parallel play

(thematic 210 - parallelism)

you never realize how many parallels there are 

(not including the universes of course!)

until you search.

here are just a few!

parallel plants growing along the side of our parallel wood home   

the parallel lines of the Six-lines Racerunner

parallel lines running down the driveway

the Yellow Rat snake's parallels

parallel lines of the shed's wall

parallel waves at sunrise. Neptune Beach, Florida (8 aug 2011)

even concentric circles are considered parallels

and

so 

i leave you with a misspelled sign!

even though this sign was previously in one of my posts...a long while back...

(e-mailed to me by Susan @ This n That.

she snapped this picture while looking for a place to PARALLEL park

in a little town called Nimmitabel, 

which is in New South Wales, Australia) 

it seemed very fitting to post it again now!

i'm linked up with carmi's thematic weekly photo sharing.

join in!  check it out here:  Thematic Photographic 210 - Parallelism

thanks for stopping by!

stay cool. be safe.

laura

catch you later. i'm home between appointments, and was anxious to get paralleled!!  =)

a dog in the sky

what?!
a dog in the sky?
that title may sound a little off the wall...
but, you'll see. keep going...

milo is an indoor/outdoor cat.

she has her litter box inside, but rarely uses it.

she prefers to do her thing outside...digging a hole and then daintily squatting.

she usually comes inside just before dinner's ready, OUR dinner.

she sits patiently while we eat...hoping for leftovers.

she's especially partial to potatoes. mashed. french fries. cooked in a stew.
it doesn't matter.
miss potato head is just one of her nicknames.

so she eats a 2nd dinner...and it's not always the scraps on our plates...

but sam usually sets aside a portion of his dinner...just for her!

following supper, milo heads back outside for another hour or so.

the other night, when she didn't show up at the back door, even after we called out her name...

we decided to go on a milo hunt.

we opened the front door...

and there she was...sitting face to face with her new friend.

it's like we, the grown-ups, just walked in on something.
something they didn't want us to see.

they both had surprised looks on their faces.

(i ran to get the camera)

they both turned and looked up at us...a little annoyed.

then milo's new friend, all distracted & flustered...turned and crept 

down the porch steps. he turned as if to say goodnight

before strolling off into the darkness.

i'm not kidding!!

these two were like best friends...sitting on the front porch.

exchanging stories. (i THINK that's what they were exchanging)

i'm surprised they didn't send us back inside to fetch them a couple of beers.

or something stronger.

i wish i'd had my camera when we first opened the door!

we've been trying to sneak night time peeks...hoping to catch them together again!

"Most cats, when they are out want to be in, and visa versa, and often simultaneously."
~Louis J. Camuti 

oOo

a few other front porch visitors.

yellow rat snake climbing up the vine.

aaah. he's made it to the ceiling.
it's a wonder he didn't get all tangled up in that fancy string work.

then it was time to survey the perimeter...running along the lights.

oOo

i noticed this injured grasshopper...

it looks like she escaped from someone's hungry jaws...
and sadly, that's probably where she ended up anyway.

oOo

and here's a strange looking bug. i'm still not 100% sure what it is.

a wheel bug...i think.

oOo

with the cooler weather starting to ride in...
there aren't as many butterflies hanging around...

Gulf Fritillary

or dragonflies...

BUT...it's cool enough to DIG without breaking into a sweat.

remember the spot where i've been trying to find the bones of the Opossum i buried?
well, i found a scapula and a few other assorted bones.

i also found a dead mole. some snake skin. the biggest owl pellet ever.
AND more yard scat (not milo's!)

well i'm sorry to leave you in such suspense...
all this next time.


have a happy week.

laura


OH yeah, the dog in the sky!

do you see it? a dog...trying to catch a little something in his mouth?!

do i have to draw it out for you??  :)

"Logic will get you from A to B.   Imagination will take you everywhere."  
~Albert Einstein

an unexpected backyard visitor (and moon, snakes, fox!)

 

on a clear early morning last week...

the mystical magic moon.

><

i've been hoping to spot a snake!

it's been a while. the last one i saw was a young 'yellow rat'

in the roof of the front porch.

no, it's not christmas in july...

these  lights stay up year round...

i like the soft...relaxing...ambient feel...

over the weekend...i was wandering out back...and heard the owls.

 it sounded like they were in the front, so i started that way.

 but before i made it...i saw a long & slender 'black racer' 

heading for cover under the azaleas.

 

 

he slid along and then climbed into this old bucket/planter by the front steps.

