time to peek in...

i'm back.

where have i been?

nowhere in  particular. right here.

living life.

reading books. a lot!

taking pictures. a lot!

enjoying...

a purple passion flower

i've thought about entering blog-land...many times.

but for some reason i just couldn't get motivated to do so.

this morning

emo found a snake in the garden...right by the front steps.

fortunately he (emo) was smart enough to leave it alone!

i did pick him (emo) up and bring him indoors...just to play it safe...

while the  VENOMOUS Moccasin  moves on!

pretty, eh?

(pretty scary too!)

a snake.  

it's the year of the snake.

and i was born in a snake year too.

so i thought it an omen!??

today seemed like a good day to poke my head in and say 'hi'.

i want to ease my way in.

one of the reasons i took a blog hiatus, was i started to feel overwhelmed.

now i plan to take it slower.

less often posting...and not trying to read every post of every blog i follow!

so

come on in

and enjoy a few pictures.

tiny tree snail, out back at the edge of the woods.

a Fence lizard

the next two pictures are of STINK BUGS!

stink bug nymphs

Green stink bug

one morning in may...about 7am, i looked out the back door...

and here's what i saw!!  a Barred Owl perched on the bird feeder...looking right at me!!

a Barred Owl

this is one of my favorite dragonfly shots i've taken lately (in june)!

perched on a cactus

a Zebra Longwing - the state butterfly for florida...feeding on lantana

about dem bOnes.

of course i'm still into bones.

finding them. cleaning them. turning them into...art?  jewelry? it all depends...

a hog skull my son travis found for me! =)

another great find!

i'm pretty sure these are Opossum feet!!

ok

the end is near.

ONE more thing to mention.

emo!

he sure has grown!!

and what a personality!

he is a butterfly, dragonfly, mole & mouse chaser.

he is an expert climber,

drinks out of the sink faucet,

and still sucks on our fingers at night.

here he is...deep n thought.

and here he is...passed out in sam's lap.

“No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.”

~ Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own, and Three Guineas

stay cool.  be safe.

laura

aaah. cuddle weather!

looking back over my shoulder...

i'm waving goodbye to christmas

and looking forward to the new year.

2013 is going to be a very good year!

SIX, being my lucky number.

2+0+1+3= 6

(Venus is the ruler of #6. 

harmony. balance.solutions. enlightenment. compassion. forgiveness.)

AND it's the year of the snake!

i was born in the year of the snake,  

1953.  

(oops. did i really say that? are you doing the math? i'll save u the trouble. 59.)

anyway.  it's been good cuddle weather...

dipping down to freezing temps at night...

AND in the morning.

ICE on the A/C unit outside

one of the nice things about having #2 son under our roof,

is that he can help sam with the wood splitting.

the wood...keeping us nice and toasty at night.

speaking of travis (#2 son),

when we wandered the woods out back...

he spotted a Southern Ringneck snake,

which he picked up for closer examination before releasing.

the Southern Ringneck snake

look at the bright orange under belly!

a CUTE little snake, fully grown at 10-15 inches long.

i saw a BIG dragonfly which i actually thought was dead because it let me get real close.

but i think it was just cold. it flew away after i snapped this picture.

THEN i spotted the (daytime) moon...peeking from between a tree's skeletal branches. 

22 december 2012

there aren't too many critters out and about...but on warmer days, 

when the sun is bright...a few can be spotted braving the cold in order to soak up some warmth.

Fence lizard

Zebra Longwing

Anole...in the brown phase against the house

Anole...in the green phase, blending in with some of the still green plants

a big old grasshopper

and lastly...a few birds in the yard, that don't seem to mind the cold too much!!!!

a female Cardinal

a male Cardinal keeping an eye on the female

a Pileated Woodpecker

tough to get a picture of this guy as he just wouldn't stop hammering away!!

thanks to the digital camera...take 20 pic's, get 2 decent ones!! ha.

same Pileated Woodpecker

i'm putting a hold on my Friday Fringes for now.

between running travis back & forth to work, my own work, home stuff & chores...

the weekdays are a blur!  i barely have time for ME.

i need longer...or slower...weekends!  (don't we all!)

ok, off to an appointment...

take care.

be safe.

laura

25 december 2012

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 mole is dead. bones. scattered scat. and more!

yesterday (sunday),

the sky at 11:20 am...

oOo

if you're not new here...and you've wandered the woods with me before...

then you know i collect bones, feathers,  insect wings, rocks & stones.

you also know that months ago we found a dead Opossum and i buried him out back...

with plans to dig up the bones.

and i did. 

but i was surprised to find that the skeleton was not in one piece.

the bones are scattered.  

little by little i've unearthed some bones...

my latest find is one scapula...

views of the Opossum's left scapula

i've learned from a 'bone expert' that it's not unusual for the bones to be scattered. 

the shifting ground & insects tend to move them around.

raccoon prints all over the area i've been digging

hmmmmm...it never occurred to me. i just assumed...bury the carcass...

and when i dig it up...VOILA! a opossum, minus the tissue, muscle, skin of course.

small red Azalea bush in bloom!

this expert told me i have a better chance of keeping the bones together 

if i bury the animal in a cardboard box with the top open.

so that's what i did with the little Mole i found.

while wandering....the trails out back...

i spotted snake skin...shedding.

then...i saw something fuzzy on the ground...not a foot away.

upon closer examination...i saw it was a little Mole!

dead. no bite marks. no obvious or visible cause of death.

it's unusual to see one. they live underground, making burrows & tunnels.

they're small...only about 4-6 inches in length.

they have no external eyes or ears.

underside of dead mole. mouth & nose to the left

LOOK AT THOSE CLAWS!!

perfect for digging

(read more about this Eastern Mole here!)

so, needless to say, i buried him in an open top cardboard box...

and marked my calender on December 18th,

UNearth the MOLE!

what would a walk in the forest be without fungi!

a mushroom colony!

and SCAT!

i always notice it.  and if i happen to miss a pile...sam will bring it to my attention. ha!

just yesterday, while he was outside working on his truck...he made a special trip

into the house to tell me he saw a pile of shit poop. droppings. feces. scat.

aaaaaaah. now THAT's love.  :)

first i  snap a picture, then i look it up in one of my handy scat books...

i wonder if this was left as gift to milo? (her new friend, introduced in previous post.)

raccoon scat. blunt ends. brown to black. large seeds present.

either Fox or Coyote. tapered ends. fur & seeds present.

i tend to think Fox, only because we see the foxes more often.

flies feasting on (LOOSE!) scat of unknown origin.

UGH!

Pileated Woodpecker

i also came across ANOTHER Owl Pellet. left by our frequent night time visitor, the Barred Owl.

this pellet is the BIGGEST one i've seen yet!

bones. fur. claws. teeth. the undigested parts.

and finally...back out of the woods...

lizard on the house

i did my first  page in my "Art Journal"...over two days. nov 16th & 17th.

at the time i was feeling a little down, as it was nearing my brother's birthday (19 nov).

he passed away 3 years ago.

watercolor. real leaves.some glitter.

(i'm aiming for once a month with my art journal entries.)

Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.  

~Henry Ward Beecher 

i leave you now, with a picture of the morning moon on the 19th of november.

19 november 2011    at  6:55am

have a good week. and if you celebrate, a happy thanksgiving!

gobble-gobble

be safe & stay cool.

laura