another tree...SNAP

we had a lot of rain this past week...

and as sometimes happens, the trees get waterlogged...top-heavy...

and they SNAP, or just keel over...roots lifting out of the ground.

this time, it snapped.

the whole top half of the tree...on the ground...

making for some good hunting grounds for anything that has a taste for bugs.

Gray Catbird

nearby, waiting his turn...

Cardinal

nearby...also waiting his turn to enter the tangle of branches, leaves & vines...

male Anole on a Bromeliad

a dragonfly also in on the action...

otis...a blur of motion on the branches...

off to my left...looking as though he just went for a swim in our 'swampy-ish pond' out back...

Pileated Woodpecker

same bird...scratching his face against the tree!!

caught him with his eyes closed!!  really weird looking!

if i turned that picture sideways...i think he'd look dead.

yep.

so while the critters are feasting...

sam's starting to cut some of it back. 

no rush. 

OK. one last picture. THIS is my lucky shot of the week...month? year?

it's that Red-bellied Woodpecker that made a nesting hole in this tree you see him on.

i didn't realize until i got the pic on the comp, that there's a dragonfly in the pic too!!

cool!

have a good week coming up.

be safe.

winged things & the moon

'incoming!!'  Yellow-rumped warblers in winter plumage

(i had no idea what these birds were. 

i was going nuts searching through my bird books and online.

a friend of mine e-mailed this picture to 

the Alachua County Audubon Society Pres. she ID'd it!)

* * *

the past couple of weeks i see the same Red-bellied woodpecker

tapping away every afternoon in the same spot, on the same tree.

at first i thought he was bug hunting.

now i realize he's making a nest.  his hidey-hole. literally.

looks like he's almost finished!

* * *

last weekend we did a one night getaway at 

Mike Roess Gold Head State Park's campground...

and spotted a couple of 'winged things'...

Zebra Swallowtail

Little Blue Heron

* * *

from our campsite.

at first the moon was hidden behind the trees...

then...a clear shot of the (almost) full moon. 3.7.15.

"The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand."

~Frederick L. Knowles

life's a journey. enjoy the ride.

laura

aye, aye captain...uh...emo

before i get to the captain emo thing...

here's a Red-bellied woodpecker in side yard.

* * *

where i used to wander out back,

in the woods,

finding treasure...

like bones, owl pellets, 100 yr old turpentine clay pots...

we now have 3-4 feet deep water!

wow!!

it's been like that ever since we moved back home in november.

anyway...we decided to take the canoe out there.

we loaded up...pushed off...and then heard emo back on shore YELLING!!

we turned around to see what was up.

emo wanted to go for a ride.

he jumped in the canoe!!

rather than being a back-seat driver, he opted to ride up front...

...the captain of the canoe...giving orders...

"LOOK OUT FOR THAT DOWNED TREE!"

"WATCH OUT FOR THAT MESS OF BRAMBLES!"

and...

"HEY!!  A TURTLE! WHOAAAA!! GET THE CAMERA MOM!!"

this turtle has to be the biggest turtle i've seen in a looong time! 

bigger than the ones on the rivers, or in the lakes.

anyway, it's tough canoeing back there. lots of downed trees & thickets of dead bushes & vines.

pretty cool. and weird. 

really, i prefer the hiking. i wonder if the water table will be getting back to normal any time soon?!

a couple of days later...BOTH emo & otis are patiently waiting to go canoeing!

luckily, we haven't spotted any alligators out there!

* * *

speaking of 'gators...makes me think of dinosaurs.

i saw this lizard (anole) on the side of the house, just peeking from under the eave.

stay cool. be safe.

laura

"the world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful."  ~e.e. cummings 

a couple of critters and bOnes...

a leaf...dangling by a web strand :)

it's still been pretty chilly here in north florida.

tonight it's supposed to get down to 33° F.

right now it's a windy 51°! 

i can hear the wind whipping around outside.

dead branches falling.

a couple of days ago the sun was finally peeking through the dense clouds...

and i spotted some critters. yay!!

a couple of (anole) lizards on the side of the house.

i got pretty excited when i heard the distinct tapping away of a woodpecker.

he was at the very top of an old dead tree...and i couldn't get a very good shot.

but, hey!!  it was another critter coming out from hiding, braving the cooler temp's!

a Red-bellied woodpecker.

and here's a pretty cool little (garden) spider's web...iridescent with the sun hitting it just right!

sam & i still go for hikes across the street...into the wooded field.

and i still collect bones!!!

hog skull & jaw

assorted deer bones

NOW THIS is a first!!!

ALLIGATOR TAIL!

obviously someone must have poached a 'gator...cleaned it...and dumped what was left.

i would've liked to see the entire skeleton...but all there was, was the tail!

ok. that's it.

i'll sign off with a couple of pic's of our furry kids!

~ emo ~

~ otis ~

have a nice week!

stay cool & be safe.

laura

“Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is ajar.”

~Jim Butcher, Dead Beat

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