nature's hoarder

the

eastern gray squirrel is a scatter-hoarder.

unlike me...

who tends to be a scatter-brain.

(at times)

i'm not a hoarder...i'm a collector.

this past week i took so many pictures of squirrels,

i couldn't decide if i should climb a tree,

stick my head in the bird feeder

or squat & bury some acorns!

it took me so long to pick out a few squirrel pictures...

i didn't have time to do any of that.

my favorite...

i had to 'morph' this guy. 

here he is in 'emboss' mode...

and now...what would a blog post about squirrels be, without squirrel bones.

well, yes, i do have squirrel bones, but decided to just go with the skull.

squirrel skull

flip side, squirrel skull. look at those 2 front teeth!

time to get outa here...signing off with last night's moon.

life's a journey.  enjoy the ride.

laura

“My friend is going to save a little girl from monsters. I am going with him. That's what friends do.” 

~Jim Butcher, Changes

(i read  A LOT! right now i'm loving Jim Butcher's 'dresden files' series!)

t-t-t-t-turtles!

the azaleas are blooming.

but the butterflies and bees are not braving the cooler weather yet.

it's still dropping to the 30's or low 40's (F) at night.

i have come to the conclusion that our florida critters are spoiled.

no snakes. no frogs. hardly any birds. no bugs.

they're all snugged away in their hidey-holes waiting for the warmer temps.

hmmmmm. maybe not spoiled...but smart?!!

the squirrels don't mind the cold!

one sunny afternoon this past week i did spot a brave lizard

hanging from a window sill...soaking up the sun.

(cool shadow too!)

last weekend we did a camping over-nighter at O'Leno State Park.

about an hour drive. just one night. to get away.

walked the trails along the Santa Fe river.

again...no deer. no 'gators. no rabbits. no hawks.

BUT THERE WERE TURTLES!!

LOTS!

(see the flying baby turtle?!!)

look close. the back end of the shell on turtle to the right is all shredded! :(   boat prop? gator?

well. that's it for now. 

i couldn't get a picture of the FULL moon last night. very cloudy.

still cloudy this morn.

the moon for all us "Leo's". 

yep, the MOON and JUPITER are in LEO right now!!

so, no full moon. but here's the last clear sky moon shot i could get, on jan. 27th.

stay cool & be safe.

laura

“The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size.”

~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!

thursday internet woes & a few pictures

i'm sitting outside the local library right now

because they have free wi-fi.

something's wrong with our internet at home,

we keep plugging, unplugging, replugging...

the modem...the router...

and, as they say, still no joy!

it all started with our cable connection.

we had to buy a booster because the signal coming into our home

wasn't strong enough.

tv channels coming in pixelated...and the audio not in sync with people's mouths.

so since we hooked up the booster a couple of days ago...no internet!

i don't have much time during the week, to wander around cyberspace...

whether aimlessly or with some destination in mind.

but since i had a cancellation yesterday...i was going to do a little blog reading.

oh well. nix that.

so, while i'm here...

let me share a few pictures from the past few days.

and then i have to run.

one of the Sulphur butterflies on a still blooming lantana

a squirrel posing on one of the old cow skulls out back

remember...wherever you go...take only pictures, leave only footprints!

Opossum footprints in our driveway

and for the grand finale,  last night's moon!

i love the way the crescent shape is open at the top...

like it's getting ready to tilt and pour it's magic out...on us all!

16th  of  january  2013

take care. be safe.

and by the way...thanks for all the kind words many of you left on my last post...

your comments on my watercolor attempts!!  i appreciate the encouragement & support!

laura

found somewhere on the web...
years ago...

nature doesn't sleep...

There is no such thing as "Just a cat.”

~Robert A. Heinlein

While MILO is taking a CAT-NAP on the back porch...

(oh yeah...she said she wasn't sleeping...she was meditating.)

ANYWAY,

while milo's eyes were closed...

an itty-bitty grasshopper sat on a chrysanthemum,

a Buckeye butterfly rested on the dirt,

a mushroom pushed up out of the earth,

a squirrel quenched his thirst,

the Gloriosa Lily vine  climbed a tree,

a crow was yelling from high in a pine,

a Brown Thrasher listened between drinks,

(listened to milo snoring, no doubt.  oh...milo can't be snoring. she's meditating. i forgot.)

AND

a Fence lizard...is happy that milo is...uh...meditating...has her eyes closed...

so he can wander about without fear of being chased!

"You'll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut."

~Dr. Seuss

alright...back to some chores on my list...

laundry. run to store. feed milo. more laundry. mop. let milo out. wash dishes. feed milo.

stay cool.  be safe.

laura

~happy rest of the week~



shower.dead hummer.skink.butterfly.and the moon.

our 'bird feeder'

if you're aware of our 'bathroom repair saga'...and even if you're not...

it all started back in february...with me losing an earring.

a pair of celtic knots that sam and i each wear (wore) one of.

sam crawled under the trailer to check the trap in the tub's drain pipe.

it wasn't there. but he discovered a leak.

