shower.dead hummer.skink.butterfly.and the moon.

our 'bird feeder'

if you're aware of our 'bathroom repair saga'...and even if you're not...

it all started back in february...with me losing an earring.

a pair of celtic knots that sam and i each wear (wore) one of.

sam crawled under the trailer to check the trap in the tub's drain pipe.

it wasn't there. but he discovered a leak.

SO, began the tearing down of the walls and pulling out the tub...

which exposed damp and moldy-ish floor and lower walls.

this past sunday...

we christened our new shower!

yay!  finally...we can wash indoors again!!

JUST KIDDING!  our place has two bedrooms, each with a shower and toilet.

but now we have our own shower again...

and ALL the tools, ladder, caulking, paint...have been moved back out to the shed.

here's a pic of sam doing the final touch ups sunday morning.

it was a pre-fab shower. walls in 3 pieces. we did everything ourselves.

well, sam did most of the work...i did the painting and some of the caulking.  

sam did the rest.  

yay! it's finished!  we did a good job.

oOo

OK

so i'm home between appointments

and wanted to get this out there.

tomorrow i have only ONE massage...so i'll have some time to catch up on my blog reading!

oOo

sam found a dead hummingbird outside the shop where he works.

even though the guys he works with gave him some weird & surprised looks...

he picked it up, bagged it...stuck it in the fridge...and brought it home to me!

(pretty soon...i'll have a hummer skeleton!)

poor little hummer.

anyway, i took a picture so you could see the BRIGHT iridescent red neck.

it was so cool. i'd never seen this up close before.

what a gift!!

better than flowers.

ha.

speaking of flowers...the jasmine is blooming. 

aaaaaah. right by the front porch. i love the scent.

SWEET!

i spotted a Five-lined Skink the other day...hiding under the palmetto palms.

Five-lined Skink

the Gulf Fritillaries are starting to come around.

last year they were all over the yellow lantana.

this one likes the Blue Mist.

(i don't know why this plant is called a Blue Mist...it's really more of a lilac color)

UPDATE on my sciatica.

my butt is sore...from rolling around on the floor...on a tennis ball.

BUT other than this soreness, the sciatica is no longer a pain in my ass...

just my legs.  a little.  especially towards the end of the day.

with stretching, heat & ice...and sam's leg massages...

it's better every day.  WAY better.

thanks for all your healing wishes.

now...YOU make a wish.

gotta run now.  i leave you with a parting moon shot.

no, no...you can open your eyes...not THAT kind of MOON shot.  

the magical morning moon. just before dawn on 15 may 2012.

“Go slowly, my lovely moon, go slowly.”

~Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

be cool. stay safe.

laura

21, 184 days...

 508,416 hours ago...

30,504,960  minutes ago...

1,830,297,600  seconds ago...
i was born.

i'm 58. today.

so i googled  'i am 58 years old'...and ALL that popped up were things like:

hello, i am 58 years old, i have a cataract in my left eye.

Hi-it was horrible when my sister who is 55 was diagnosed  w/ Alzheimers.

WELCOME. I'm 58 years old also and have approx. 140 lbs. still to lose.

I am 58 and so disappointed on how I am looking these days.

I am 58 years old male. Since the last 15 days I am suffering from burning sensation in the eyes.

 I am 58 years old.  I get very painful leg and foot cramps at night.

I'm a 58 year old muslim man in love with my cousin of 11. What should i do?
 I'm 58 and I have to get up to go several times a night.

and so on and so on...yikes!  

i don't FEEL my age.   well, what am i supposed to feel like at 58?

if all i had to go by...was what i read by googling my age...

uh-oh!

anyway...

usually, every august at this time, sam & i are on vacation...camping...

a road trip somewhere...for about two weeks.

not this year though, because sam started a new job about 3 months ago.

i know...it's the HOTTEST time of the year! 

the mosquitoes are out in full force.

BUT...the campgrounds are usually empty!  

we don't have to worry about not being able to find a spot to stay in.

and if we want to use the campground's facilities to take a shower...

we don't have to wait in line.

the hiking trails are  usually empty too...

with spiderwebs running across the trails...from tree to tree.

who wants to go for a hike when it's a hundred degrees out?

uh...we do.

we started this tradition of camping this time of year

because our anniversary is the 16th, my b-day the 19th and sam's b-day the 21st!

anyway...knowing we wouldn't be able to do our usual august get-away...

i signed up for a continuing education class for my massage license.

