mayday mayday

mayday!

four May Days so far.

day 1...

another first time sighting of a bird!

or maybe they were here in the past and i just never noticed them. but i doubt it.

a pair of Great Crested Flycatchers.

they were perched on high branches near a dead tree covered with woodpecker holes.

taking turns flying to...and hovering...outside one of the holes.

catching bugs i presume.

day 2...

lantana, gardenia, roses, honeysuckle, jasmine, milkweed, flowering weeds...

to name a few...are blooming!

BUTTERFLIES!!

Gulf Fritillary

Zebra Swallowtail

Zebra Swallowtail

florida's state butterfly. the Zebra Longwing

and the final butterfly...the little Phaon Crescent, where they can usually be spotted...

on the flowering 'weed'. i always knew this weed as 'beggar's tick'.

i don't pull them, even though they can be kind of annoying after the flowers turn to seed...

sticky things that cling all over your shoes, laces, clothes!

but bees & butterflies love them!  so i keep 'em!

while out there in cyberspace i found this really cool website,

where the writer talks about these weeds in one of his posts.

'shepherd's needle' is a good green. lots of nutrients! can be boiled, sauteed, steamed.

cool.  check out Florida Survival Gardening if you get a chance.

Phaon Crescent

Phaon Crescent

day 3...

yesterday...

while wandering in the field across the road, and the  (almost dried up) mud pit.

OH, mud pit? you may wonder? well, when there's a big mushy muddy area...

you can surely find some mud bogging going on. especially down here. in the south.

but i think it happens all over now.

4x4 pick-up trucks (usually) that are modified with lifted suspension & HUMUNGOUS tires...

drive their trucks as far as they can through the MUD...before getting bogged down. i guess.

sound like fun? (nah. not to me it doesn't)

i've never been to watch. but we can hear them out there after dark.

anyway...sorry...i got sidetracked.

i spotted this bird...at the mud pit.

cool reflection.

i THINK it's a Solitary Sandpiper. 

next sighting...

brace yourself...for the creeps. 

can you tell what it is? 

here...i'll zoom in...

yep!  creeped out??!

a nest of baby spiders!!!!!

yikes!

OK.

lastly...i found some snake BONES in the field!!  yeah!

lately, i've been making all sorts of things out of snake vertebrae.

here's a sampling of earrings & necklace i've made.

i know...this BoNE stuff isn't for everyone.

some might be just as creeped out by the bones, as with the spiders. 

oh well. i am crazy for bones!

day 4...

this post was way longer than intended.

i'm trying to keep them shorter.

TRYING.

but a lot has happened so far in May.

have a good week.

be safe.

laura

*Publish*

things that go bump in the night...

bump,
ribbet,
the silent weaving of webs,
and meow.

as darkness swallows the day
and the moon rises...

 

the day-time sleepers come out to play
and forage.  munch.

“Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”
~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 

some frogs have learned to hang out by the year-round twinkling porch lights...
anxiously awaiting the unaware bugs the lights attract.

one...two...three.

mmmmmm, midnight snacks.

trekking up the little frog chime...

and then there are the little frogs that choose to stay a bit closer to the ground...
where the toads are.
hmmmm, i guess they prefer the crawling bugs to the flying ones.  meatier?

 

 

LOOK OUT FROGS!!
this guy is heading to the porch roof...where the lights are...where the frogs are...

(harmless) yellow rat snake

a couple of silent night-time weavers...

Redfemured Spotted Orb/Neoscona domiciliorum

 “You know how it is with cats: They don't really have owners, they have staff.”
  ~ P.C. Cast, Chosen

"give me the magic word, and i'll let you pass."

=O=

so...it's taken me over a week to get this post together.

i haven't visited any blogs since my previous post.

ever feel like you take one step forward...and then two back?!

that's me.

i do visit FB more often than i come here lately.

every few days...check my email...stop by FB...post a picture or two.

you can always find me there (link on sidebar).

 

 

 

i'll leave you now with a couple of pretty day-time pic's.

a few Zebra Longwing butterflies - florida's state butterfly

a Gulf Fritillary

stay cool.  be safe.

laura

they're creepy and they're...

kooky,

mysterious and spooky, they're all together ooky...

ok, now that you've got the Addams Family theme song stuck in your head...

follow me...if u dare...

yesterday i saw a bug on my hibiscus.

actually,  sam spotted it first and called to me  'what the hell is THAT?!'

wow.  a Wheel bug.

it's a type of Assassin bug!!

what could be spookier than a Wheel bug?

TWO Wheel bugs!!

a perfect sighting for this month!

(sorry for the not-so-good picture, the sun was blaring & i couldn't even see the image in the viewer)

oOo

lately we've had way too many nocturnal spiders 

coming out & weaving their webs on the front porch.

i don't mind the ones that stick to the periphery...

like this orb weaver...

(by day she hides under the base of this old rusty candle holder)

BUT 

the spiders that weave their webs on the porch ceiling...

get relocated!

i brush them off into the garden on either side of the porch.

BUT

night after night...they seem to find their way back to the same spot.

oOo

i was about to put the cover back on one of the rain barrels...

when i saw this weaver swimming...frantically.

he must have fallen from the roof.

yes, i rescued him.

oOo

last week...i made time to get a little creative!

remember the snake bones i found on the side of the road...

here they are after i cleaned them.

snake vertebrae & rib bones

when i have some cleaned bones lying around...

i get that urge to DO something with them!

so i painted a snake (with acrylics) on a piece of wood...

then added some of the vertebrae...

i'll glue them down...

maybe add a few ribs to follow the curve of the snake...

then spray with an acrylic sealer.

i've already added a sawtooth hanger to the back!

oOo

well...enough spooky-ish stuff for now.

thanks for wandering by...or crawling by...or creeping...or lurching...or stumbling...

stay cool.  be safe.

laura

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, 

wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” 

~Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven

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