SO, began the tearing down of the walls and pulling out the tub...

which exposed damp and moldy-ish floor and lower walls.

this past sunday...

we christened our new shower!

yay!  finally...we can wash indoors again!!

JUST KIDDING!  our place has two bedrooms, each with a shower and toilet.

but now we have our own shower again...

and ALL the tools, ladder, caulking, paint...have been moved back out to the shed.

here's a pic of sam doing the final touch ups sunday morning.

it was a pre-fab shower. walls in 3 pieces. we did everything ourselves.

well, sam did most of the work...i did the painting and some of the caulking.  

sam did the rest.  

yay! it's finished!  we did a good job.

oOo

OK

so i'm home between appointments

and wanted to get this out there.

tomorrow i have only ONE massage...so i'll have some time to catch up on my blog reading!

oOo

sam found a dead hummingbird outside the shop where he works.

even though the guys he works with gave him some weird & surprised looks...

he picked it up, bagged it...stuck it in the fridge...and brought it home to me!

(pretty soon...i'll have a hummer skeleton!)

poor little hummer.

anyway, i took a picture so you could see the BRIGHT iridescent red neck.

it was so cool. i'd never seen this up close before.

what a gift!!

better than flowers.

ha.

speaking of flowers...the jasmine is blooming. 

aaaaaah. right by the front porch. i love the scent.

SWEET!

i spotted a Five-lined Skink the other day...hiding under the palmetto palms.

Five-lined Skink

the Gulf Fritillaries are starting to come around.

last year they were all over the yellow lantana.

this one likes the Blue Mist.

(i don't know why this plant is called a Blue Mist...it's really more of a lilac color)

UPDATE on my sciatica.

my butt is sore...from rolling around on the floor...on a tennis ball.

BUT other than this soreness, the sciatica is no longer a pain in my ass...

just my legs.  a little.  especially towards the end of the day.

with stretching, heat & ice...and sam's leg massages...

it's better every day.  WAY better.

thanks for all your healing wishes.

now...YOU make a wish.

gotta run now.  i leave you with a parting moon shot.

no, no...you can open your eyes...not THAT kind of MOON shot.  

the magical morning moon. just before dawn on 15 may 2012.

“Go slowly, my lovely moon, go slowly.”

~Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

be cool. stay safe.

laura

let sleeping lizards lie...and more critters & blooms.

an Anole snoozing outside the screen room.

well, after the high winds & hard rains the other day...

most of the Azalea blooms have fallen to the ground.

BUT there are a few other plants starting to sprout out of the ground...

and some are beginning to bloom.

like the shrimp plant!

the earth laughs in flowers.  

~e.e. cummings

during the week i spotted a Red Admiral butterfly on the ground.

i waited...and waited...camera pointed...until my arms began to tremble.

finally, she started to open her wings...and then...

*poof* she flew away. 

BUT

then i spotted another Red Admiral.

man! they're quick!  they don't sit still for very long!

this flower is on a small 'yesterday, today and tomorrow' bush.

at first each flower is purple...then fades to lavender blue...and then white.

i THINK this next TINY guy is either a grasshopper or mantis nymph.

fancy little striped antennae and the cutest triangular head!

(added later...Cindy at Bug Safari thinks this might be a Scudder's bush katydid...thanks cindy!)

spider webs...and dew.

speaking of webs...

OUR

front porch

Orb Weaver.

getting bigger every night.

~her underside~

here's a picture of the FIRST Skink of the year!!

Five-lined  (blue-tailed)  Skink

no wonder the lizards are a little slow moving. they're stuffed.

caterpillars are everywhere right now!

i'll try to get some good pictures...for later.

squirrels...busily digging up their acorn cache.

here's another Anole...on the front porch...in the BRIGHT GREEN phase...

with his dewlap fanned out.

he was not being a very good model.  scooting along the handrail...

on the last of the Azaleas...

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

st. patty's day and halloween.

my two favorite holidays.

halloween is understandable...i like bones...skulls...the spooky & macabre...

but, st patty's day?!

i don't know...maybe i have some irish in me.

i have a corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, onions & carrots in the crock pot.

yum. smells good.

stay cool & be safe.

laura

15 march 2012

I walked barefoot - the only way to walk on a muddy road. 

~Laurie Gough, "Light on a Moonless Night"

finished just in time. thunderstorm...starting to rage.    :)

ps- bathroom is coming along. 

i've been a little blue...

i just might have to do a real journal type post this month...

a more personal one...i'm due.

lk