friday's fringe - 10 (nature's spiral)

a millipede seen at Florida's Torreya State Park 

every friday. one of my nature shots.

(sometimes, a 'morph' tossed in.)

caterpillars. a live hawk. and a dead crow.

before i get to the caterpillar invasion...

or even the dead crow for that matter...

have a look at this Red-shouldered Hawk silhouette shot.

sam pointed out the hawk sitting on the electric line...out near the road.

facing west. early evening. dark clouds rolling in.

he flew out of the shadows (the hawk, not sam), landing farther down the line. just for a minute.

and then he was gone. 

oOo

on to the caterpillars.

when it's just about dusk, and the birds are all snug in their nests...

and you're very quiet...

you can hear the caterpillars feasting in the trees.

really. it can be a bit disturbing.

this is what the TENT caterpillar builds. in the Oak trees.

when they emerge...they emerge hungry!

and those aren't the ONLY caterpillars, competing for food.

the Tussock Moth caterpillar is...right now...

EVERYWHERE. 

not only are they crawling all over...but they spin these sticky little cocoons around themselves.

wherever they feel inclined.

on trees, all over the porch, car tires, window sills...

i hate to admit it...

the critter lover that i am...

but i've been plucking them off the front porch.

NOT squishing them...but plucking & flinging...into the yard.

so.

you can hardly walk under the trees right now without something landing on your head.

now it's the caterpillars. soon it will be the spiders.

no entering the forest without a big stick to wave in front of your face.

so what keeps the caterpillars in check?

from taking over the world?

or at least from taking over florida...

the lizards. maybe the bats? birds. baby snakes perhaps?

and other critters & bugs that have an appetite for fat juicy caterpillars.

like this black and white wasp.

flying around the front porch, carrying something green.

quite a heavy load.

landing here and there...on the porch ceiling...trying to get a better grip.

it seemed like he was looking for something.

he was.

he found it.

his hidey hole in a wooden beam...a hole drilled by a Borer bee (or Carpenter bee), i think.

the perfect place to stash his meal.

oOo

now...about the crow.

on our way back down the drive...from seeing the hawk...

i spotted something kind of big and dark...like it was just hanging in a tree.

i thought it might be a big black plastic garbage bag that the wind tossed up there.

so i walked over for a closer look and to grab that bag down.

it was a crow.

it was creepy.

just hanging there...like it fell right out of the sky.

we have LOTS of crows.

lots of aggressive...noisy...crows.

i like them. except when they chase a hawk away.

then i wish the hawk would stop in mid flight...turn around...

and chase the crows back to the trees where they came from.

but to see this poor dead crow.  it was sad.

we left him there. for now.

oOo oOo oOo

i leave you with a curly-Q and thorn picture.

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”  

~Dr. Seuss 

~be cool. be safe.~

laura

Blooms. Bee. Butterfly. Birds...DAM!

thanks!

but, nope...i didn't paint this.

'gimp' did.  a (free) photo manipulation program.

 i turned it into an oil painting from one of my blooming Azalea pictures.

 cool, yeah!

the Azaleas are attracting bees and butterflies!

Orange-barred Sulphur

TWO Orange-barred Sulphurs

 that's not the ONLY TWO for ONE i've spotted this week...

a Pileated Woodpecker

 

TWO Pileateds!!

oOo

saturday we went for a drive to Rodman Reservoir...

one of the best DAM places in Florida for Largemouth Bass.

we wanted to check out the campground.

it was nothing special, but it'll do for a weekend of fishing sometime.

a Cormorant

(Snail...this one's for YOU...)

 

 Watching clouds roll by
on a sunny day
Who needs church?
Nature is divine.
~Carrie Latet

 a Great Blue Heron

(not 'gators floating in the background. the reservoir is on a draw down right now

and there are stumps & logs jutting out of what's left of the water!)

well, what do you know...

i actually captured a Bald Eagle flying away with his catch of the day!

blinded by the light...when sam said 'LOOK! an eagle!'

i pointed UP, crossed my fingers and...clicked!

a small piece of weathered wood

stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"can't you give me a little elbow room here! this wood's got to breathe!"

today is an errand day.

and tomorrow i have only one appointment in the morning.

