wandering the well-worn paths...

this weekend we needed to take a break

from

working on the bathroom, laundry, raking winter's leaves, trimming dead limbs,

and all the other chores that fill up your time...when you're off work.

so while the burn barrel was smoldering

we put on our boots and headed out back...

wandering the well-worn paths.

well-worn by us...and all the other little critters that share the land.

milo follows us on our hikes...

making her way through the underbrush and climbing the downed trees.

at the edge of the wooded area we spotted the strangest

and coolest

looking caterpillar!

Catocala Badia

look at those cute little legs!!  and little pincers on it's tail end!

(underside) Catocala Badia

i had no idea the name of this caterpillar.

after looking online and through my Butterfly field guide...i was unsuccessful at ID'ing it.

it was time to send the pic's to my friend on FB who is a Moth expert.

*Genus: Catocala.  an Underwing moth!!*

time to carry a big stick...

to keep from walking face first into spiderwebs.

Crab spider

the woods out back are a mix of Pines, Oaks, Maples...

ferns, thorny blackberries, Virginia Willow, Fetterbush...

and so many other trees and plants that i wish i could name, but i can't.

i spotted this fuzzy caterpillar dangling from a fern.

 a not so lucky Tussock moth caterpillar

upon closer examination...it was being eaten by some smaller bugs.

the forest floor is so packed with peat moss that it's spongy.

peat moss, tree roots, downed trees and lots of thorny brambles...

makes for a sometimes difficult trek.

a jelly-like fungus on a downed tree limb

a huge yellow mushroom. at least a foot across!

sam spotted this nest, hanging from a limb on a small tree...about 5 feet off the ground.

peeking inside...one small lightly spotted egg.

we walked back out there just before dusk...hoping to see the mother bird.

we hid behind some trees...across the clearing...but it started to get too dark to see...

so we headed home.

i looked in my bird book, and think it might be a White-eyed Vireo.

they build these hanging type nests, 1-8 ft above ground...

and they like to hang out in thick brushy tangles, forest undergrowth and blackberry thickets.

grasshopper nymph...i think...anyone know for sure?

>>>i've said before...i'm not an expert at IDing stuff...

but biobabbler  thinks this little guy might be a katydid nymph...

not a grasshopper.  sounds good to me!!  thanks! :)

Polyphemus moth cocoon

in this same clearing where we saw the nest...we also saw some poop.

scat.  full of fur...and some small bones.

i may collect owl pellets...and dissect them for bones...

but the owl pellets are coughed up...that's ok.

i don't collect ANYTHING that comes out the OTHER end...

whether it has bones in it or not!!

i just take pictures.

possibly Coyote...or maybe Gray Fox scat.

in the early 1900's...in this area...in these woods...

they collected sap from the pine trees...for the turpentine industry.

we've come across the clay collecting pots while wandering the woods before.

i get SO excited when i see a portion of a clay pot sticking out from under the leaves and peat.

i spotted another one!

it's pretty rare to find one UNbroken.

i've even glued a couple of them back together...when all the pieces can be found.

not so lucky with this one. but we collected what we could unearth.

i'll put the larger piece in one of the flower beds.

(i did a post in Aug. of 2010 about these pots : ...into the woods )

we spotted a couple of areas where the deer bed down...

where the thickets are smashed down...and smoothed out.

other evidence of the deer...

White-tailed deer pelleted scat

we hear...and see...woodpeckers all the time.

the Pileated, Red-bellied, Red-headed...

but once in a while...we'll spot this little guy.

sorry for the blurry picture.

male Downy Woodpecker.

part of a snake skin on the ground

small pile o' mushrooms

the hummingbirds are back!

we've heard them buzzing around...and seen them dive bombing each other

for nectar competition.

i haven't taken any pic's yet, but i will.

the dragonflies are showing their cute little faces too!

this is the FIRST one i've seen this year!

more fungi 

well, it's ALWAYS nice to take a break from life's hectic times.

getting outside...breathing the fresh air...smelling the scent of nature...

swatting the mosquitoes, plucking off ticks, getting bit by yellow flies.

no, really...it's worth it.

i could EASILY give up everything. no phone. no computer.

sell the trailer. sell everything.

but then what?  it's not really feasible.

not nowadays.

you still have to have $$.

so i guess it's just a waiting game.
i hope social security still exists by the time we can retire.
i also hope i live that long.

Nature is the great nurse for tired minds. Let her have her way with you, and all will be well.  

~Herbert Pryke 

TWO Phaon Crescent butterflies on the tiny flowers of a Fleabane weed.

stay cool & be safe.
laura

*see you in blogland as i catch up during the week*

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

camping. snow flurries. ice. 2011.