Reiki 2.  

not too far a drive from home. over by the beach, near jacksonville, on aug 20th.

so we decided to make a weekend of it.

and instead of camping...we reserved a motel room!

now THAT will be weird.

it's been YEARS since we slept in anyone else's bed!

we're heading over there today, and we'll be home sunday.

it'll be a nice few days away.

OH, what about milo?

she's a cat. she'll enjoy the time alone. she'll sit by the back door

and watch the crows...the squirrels...the lizards...

and MAYBE wish she was out there to give chase...

but on second thought, she doesn't mind just relaxing...

and not getting too overheated!

after all, she does have a litter box...she has food & water...

she has her toys. and it's only for two nights!

(but my mother-in-law insisted on stopping by a couple

of times to check on milo.)

 hopefully i'll get some good pic's this weekend.

i leave you now with a few  in the meantime. 

just some assorted pic's taken over the past couple of weeks.

enjoy.

 

dragonfly

Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment 

of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone.  

~Jim Fiebig

 

little baby lizard...'anole'.

(we had these little 'chameleons' as kids...they always escaped their tanks...

only to be found weeks later...all dried up...behind the couch...)  :(

 grasshopper youngster on a hibiscus bud!

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.  

~Chili Davis

little Fence Lizard

a hummer...

 a communal gathering of little clouded skippers feeding on a hibiscus flower.

 

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?  

~Satchel Paige

  

a Gulf Fritillary. the underside of their wings looks white. 

but it's an iridescent silver!

 

these little mushrooms obviously aren't paying any mind to the

weather reports.  they're waiting for a cold spell. they have their sweaters on.

 

maybe this is why the mushrooms aren't listening to the weather reporters.

if they can't spell PRESSURE...maybe they can't predict the weather correctly!

only the mushrooms know for sure...

have a nice relaxing weekend...

and a safe journey.  enjoy the ride.

laura

want to know how many days, minutes, seconds...you've been around?

http://www.convertunits.com/dates/

want to know where i got the little yin-yang  'flavicon' from?

http://www.freefavicon.com/

cool clock widgets like the steam-punk clock on my side bar?

http://www.clockwidgets.net/

other cool widgets...like weather or music...just about anything u can think of.

http://www.widgetbox.com/tag/blogs

squeezing...

in a quickie this morning.

this is the front of our home...

the big front window to the left of the porch, faces west.

the setting afternoon sun

streams through the crystals hanging in this window.

10 of them. all shapes & sizes.

filling the room with shimmering rainbows.

 

 

colorful prismatic beams moving about the room as the sun sets. 

color. light energy. healing. balancing. tranquility. magical.

oOo

the other day sam noticed this odd looking *egg sack* ?  *cocoon* ?

dangling in a spider web.

 

so i took a picture & then tried to find out what it was.

turns out to be the eggcase of the Basilica Orb Weaver spider.

next day, i spotted another one on the other side of the house.

oOo

...and here's the abundant Golden Silk Orb Weaver...

(aka: banana spider)

 

abundant, because they're all over the place!

 they always seem to weave their webs between two trees...

while hiking (since i'm usually looking at the ground for treasures)

i'm forever  walking right into them!

oOo

last week i received a couple of SURPRISES in the mail!

yeah! REALLY cool stuff!

cindy @ bug safari   

had a bunch of butterfly wings that she'd been hanging on to 

for a long time.  she couldn't toss them out...

but didn't know what to do with them either.

so she sent  them to me!  wow!!

 THANKS cindy!!  i feel some creative energy starting to flow!

in the works...

 one window art coming up...which will be heading across the country to CA!  :)

 ===

and then another amazing package...(a gift xchange)...

loaded with gorgeous handmade textile card creations!

(and a couple of XTRAS!  fossils!! wow!)

 

THANKS  lorna @ Artymess

oOo

speaking of art...i'm working on something new...with a deer jawbone.

 something from the 'fractal forest'?? 

oOo

before i squeeze my way out of here...

i'll leave you with a couple of yard visitors!

 a little hummer...

barred owl.  catching some daytime ZZzzzzz's.

stay cool. journey safe.

laura

I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, 

which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.  

~Henry David Thoreau

  

invasion of the...

nope, not the body snatchers!

we're being invaded by

tent & tussock moth caterpillars.

butterflies.

lizards.

hummingbirds.

and assorted other creepy crawlies.

a NICE invasion!

(well, except for the mosquitoes & ticks.)