SO,

between this afternoon and tomorrow...

i plan to enter blogland...and not leave until i have circled the world!

have a safe journey & stay cool.

laura

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss 

at the bottom of which 

you will always find forgiveness.  

~Honoré de Balzac

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

bugs, dewlaps, misspelled sign and a bone dOOdle!

(florida anise in front yard)

florida.

land of sunshine.

beaches.  swamps.  alligators.  sharks.  hurricanes.  orange juice.  tourists.
and bugs. lots of bugs. flying. crawling. burrowing. biting. sucking. stinging.

luckily, the caterpillar invasion has died down.

i'm not constantly plucking them off the porch or the front door anymore!

BUT,  i am sweeping their tiny cocoons off the side of the house...
from under the porch handrail...off the porch roof...off the windowsills.
otherwise, we will be setting ourselves up for

a second wave of the tussock caterpillar invasion.

an invasion i can live without.

the 'Anoles' aren't any help either. they don't dine on these hairy caterpillars.
in fact, i've seen the lizards do a detour around the caterpillars
when their paths cross.

BUT i know what DOES think these pesky caterpillars are yummy! 

at first i thought it was a stink bug...

then i saw one chewing on a tussock caterpillar!

ok, i thought.    THIS IS NO STINK BUG!

i started to do a little research...and realized it's some sort of Assassin Bug!

they lie in wait...

then STAB their unsuspecting prey with their proboscis (beak) 

and inject a toxin that dissolves tissue.

the assassin bug then dines on the other bug's liquefied tissue.

UGH!

 the young assassins are called Nymphs.

i spotted one on the Mock Orange bush.

OR this could be a wheel-bug nymph. it's a little confusing. 

so many types. so similar.

they're very small...

it's hard for me to get a good close-up picture with my camera.  

( want to see MORE bugs & pictures? check out this very cool site! )

i know...you're wondering how i could confuse the cute little stink bug

with the terrorizing Assassin bug??!!

well...here...take a look...not necessarily the color...

but the body shape...the legs!  keep in mind, there are many shapes & colors...

here's another stink bug...

i finally realized, the stink bug doesn't have that LONG nose...neck...mouth...whatever!

oOo

another couple of weird bugs seen close to home...

this is an Army Worm (on the front of the house)

here's a Sawfly Larvae...

and a Ladybug...

this butterfly is a Gulf Fritillary...

and this little one is a Horace's Duskywing...

here's a beauty-ful dragonfly!

((thanks sam! he took this picture!!))

"The rich mind lies in the sun and sleeps, and is Nature."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

oOo

on to the lizards. (one of my) favorite critters! the Anoles!

in my last post i showed pictures of two males fighting.  testosterone flying!

this time...i wanted to show the more lovable side of these little critters.

here they're each displaying their dewlaps...that skin hanging from under their necks...

which they stick out when they're trying to attract a female!

(on the roof)

(on the front porch)

(on the side of the house)

(on a tree)

(another on the side of the house)

and this guy. i have to give him credit. he's creative. not afraid to be different.

while ALL the males are using their dewlaps to attract a female...

this one thought he'd try a little pole dancing!

well, it's a lizard thing i guess.

and finally...what ALL the males are trying their hardest to accomplish...

(caught in the act! up on the roof!)

oOo

and lastly...another misspelled sign!

obviously, this is an Air Conditioning company.

cute name...catchy, eh?  it's COLD in the ARCTIC...not the ARTIC!

maybe the owner's name is Mr. ARTIC?  

i hope so.

"It's a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word!" 

~Andrew Jackson 

(when i have time...i'm going to make a page up there...just under the header...

where i'll post the misspelled signs as i run across them!)

oOo

OH YEAH...i almost forgot!!  i did another BoNE dOOdle!!

made with deer teeth  & vertebrae, raccoon & armadillo bones, and a small pig skull.

(begonia)

'til next time, stay cool.

have a safe journey & enjoy the ride.

:]laura

(and a final message...from Milo...)