 

and then he scooted out of there through the rusted hole...

continued his way to the next garden...and went under the house.

they usually dine on lizards, frogs, mice, rats and even small snakes.

they're FAST, agile and excellent swimmers & climbers!

by that time i forgot about the owls.  one track mind...

><

later that same day. saturday. 

sam was looking out the back sliding glass door.

"Laura! Hurry!! grab the camera!  Quick! Come see!!"

 

can you see it? between the trees. a COYOTE!!

we've seen one only once before...

but i couldn't get the camera fast enough.

THIS TIME...she stopped...stared...pee'd...

and then went back into the woods!

so these pic's were taken through the glass door...

in a hurry!

 

it's not unusual for them to be out during the day...

but it is a little unusual to spot one of these elusive animals!

hmmm...we wondered if that's why we haven't seen the foxes lately...

 

they used to come around fairly often.  we haven't seen one in months!

><

we're still getting rain.  not as much as a couple of weeks ago...

when it was raining every day, but enough is coming down

to keep the thirsty plants watered.

there are so many other states...other places in the world right now

...where people, crops, animals are suffering from drought

and extreme heat...dried up lakes and land.

i hope that some kind of relief comes your way soon.

my thoughts go out to you...

sending wishes for rain...lots of rain...and for a break in the heat wave!

 

starting off with the mystical magic morning moon...

it's only fitting to end with the sun going down.

looking west through the trees in the front yard...

toward the road and the field across the street where i find bones

and other treasures...

 

Life's a journey, not a destination.  

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

have a safe journey & enjoy the ride!

~laura~ 

((thanks very much...to each of you who stopped by my previous post...

especially to those who took the time to leave 

such healing, compassionate & supportive words...

you really have no idea how you uplifted me! 

thank you for understanding...relating...for being there!))

i have oodles of pictures i've been taking...

grasshoppers, butterflies, spider, MORE mushrooms...some thing to look forward to.

only 5 more days 'til the weekend...

4 more days if you live on the other side of the world...

have a happy week!

fungi, wing art update...oh yeah! the snake's still here

"It's a magical world, Hobbes, Ol' Buddy...let's go exploring!"   

Calvin's last words, 12/31/95  (Calvin & Hobbes)

ok...something else i love to take pictures of...is mushrooms/fungi!

there are endless varieties. each is unique. so many different shapes & colors.

mushrooms are in 'the fungi kingdom'.

medicinal. edible. toxic. psilocybin or 'magic'.

mushrooms are recyclers in nature. they break down wood and humus back into their original components - they provide food for living plants by returning dead trees and forest litter to simple organic materials.

but not all mushrooms are do-gooders. 

some are parasitic...attacking live trees and causing deadly diseases.

(not all of these pictures are from our yard. some were taken while wandering other places.)

(fungi growing on a dead tree in Torreya St Pk, FL)

this one was in our yard. you can easily tell it's a florida mushroom...

because it has 'tie-downs'...for the hurricane season.

this one looks like it has finger indentations.

little fuzzy ones out back

a trio...like steps...(where are the smurfs?)

"Every now and again take a good look at something not made with hands—

a mountain, a star, the turn of a stream. 

There will come to you wisdom and patience and solace and, above all, 

the assurance that you are not alone in the world."

Sidney Lovett 

o~o~o~o~o~o

if you saw my last post...

you might remember i started working on another 'window hanger'...

made of glass and decorated with butterfly & dragonfly wings...and pressed flowers.

it's not finished yet...here's what i've done so far...

this is the front side...i work on the back...adding the wings & flowers...

using 'mod podge' to adhere and coat.

close-up of the front

this is what it looks like from the back

after the mod podge has completely dried (i usually let it set for 24 hrs at least)...

then i give it the first overall coat of mod podge.

it dries for at least 24 hrs between coats...and i normally give it 2 full coats.

then after it's completely dry...i'll give it a coat or two of clear glaze.

THEN after this is all dry...i'll wrap heavy gauge copper wire around the edges... 

making a loop for hanging!

you can see a picture of the one i made before on my last post.

(i'll post a picture after it's finished!)

o~o~o~o~o~o

one more thing before i go...

remember the young yellow rat snake in the shed (again...last post)...

well, he's still there...trying to find a comfy spot...

well...as the squirrels are gathering and burying acorns...

and the hummingbirds have left for warmer weather...

and the ground is crunchy under foot with fallen leaves...

we've had the fireplace going on a few cold evenings. nice!

Happy Autumn!!

"Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over 

to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, 

you will suddenly know everything there is to be known."   

~Winnie-the-Pooh 

'til next time...stay cool...

laura  :]