woodpeckers. weird fungi. spider & buzzards.

just a nice relaxing weekend.

cooler weather. 

flannel shirt weather! i want to be outdoors weather!

we picked up some fresh oysters...

steamed...shucked...and gobbled 'em up

with HOT cocktail sauce (mostly horseradish with just a little ketchup) & crackers!

cooler weather also means no mosquitoes or ticks,

so we wandered out back...into the woods...

following the trails made by the deer and smaller critters.

i'm no mushroom expert...but i think a good name for this one would be the

Umbrella Mushroom.

one day closed...next day...open!

first we heard...then spotted a woodpecker.

we can usually find the Red-headed, Red-bellied and the Pileated.

we thought it was a young woodpecker...smaller than the ones we normally see.

but when i put the pic's on the computer, and looked it up...

we realized this is a new one we've never seen here before.

A Downy Woodpecker.

(pic's not too clear. he was very fast!!)

Downy woodpecker

a    VERY    fuzzy   'shroom

Cinnamon fern

the Cinnamon fern first sprouts as a green curl...

then opens & straightens in a cinnamon color...

and then opens to a full bright green fern.

another woodpecker. the BIG Pileated. going from tree to tree.

tapping away.

Pileated woodpecker

Pileated woodpecker

LOOK at this SPIDER!!  have you ever seen one like this?
i hadn't!!!!!  it was a first!!  see how it hangs by its back legs, head down?!! 

Arrowhead spider

very weird looking fungi. i think it might be the kind that turns into

these puffer things. if you poke them with a stick, dust, that looks like smoke,

comes out the center hole in top!

oOo

walking out of the woods...crossing the yard...

shadows across the ground. 

i look up.  a few buzzards (black vultures).

more are circling in...

and more...

a bunch of buzzards is called a wake. i can see why. they move in a wave across the sky.

the wave is climbing. higher and higher...scanning the woods...looking to eat.

i know they can't be waiting for this guy, 'cause he literally has no meat on his bones...

not anymore!

Mr. bOnes perched on a mushroom

have a good week.

stay cool and be safe.

laura

moon 7:18 AM ~ oct 18, 2011

silent lake...

the moon & starry jupiter.  10.11.2011   6:46am

last week while sam stopped for gas on his way home from work...

he overheard a couple of people talking about Suwannee Lake,

just outside Live Oak, FL.  it sounded pretty cool, sam said...

with lots of cypress trees, live & dead , standing in the middle of the lake.

(cypress trees are swamp plants. they have a root system 

that projects roots...or knees...out of the water to breathe.)

we never heard of Suwannee Lake. 

the river, yeah...we've been all over that...but never heard of the lake.

so, what do ya do when you want to find something?!

yep, we googled it, jotted the directions and decided to head there early sunday.

not far. only about an hour drive.

we couldn't find it.

we saw the boat ramp signs...2 of them...followed the arrows...

but no park. no lake.

finally, after about 45 minutes of riding back and forth down these country roads,

we stopped and asked a 'local'. well, he spoke spanish. he didn't understand english.

so i gestured...and spoke slowly & clearly...like that would make a difference.

he understood! but his directions were in spanish. we didn't have a translator handy.

gracias dude!  and we took off, smiling...nodding our thanks...

and hoping to find the lake!

drove the same roads AGAIN. nothing. stopped at a light,

we asked the guy in the truck next to us. yay! he told us how to get there!

we had driven right past the street earlier...oh, probably 8 times. 

but the sign was down due to road construction.

Suwannee Lake is 63 acres of man made lake. 

it was once a low lying swampy area with a creek running through it.  

the creek was dammed by the state to create

a 'stocked' public fishing area.  there's a boat ramp and 2 long wooden fishing piers

that extend out over the lake.  the water is very shallow over most of the lake...

and it's filled with logs...dead trees...from when the lake was flooded.

we saw an otter (no picture though...quick little critter!), LOTS of dragonflies

and turtles. actually it's a turtle paradise...all those logs for sunbathing!

we didn't see one alligator...which was a disappointment.  

BUT it was very cool!! relaxing. spectacular scenery. 

a little mysterious. and deserted...just how we like it. quiet. just nature sounds.

a lone cypress tree with spanish moss hanging

one of the piers with trees growing up through it. canopied by cypress.

two dragonflies!!

dead cypress trees standing tall in the middle of the lake

we spotted this 'sign' under water. could only decipher some of it

until we got the pic's onto the computer...

OLD AGE & TREACHERY Will Overcome YOUTH & SKILL

WEEEeeeeeeeeee....

"turtle to control tower"..."i'm coming in for a landing!"

you can see by these roots...just how LOW the water level is!!
the water is usually  HIGH above the roots!

the massive roots of the cypress trees.

swamp sunflowers

looking through a spider web...

hmmm...a swamp flower...

(added 10.18)  thanks to grammie g/Grammie's Rambling

...we now know this is a Water  Hyacinth!  :)

that's it! headin' home.

next time we'll come prepared to paddle around the lake!

oOo

before i go...wanted to give you an update on mr. bOnes.

he's resting...riding...hanging out & dangling from my rear view mirror!

mr bOnes with a VFW poppy

oOo

have a safe journey. enjoy the ride.

laura

the foggy moon.  10.12.2011    10:39pm

Weekends are a bit like rainbows; 

they look good from a distance but disappear when you get up close to them.  

~John Shirley