arachnids and dragons

today. sunday. the dark clouds were rolling in.

looking west, at the end of our drive...across to the field where
we pick the wild blackberries

i really needed a break from all this sitting at the computer...

and trying to catch up on blog reading.

i needed fresh air.

but the mosquitoes are still monsterous...and still have an appetite that is never satisfied.

i didn't care.  i needed out.

i had to hurry though because the sky was about to open up.

thunder was rolling in the distance.

sam told me about a spider he spotted earlier this morn...so i went to find it...

on the side of the house...a pretty good sized web!

here she is, up close.

Yellow Garden Orbweaver  (Argiope aurantia)

she's perfecting her zipper stitch.

on the other side of the house...was this dangling egg case.

i'm not sure which spider it belongs to.

and here's the really cool Green Lynx spider!

ok, i better hurry this up...power just blinked out...lost my internet...

up and running again.

and now for a few DRAGONflies!!

ONE of my FAVORITES...in the bug family.

“Even  when  muddy  your  wings  sparkle  bright  wonders  that  heal  broken  worlds.”  

~Aberjhani, The River of Winged Dreams

i think they knew the rain was not far off.

flying around...always coming back to rest in the same spot.

just like the mushrooms...we have a wide variety of these dragons!!

time to go run through the mud...and the rain.  :)

i leave you with this moon shot...

two days ago, the 27th of july at 9:44pm

“We are all like the bright moon, we still have our darker side.”     

~Khalil Gibran

stay cool. be safe.

laura

creepy & crawly. halloween. skulls & bones

"Let go. Be afraid. You all taste so much better when you're afraid."  

(Stephen King's "It")

this year's halloween post is bursting at the seams with this past year's pictures of 

snakes, spiders, found skulls & bones.

fitting for a creepy day. or night.

but first...step inside...just a quick visit...

pumpkin  2008

pumpkin from '07

pumpkin '10

OH!  THERE YOU ARE!!

thought i lost you...

let me clear this...uh...red stuff from the mirror...

and you can follow me outside.

just watch your step...
and don't forget to pick up a stick...to wave in front of you...
so you don't get wrapped up in spider webs!

the poisonous CORAL snake...in our yard yesterday!

Golden Orb Weaver (banana spider), tight rope walking upside down (taken july. 2010)

BONES in the field & woods...

“When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth.”   

Dawn of the Dead (1978) 

juvenile Black Racer  (september. 2010)

adult Black Racer  (june. 2010)

“A boy’s best friend is his mother.”  

Norman Bates, Psycho (1960) 

i've come to learn that i'm not the only one who

(even after bolting all the doors, and checking them twice)

has to steal peeks from around the shower curtain

and wash the soap from my face in a frenzy...

when i'm home alone...showering!

Orb Weaver spinning her web only at night. front porch. (november. 2010)

dew covered spider web. halloween 2010

“Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep.”   

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 

more...BONES...

raccoon hand. found just like this. (september. 2010)

DID YOU REMEMBER TO WAVE THAT STICK?     (june. 2010)

“That cold ain’t the weather, that’s death approaching.”   

30 Days of Night (2007) 

a Moccasin crossing the road...from the field to our place.   (july. 2010)

an Argiope spider spotted on the side of the house.   yesterday.

^^((get a load of those RED LEGS!!  they look like they're FILLED WITH BLOOD!!))^^

Florida Banded Water Snake (Nerodia Fasciata Pictiventris)  in backyard. (october. 2011)

^^(that water snake up there, showed up while i was out back...digging up the earth,
looking for the 'possum bones...remember??  the buried 'possum?!)^^

squirrel skull found in woods.  (september. 2010)

while cleaning out the shed last week...my latest skeleton finds...

a Green Tree frog & two Anoles

the HOLY web.  or is it HOLE-EEeeek!!  taken a year ago yesterday.  (10.29.10)

"...enough already.

no more snakes, bones, spiders...pleeeeease!"

ok. ok.  but i have MORE!!  

alright. i give up. 

i love halloween...and i just couldn't NOT do my part!

“Hallo. Vould you like a roll in ze hay?”   

Mel Brooks'  'Young Frankenstein' (1974) 

have a creepy day. 

but be safe!

laura

“It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.”   

Halloween (1978) 

(if you haven't had enough...be sure to check out my 'macabre page'  for more quotes & graphics)

from clouds to the moon with mr. bOnes

aaaaaaah. big sigh.

they're out of the box.

sitting on the mantel...making their presence known.

each year at this time...when Mr  bOnes comes out of the closet...

he likes to go outside and explore with me.

he's your average happy-go-lucky skeleton.

i mean...just look at that permanent grin plastered on his face!

he NEVER frowns!

when we got outside...the first thing Mr BoNES wanted to do

was lie down on the ground...and look up at the sky.

DO YOU SEE WHAT WE SAW?!!

a bunny with his ears missing!

he then spotted a 'green lynx' spider on the front porch...

and then a garden  'argiope spider' clinging to her rain & wind battered web...

Mr bOnes likes to climb trees. after all he's only 8½ inches tall.

so now and then he likes to get a different view on things.

here, he's using woodpecker holes as his foot holds.

from up there he spotted this earth star fungi...

and this Buckeye Butterfly.

by now old BoNES is starting to poop out! 

nothing worse than watching a skeleton drag himself across the ground...

so he found a nice spot, and while he rests...i'll go look for more cool stuff.

What did the skeleton say to the bartender?

I'd like a beer and a mop! 

(HIS joke...not mine...)

Blue Mist (should be named Lilac Mist) (after the rain), a florida native

a skinny little green Anole/lizard

lichen growing all along the roots of a dead tree

this next wildflower took me hours to try and identify.
in fact...i never did...i ended up emailing the picture to one of the blogs i follow...
Growin' Wild - Florida Natives
they were kind enough to ID it for me!!

Desmodium Tenuifolium

i lOve this little delicate flower!!  the color! the detail! it looks like a tiny face.

Desmodium Tenuifolium

OK...here he is...BoNES is back...just in time to say Bye!

look at him, will ya'. he's climbed into one of my bone baskets.

that doesn't surprise me. i bet he feels at home there!

so we leave you with a parting moon shot.

no, don't worry...you can uncover your eyes...

we're NOT going to MOON you.

moon shot taken on 10.06.2011   7:46pm

tonight the moon is 98% lit!!

There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.  

~George Carlin 

By The Way...if you're into...uh...creepy graphics...

check out my NEW page up there...when you have time.

'a little macabre'

have a good week. stay safe.

laura