...into the woods...

for about the past week, i thought i might talk about bumper stickers. you've heard the expression  'we are what we eat'.  well, i think,  'we are what we slap on our cars'...or trucks...holds true too!  =]


BUT i decided to hold off on that topic. yeah, i know...what a tease!  i'm just trying to keep you coming back. =]   i  need to finish gathering my thoughts, ok? no big deal.           so...moving on...


since you (already may) know, i live outside the city limits. in fairbanks!  nope, not alaska.  it's a small area of gainesville, florida...north of the city.  from 1909 to 1923, fairbanks a was the nation's leader in turpentine production!  so, how did they collect the pine sap?  clay collecting  pots were nailed to the pine trees...with metal strips inserted along downward  V shaped cuts in the tree, above the pots...the thick pine sap would 'bleed'  into the clay pots. this 'V' formation cut into the tree was called a 'cat face'. 

we have a (small) forest of pine trees in the woods behind us, but we've never seen one with the 'cat face'. to see one in person, chances are you'd have to go to a state park...that's where we've seen them...in the OLD forests where some of the huge, ancient pine trees still survive! BUT we have found the clay collecting pots...on our property!! just knowing that what you've spotted sticking up out of the peat and dirt...could be close to 100 years old...is...exciting...to me!!  (i have to admit, i'm easily excited when it comes to finding old bottles, artifacts...rocks, feathers...bones...) 

i LOVE to go exploring! trudging into the woods out back...fighting my way through the vines, downed trees, swampy areas, spiderwebs and underbrush. sometimes i'll drag Sam out there with me. with a roll of his eyes...he'll get ready...long sleeve shirt, jeans, high rubber boots. we usually go on our deep wood explorations during the cooler weather...when the mosquitoes and ticks aren't STARVING for our BLOOD!

we found these pots this past winter!

sam...in the wet and swamp-yish area...

tree riddled with woodpecker holes...

  evidence of DEER...(yep! POOP! SCAT!)

raccoon prints

red shouldered hawk...all puffed-up...scratching his chest...

deer in backyard

pileated woodpecker

fence lizard

           dragonflies...

spiderweb...small banana spider












if you want to see more of my pictures...local animals...birds, snakes, lizards, bugs...check out my past posts by searching through the list of labels/subject.  and in case you haven't been here before, i also like to collect animal bones...skulls...and have lots of pictures of my collections!


Let nature take you on its journey. ~Jamake Highwater 


so, that's it for now. another day. another adventure.  =]       laura