Saturday, September 4, 2010

here's lookin' at you...kid!

my thoughts on mirrors.

when did they all become carnival mirrors?
i've always felt young. looked young. thought young.
is it because this past august i moved a little closer to s...si...six...sixt...
'OH, go ahead, spit it out!'
this year i turned f...fif...fiftys...fifty-seven! *groan*
it's hard for those numbers to even cross my lips.

57. it sounds so...old.
i don't FEEL 57. but what is 57 supposed to feel like?

thinking back...the changes really started being noticeable at around 50.
hmmmm...changes...eyesight. difficulty driving at night. disappearance of my washboard tummy . a few gray hairs. a wrinkle here...there...
love handles...ha! they sound nice...but if i wanted handles, i would've screwed them on myself!
looser skin. dryer skin. *groan*
it definitely takes some getting used to.
those xtra trips to the bathroom during the night.
it takes a little longer to get out of bed and moving in the morning. sometimes i feel like i spent the night working out...i'm so sore in the AM.

anyway...i'm handling it. i just don't spend too much time in front of those damn circus mirrors that have seemed to magically replace all the old mirrors we used to have!

i plan to just keep on doing what i'm doing.
i feel good. eat good. work. hike. read. write. do my art stuff...
i'll try not to dwell on the fact that i don't have as many years left as i've already been through.
i'm (im)patiently waiting until i can retire!! 'til i can spend my time doing whatever i want, whenever i want.
'til i can throw all the clocks out...who cares what time it is...i have all the time in the world!  :]

Don't let yesterday use up too much of today.  ~Cherokee Indian Proverb 

i love to wander outside.
every time i walk around...i see new things. flowers blooming. insects. lizards. fungi.
it's all just so amazing. i take pictures. lots of 'em.
it's always hard to decide which ones to post.  enjoy!  :)



butterflies...dragonflies...are my favorite things to take pictures of. oh, flowers too. and lizards. and spiders and their amazing & intricate webs....  :-\







the other day...home between appointments...i heard the red-shouldered hawks out back. there's a nest in one of the pine trees out front and you can hear the whole family...making their hawk sounds and flying from tree to tree! every day! i was lucky to get a couple of pretty good shots of one of the hawks.














~In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.~ John Muir














this 'southern cricket frog'
looks a little hung over...




















strange looking fungi/mushroom....




~ Butterflies are graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable. Butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine.~  Jeffrey Glassberg 







the gardenia bush is blooming (again)!! i love that scent...



while wandering out back...i found another feather...from the red-shouldered hawk...and spotted milo passed out on the back porch...

well...i hope you enjoyed your wander around with me...
and i hope that the mirrors you look into...will not be one of those mirrors from the 'fun-house'!!
The aging process has you firmly in its grasp 
if you never get the urge to throw a snowball.  ~Doug Larson

oh! i do i do...well, i would i would...but i live in florida!   BUT  if we had a freak snowfall, i'd be right out there...making snowballs & snow angels!

OH YEAH! i almost forgot! my niece's husband keeps emailing me these REALLY cool pictures that he finds out there in cyberspace...and i wanted to post a couple. these are both dew covered insects. a dragonfly upper body and a fly.
be safe. stay cool. 'til next time,  laura  :]

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

my little slice of nature

today's my third day back to work since vacation.  my appointments aren't 'til this afternoon so i have a little time to spend here.

the last stop on our vacation was at Stephen Foster St Pk in white springs, FL. we've been to that park lots of times...they have a bat house there...a couple of years ago we rode our bikes there just after dusk...to wait for the bats to emerge. wow! they POURED out of there.  i had taken a couple of movies with our camera...it's a little dark (after dusk!)  but pretty cool if you've never seen bats from this perspective. it's only like 45 seconds long. i hope you can view it!
after watching this old bat video...i got to thinking about bats...i know we have them here...cause there's a cool bat house at UF. hmmmmm...maybe i'll ask sam if he wants to build a bat house out back...sounds like it could be a pretty cool project. like we don't have enough to do!
i just hope i remember to ask him before he reads it here...  :]
i found a site where you can buy an already made one, or construct your own: 
i have ONE picture of a TEENY WEENY bat from years back when we went to the florida state caverns. the bat was curled up on the ceiling in one of the cavern rooms.
he's upside down...
since we've been home, i've been 'snapping away...hope you enjoy my side of nature. :)


the gulf fritillary butterfly. usually 2 or 3 at the same time on the lantana.
Flowers and butterflies drift in color, illuminating spring.  ~Author Unknown 
~the meeting of the minds~
hmmm...where shall we start...should we split up? we can divide this plant into three...
(stink bugs)

Life's a journey, not a destination.  ~Aerosmith 
wow!!!  what a gorgeous emerald dragonfly!!  usually i see the bluish ones...not THIS!!  so cool! look at those markings!!
this web looks like very well lived in...uh...on!!
banana spider...and baby

well...better run...
let's keep our eyes & minds open...
It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision. ~   Helen Keller 
take care. stay cool.   laura  :]