's like a canoe, but more stable...

with a flat back for a small motor.

i was combing the shore while sam pulled the boat to ground and fished off the back.

THIS IS THE SPOT WHERE he caught the BIGGEST catch of the weekend...

a 17" BASS!  

(that's inches...not pounds! we didn't have a scale.)

Dragonflies were everywhere!!

we also saw Ospreys, Eagles, Hawks, Herons, Cormorants, Anhingas...

and of course, Alligators.

Great Egret

Osprey young with mother...i wish i could know what they were saying...or yelling...to each other.

Great Egret

Alligator

a swarm...i mean...a school...of feeding minnows.

a  Hawk.  a Red-shouldered hawk i think, but he looks much bigger than the ones at home.

Anhinga...or snake bird.

Great Egret

heading back to the camp at the end of the day...

sam's silhouette...against the setting sun... 

and a last look at the super moon through the trees...

stay tuned for part 2...and maybe even a part 3.

gotta change position now...and get off my butt...go stretch.

i've had clients with Sciatica...but NOW i know first hand...the pain!

yikes.

be cool  &  stay safe.

laura

((yeah yeah...i know...i'm way behind in reading...but i have a good excuse...

this time it's not just that TIME is slipping away...bear with me.  :)  ))