OH, don't worry - you won't have to watch your step today.

you can even go barefoot if you want. no pOOp!  :)

oOo

for the past couple of weeks, it's been the tent caterpillars. remember them?

well, they're still hanging around.

and now, we're also experiencing an invasion of the tussock moth caterpillar!

a pretty cool looking little guy...but they too...are EVERYWHERE!

i keep plucking them off my plants...

and walking them a little farther away from the gardens.

they feed and grow...feed and grow...spin their cocoons...

and start all over again!  but you have to be careful of their hairs...

they can be irritating to the skin!

the birds just can't keep up with all the caterpillars.

they're having trouble flying...i see them walking across the yard...

dragging their full tummies!

oOo

i mentioned before...that we were starting to see butterflies.

BUT since nothing except the azaleas were blooming...

most butterflies were just fluttering by.

NOT ANYMORE!

BLOOMING is well under way!

mock orange

japanese honeysuckle

blue eyed grass

and fetterbush...to name just a few...

"A weed is no more than a flower in disguise."

~James Russell Lowell

...and so...the flowers bring the nectar feeders!

zebra swallowtail!

spicebush swallowtail!  (above & below)

astyanax - the red spotted purple butterfly!  (above & below)

 

giant swallowtail!

eastern tiger swallowtail!

now...this next guy...drove me a little nuts trying to figure out WHO he was!

fiery skipper!

oOo

if you were here last year...then you know

how much i love to take pictures of dragonflies!

unfortunately, this one...the FIRST dragonfly of the season...

had his back to me...so we can't see his cute little face!

BUT don't worry...i went through last year's BUG pictures and found this one...

(kinda looks like a grumpy old man...)

 oOo

♥ lizards! i love lizards! ♥

there i go again...what's another word for 'love'?   i say that too much.

♥ i LOVE too many things. ♥

bones. feathers. rocks. turtles. music. wolves. beads.

books. taking pictures. writing. the woods. the moon. lavender. the rain.

camping. my job. quotes. jasmine. being creative. jeans. t-shirts. blahblahblah...

and, of course...it goes without saying...i love my sons, sam, milo, monty and ozzie.

sometimes i just feel like...i overuse that word.

i have a great affection for everything outdoors. so, what can i say?

♥ i LOVE lizards and bugs and bones. oh my! ♥

oOo

ok. lizards. the most common florida lizard...the Anole.

they can change color from green to shades of brown & grays,

depending on their mood, the temperature, humidity and health.

...and when they're getting ready to mate...

the males will display their dewlap to attract a female.

the dewlap's that piece of skin that hangs under the neck and turns shades of bright red.

this dewlap (funny word, eh?) is also used for territorial purposes...

toward other males.

not only will he display his dewlap, but he'll puff up his entire body...

stand up on his toes...bob his head up & down, and start doing push-ups!

we have one VERY territorial Anole living on our front porch. 

he thinks he OWNS the porch.

the other day i saw him attack another Anole.

his dewlap came out, he got all puffed up so he looked bigger...

he started to get this raised arch down his back...

his eyes turned black...and he started bobbing like crazy!

he looked like a mini dragon...minus the fire.

he waited for the other male to get close...and then he attacked!

mouth open...grabbing the other anole by his head!

yikes! i felt like the referee.

but it all happened so fast. no bell ringing. no blood was drawn. no knock-out.

whew!

the more submissive lizard turned and ran away as soon as the attacker let him go.

here's the 'alpha' lizard watching as the other male leaves the porch.

and here's the little guy that ran.

he looks a little DEFLATED! literally!

defeated and deflated.

wow! what a show!

(the air was so thick with testosterone...you could cut it with a knife)

oOo

one of my clients mentioned that she's been seeing the hummingbirds

feeding on her bottle brush tree. yay! they're back!

so we collected our feeders. cleaned them. made some 'sugar water'...

filled them...and hung them back outside.

the hummingbirds also feed on the wildflowers...but we like to hang

a couple of feeders by the front porch...close...so we can watch them!

so...you can see...there's LOTS OF SPRING going on around here!

hopefully, where you are too.

"Man's heart away from nature becomes hard."

~Standing Bear

i've taken some pretty cool pictures of MORE bugs, birds...found bones...

oh yeah, and another sign.  a misspelled sign.  next time.

no, no...don't tempt me. i could go on and on...

but if you made it this far...i've held your attention long enough...for one day.

go get some more coffee. or tea. have a drink. stretch. bathroom break.

thanks for wandering through.

have a safe journey & enjoy the ride.

:] laura

b a l a n c e