f u n g i

by  now you know

i'm alive & well.

it's been over a year since i posted...

(excluding my 'test' post a couple of days ago)

and since i visited any other blogs.

SO
here i am,

easing my way back into blogland.

thought i'd start off with one of my favorite things... 

FUNGI!

it's been a little on the cool side here in north florida.
(this past month it's gotten down to the low 20's at night!!
there have been times when the temp barely reached 40°F during the day!)

no lizards, bugs, snakes...they're all hiding, waiting for the warmer sunny days.

even the birds are scarce.


otis (1 ½ yrs old now) likes to follow me around

while searching for...well...anything!

we both decided it was a fungus kind of day!

stay cool & be safe
laura

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”

~Albert Einstein

~ ~ ~ time out ~ ~ ~

Flatwoods Plum blooming in side yard

ok

so i can finally talk.

my throat's been sore 

& 

my voice gravely

from coughing too much.

it takes a lot for me to actually go to the doctor.

but after trying all my usual natural healing remedies...

and nothing seemed to be getting rid of this congestion...

my throat was getting sorer

&

my ribs felt mega-bruised!

one of nature's curly-q's

i gave in.

diagnosed - bronchitis.

sent home with antibiotics, an inhaler, cough suppressants

and the suggestion to use a vaporizer at night & get some rest.

two weeks later.

still coughing.  but better. 

throat no longer scratchy & ribs don't pain me when breathing!

minimal wheezing.

slowly easing back into work, living on cough drops during the day.

anyway.

i'm taking time off...from here...my blog.

“Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living.” 

~ Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

i feel a weight on my shoulders.

a trapped kind of feeling.  

like a slave to the internet at times.

i need

to

get up. get out. feel the sun.

watch the flowers grow. smell them.

spy on the bugs & birds...all the little critters!

listen. take pictures. create more. 

so many trails to wander...trees & moons to sit under...

books to read.

the full moon behind Oak tree branch on 23 january 2013

of course i won't be gone forever.

just a hiatus.

time for my soul...my body...

to

BE

to

DO.

“I give thanks for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, 

and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, 

which is infinite, 

which is yes.” 

~E.E. Cummings

i'll still be wandering out here now & then,

and will visit all the places i love.

take care.

be safe.

laura

(links to my FB places on sidebar)

emo - doing his little halloween dance!

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

snakes & bones & more cool stuff

snakes.

they're not everybody's favorite.

but you have to admit...even though you may not want to hold or touch one...

they sure are beautiful to look at.

this little guy, a juvenile Rat Snake has hunkered down in our shed for the past couple of weeks...

trying to stay warm enough to make it through those nights when the temp drops to freezing.

in the woods out back...camouflaged in the bare wintery-thorny-vines...

is another young Rat Snake (but older than the one in the shed).

take a look at this snake. a Black Racer.  i spotted it out back...in a clearing in the woods.

wanna guess how i got so close...to get this picture without the snake racing away?

mm-hmm.  dead. no blood.  no bite marks.

the detective in me thinks it froze to death.

i flipped it over...here's the underside.

you probably know by now what i do when i find dead critters.

i take them home.  bury them.  wait for them to decompose. dig them up.

collect the bones...clean the bones...and then decorate them, or use them in my art.

besides this dead one, i've found two snake skeletons along the side of the road.

so

what to do with all these snake bones?

a couple of months ago i started to make SNAKE VERTEBRAE earrings.

ok. enough about snakes.

i was surprised to see mushrooms & lichen 

still pushing their way up through the ground or clinging to trees...

 in this colder weather we've been having.

when i think 'fungi', i tend to think warm, humid. 

two more pictures...

a dragonfly trying to soak up a little warmth...

and a Red-bellied Woodpecker. 

not an easy task to get a picture. 

i can hear 'em, but by the time i usually spot them...they fly to another tree.

depending on where we live on planet earth,

chances are we're dealing with the winter cold or the summer heat.

but when i got an email from a friend the other day,

who lives in Siberia...and she told me the temperature there right now is 40 below 0...

i felt a little woozy!

FORTY BELOW ZERO!!

that takes all the FUN out of winter...don't you think?

anyway...whatever YOU'RE dealing with right now...

be safe.

take it easy.

laura

giving in to the moon

it's been getting down to the high 30's/low 40's the past couple of nights.

staying pretty much in the 60's during the day.

(yay! flannel shirt weather! i love it!)

darkness lasting longer in the morning...

and coming earlier in the evening.

moon shadows.

daytime bugs & critters take advantage of the sun's warm rays.

flowers are still blooming...

butterflies are still feeding

Gulf Fritillary on Blue Mist

there are still plenty of dragonflies

lizards & frogs soaking up the sun's warmth

a lone mushroom not ready to give in to the cooler weather

 and now...the moon.  

giving in to the power of the magical moon. 

5:04am  -  oct 30 2012

‎"Have you ever danced with the Devil by the pale moon light? I always ask that of all my prey." 

~Joker

doesn't it look like the moon is wearing a pine needle hat...

5:07am  -  oct 30 2012

oOo

inspired by the moon and the skeleton trees of winter...

here's a note card i painted with acrylics...

enjoy the scents of nutmeg or mint

the taste of apples, nuts & wine

the feel of smooth black stones, obsidian or jet

the colors of black, orange, white, silver or gold

black cats, bats & jack-o-lanterns

dark mysteries

deadly nightshade, mugwort, sage, mandrake, oak leaves

celebrating the lives of those that have died...family, friends, pets.  the spirits of the dead. darkness~fire~hope~new dreams~new beginnings~out with the old~in with the new

Happy Samhain  ~  Happy Halloween

stay cool & be safe

especially those who have been dealing with the wrath of Sandy...

my thoughts are with you.

laura

hallowed be thy moon & bones, fungi & spiders

2012.9.30  -  9pm

“Suddenly the day was gone, 

night came out from under each tree and spread.”   

~Ray Bradbury, The Halloween Tree

my favorite time of year.

the month with my favorite holiday!

on the 1st of october...skeletons, skulls, goblins, spiders, and other creatures of the night...

start to appear on shelves, counter tops, on the mantel, 

and creeping across the floor...of our home.

some bargain with me to stay out all year long.

it's that time of year to reflect. to remember those who have passed.

out with the old...move on...start anew.

autumn to winter.  the cool crisp clear air.  

the fiery hues of leaves...falling & crunching under foot...leaving behind skeleton trees.

i get energized. rejuvenated.

SO

to welcome october

i thought a little spiders, fungi, bones & the full moon would be about right!

ALL the spiders & fungi were spotted here...around our home...

outside that is!

enjoy!

oh, i know, some of you stopping by don't care for spiders.

don't worry...they can't jump off the screen at you...

and crawl up your face...into your hair.

at least i don't think so!!

Redfemured Spotted Orb Weaver
Neoscona domiciliorum

the underside of the Eriophora ravilla Orb Weaver   (twinkle lights on porch year round)

Golden Silk Orbweaver (Nephila clavipes)

snake bones found yesterday on the side of the road
while we were out on the 4-wheeler

Whitebanded Fishing Spider (Dolomedes albineus)

Yellow Garden Orbweaver (Argiope aurantia)

and one more full moon from last night to bring on october!

8:54pm    2012.9.30

stay cool.  be safe.

laura