dragonflies and fungi. oh, and two dead bats.

last week sam & i watched this show about dragonflies  (suborder Anisoptera).

did you know that fossils of very large ancestors of the dragonfly have been found...

with a wingspan of over 29 inches!?  yikes!  i didn't.

did you know that there are about 3000 species of Anisoptera?  nope,  sure didn't.

up to several years of the insect's life is spent as a nymph living in freshwater; 

the adults may be on the wing for just a few days or weeks. 

dragonflies are an ancient group. they have been around for 300 million years!!

wOw!!!

all of this and more, interested me so much...and since i have such a fondness for bugs (and fungi!)...

i thought i'd go on the hunt for some cool dragonflies and fungi.

Four-spotted Pennant - Brachymesia gravida

earth star

Antillean Skimmer - Orthemis sp

Great Pondhawk - Erythemis vesiculosa

here's a Great Pondhawk munching away on...a butterfly? another dragonfly? something!

Seaside Dragonlet - Erythrodiplax berenice

Eastern Pondhawk - Erythemis simplicicollis

well, that's it!

oh yeah, i almost forgot...the bats!  dead bats.

sam knows me. no doubt about that. forget flowers. chocolates. just bring me some bones!!

(he found these at work. they were caught up in the big roll down warehouse door. poor bats.)

i'll be roaming around blogland this weekend...until then,

thanks for stopping by & reading, or just looking at the pictures!

be cool.  be safe.

laura

f u n g i

by  now you know

i'm alive & well.

it's been over a year since i posted...

(excluding my 'test' post a couple of days ago)

and since i visited any other blogs.

SO
here i am,

easing my way back into blogland.

thought i'd start off with one of my favorite things... 

FUNGI!

it's been a little on the cool side here in north florida.
(this past month it's gotten down to the low 20's at night!!
there have been times when the temp barely reached 40°F during the day!)

no lizards, bugs, snakes...they're all hiding, waiting for the warmer sunny days.

even the birds are scarce.


otis (1 ½ yrs old now) likes to follow me around

while searching for...well...anything!

we both decided it was a fungus kind of day!

stay cool & be safe
laura

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”

~Albert Einstein

hawk.bones.fungi.lizard.spider. and emo.

since i'm trying to

balance

my time better...in 2013...i'm not online as much.

(perhaps driving travis to the day labor place by 5:45 each morning...waiting, and then taking him to the job site...

that may have a little to do with it also, since that was my usual computer time...EARLY!)

anyway,

i want to wander more.

be more creative with my hands.

take more pictures.

spend more time reading books.

so

here's a week crammed in to one post.

and that's a lot of cramming, i even cut it back!!

while we had the 'little climber' outside

i could hear the crows causing a ruckus.

i knew right away what they were up to.

they were trying to chase something away.

i found them...in the same tree with a Red-shouldered hawk.

doing their best to scare the hawk away.

but he held firm.

the crows didn't win that day!  yay!

~~O~~

i found some more bones...already pretty clean...thanks to mother nature.

and dug up some deer bones. still need to be cleaned & sanitized before i can decorate them.

~~O~~

the weather's been very strange.  freezing one day,  up to 80 the next.

the azaleas have buds, some of the lantana & blanket flower haven't stopped blooming...

and the mini daffodils are in full bloom!

i hope winter isn't gone for good.  that would be depressing.

assorted fungi is still popping up too.

fuzzy-wuzzy

mushroom colony

and a HEART 'shroom...

or a BUTT 'shroom...

however you happen to see it!

~~O~~

FENCE lizard spotted in the side yard, soaking up some sun.

now let me zoom in...crop...and take a look at the iridescent blue underside!

ooooooooh...aaaaaaah!!

~~O~~

here's a cool little spider...out back...between a couple of trees.

i've never seen one like this before!

it's a Triangle Orbweaver!!