...here's hoping everyone has a year filled with all good things!!

===============

little did we know...when we made our camping reservations...months ago...

that an extreme cold front would engulf the entire east coast for christmas!

freezing weather...

snow...in places where they rarely see any fluffy white stuff!

i say 'camping'...but you can get that picture of a tent out of your mind.

we're like a turtle. 

when we go camping...we carry our home on our backs!

(we have a slide-in camper...it sits in the back of the pick-up truck)

so on christmas we headed up to georgia for an unexpected...

colder than usual...winter vacation...

until new years.

anyway...we were hoping to see snow! and we did!

not enough for snowballs...snow angels...or snowmen...

but just enough to be mesmerized!

1st stop...George L. Smith State Pk - for 2 nights. this park sits on a

nice sized mill pond...filled with cypress and tupelo trees. there's a refurbished 

combination grist mill, saw mill, covered bridge and dam...built in 1880.
you can wander through the covered bridge/museum
and see the old tools...turbine & generator...and how everything worked...

((covered bridge/museum))

((view of the mill pond from covered bridge))

((the old turbine & generator))

christmas day. that's when we arrived at the park. 

and that's when it started to snow.

it got down to 18 degrees that first night...which isn't really THAT unusual 

since the temps sometimes dip that low where we live in florida.

it was the SNOW!

we loved it!

standing there, like little kids...

with our faces looking up...catching snow flakes on our tongues!

in the morning we realized we forgot to unhook the water hose...

from spigot to camper.

it froze.

we had to pack up the frozen hose...

next stop...Mistletoe State Pk.

luckily, by the time we got there...it had thawed enough 

so that sam was able to get the ice to blow out!

BUT FIRST...on the way to Mistletoe...
we passed through Wrens...

where a small Veterans' Memorial Park was in the center of town...

and this almost completely frozen fountain!

continuing on...we made another detour through Harlem, Georgia...

the birthplace of Oliver Hardy - of the famous team 'Laurel & Hardy'.

you can see glimpses of these two everywhere...

if you happen to be passing through...

stop in at the laurel & hardy museum...

very cool...jam packed with memorabilia!

whew! are you still there? still hanging with us?

...go ahead if you want...take a break...stretch...get a drink...

on to mistletoe park. 

driving down the road with snowy pine trees on both sides...

snow on roofs of cars and houses...what a sight!

but by the time we reached the park...the snow had pretty much melted away.

just bits of ice here and there.

our campsite was lake side...Clark's Lake. facing east. 

beautiful sunrises. gaggles & gaggles of canadian geese. 

shimmering ice along the water's edge...looking like miniature stalagmites.

we hiked...along the trails through the woods...

along the shoreline...

and as the crunchy icy shore...began to melt...

our shoes started getting stuck.

my feet started feeling heavy.

they were getting sucked into the mushy muddy georgia red dirt.

(ooooh! my aching quads! miles of hiking...

i had to remind sam...for every step he takes...i have to take 2! 

hey! i'm not complaining...just realizing i have to get out and ride my bike more!)

we weren't the only ones getting stuck in the muck...

((raccoon))

((deer))

well, we didn't actually SEE a raccoon...

or a deer...just evidence of their presence...

their footprints...and poop. 

((yes! poop! sometimes taking pictures of SCAT (or footprints) 

and then looking it up later...

is the only way to ID what critters are in the neighborhood!!))

besides the constant honking of the geese...

we also heard an occasional woodpecker. 

we could tell by the sound of the 'pecking' 

that this was NOT one of  the usual woodpeckers we have at home. 

it wasn't a pileated, red-bellied or red-headed woodpecker.

luckily...we finally spotted it...

and lucky enough to get a picture before it flew away!

it's a female Downy Woodpecker!

well...got back home late yesterday.

much to get caught up on. emails. blogs to read. laundry...

pack away the christmas decorations...

i  just wanted to get this 'out there' while it was all still fresh in my mind.

i also took LOTS of pictures of fungi...and weathered wood...

THAT will be my NEXT POST!

OH! almost forgot...milo! she was such a good little camper!

in the not too crowded campgrounds...we were able to let her out.

she stays right there...in our campsite.

so...that's it for now. a whole week crammed into one post!

i hope it wasn't too much wandering...all at once...

today is the start of a new year!

have a happy one!!

We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  

We are going to put words on them ourselves.  

The book is called Opportunity 

and its first chapter is New Year's Day.  

~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

take care. stay cool.

laura  :]