~~O~~

bare with me.

no, no...you don't have to take your clothes off...

i mean, BEAR with me!

just a couple of more things.  i know, this is all a lot to absorb.

i guess if i had the time to sit and do this looong post, i could have divided it up into many

and just scheduled them to post every few days, eh?

but then i wouldn't have to time to visit your blogs in return, during the week.

just put up with me...for a another coupla minutes!  thnx!

besides working with bones...and doing a little sandblasting now and then...

and making window hangers with butterfly wings...and occasionally clay mushrooms...

i want to be a better watercolorer!!

is that a word?

i want to learn to use watercolors.  i love how they look.  how the colors blend.

i mentioned how i want to spend more time being creative with my hands.

so

this past week i've been fooling around a little.

playing...with pen & watercolors.

i have A LOT to learn, i know.

this weird tree, and uh...ground spiders?? bushes??  was blowing air through straw at blob of india ink. ha.

~~O~~

AND NOW,

last but not least...

it was emo's birthday on the 6th!!

he was FOUR MONTHS OLD!!!

~happy birthday emo!~

here's a good shot to show how high he climbs!!

look at that loooong neck...

i remember when mine was that long...

(te-he)

ok.

that's it.

i'm outa here.

back on tomorrow...before dawn...for more catch up and cyber-space travels!

take care & be safe.

laura

friday's fringe 26 ~ more from mr bOnes

(reminder - mr bOnes is hosting october's 'friday's fringe'.)

mr bOnes is not very good with all this technology stuff,

so he's basically just posing for the pictures 

and letting me know which ones to post.

mr bones does a lot of pointing with those bony fingers.  
sign language of the dead.
he's kind of hard to understand.  he's like a ventriloquist.
his lips don't move when he speaks.

'friday's fringe' is normally just ONE,  maybe TWO pictures...

but this october,   nothing is 'normal'.

all year mr bOnes sits up there on the mantel, riding the back of a gargoyle.
this is about the only time of the year he gets down and does some wandering.

so this month he can get away with anything!
well, almost anything!

since he's much lower to the ground than i am...being only 9" tall...

he sees things from a different perspective.

the first thing he spotted was this deer impression in the driveway's dirt-

then, he noticed this fungi growing on a downed tree...

which we have a lot of around here.

he can't wait 'til we light up the burn barrel...

he's such a pyro!!

when he spotted this patch of tiny mushrooms...

he was so over-joyed, he started doing cartwheels & headstands!!

and then he gobbled them all up.

he was stuffed.

he wanted to rest.

so we headed toward the front door...stopping in the garden by the front porch.

"i believe i'll just hang out here 'til next friday.  screw the mantel!"

thanks for stopping by...on

lk  and mr bOnes

“Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep.”

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

hallowed be thy moon & bones, fungi & spiders

2012.9.30  -  9pm

“Suddenly the day was gone, 

night came out from under each tree and spread.”   

~Ray Bradbury, The Halloween Tree

my favorite time of year.

the month with my favorite holiday!

on the 1st of october...skeletons, skulls, goblins, spiders, and other creatures of the night...

start to appear on shelves, counter tops, on the mantel, 

and creeping across the floor...of our home.

some bargain with me to stay out all year long.

it's that time of year to reflect. to remember those who have passed.

out with the old...move on...start anew.

autumn to winter.  the cool crisp clear air.  

the fiery hues of leaves...falling & crunching under foot...leaving behind skeleton trees.

i get energized. rejuvenated.

SO

to welcome october

i thought a little spiders, fungi, bones & the full moon would be about right!

ALL the spiders & fungi were spotted here...around our home...

outside that is!

enjoy!

oh, i know, some of you stopping by don't care for spiders.

don't worry...they can't jump off the screen at you...

and crawl up your face...into your hair.

at least i don't think so!!

Redfemured Spotted Orb Weaver
Neoscona domiciliorum

the underside of the Eriophora ravilla Orb Weaver   (twinkle lights on porch year round)

Golden Silk Orbweaver (Nephila clavipes)

snake bones found yesterday on the side of the road
while we were out on the 4-wheeler

Whitebanded Fishing Spider (Dolomedes albineus)

Yellow Garden Orbweaver (Argiope aurantia)

and one more full moon from last night to bring on october!

8:54pm    2012.9.30

stay cool.  be safe.

laura