giving in to the moon

it's been getting down to the high 30's/low 40's the past couple of nights.

staying pretty much in the 60's during the day.

(yay! flannel shirt weather! i love it!)

darkness lasting longer in the morning...

and coming earlier in the evening.

moon shadows.

daytime bugs & critters take advantage of the sun's warm rays.

flowers are still blooming...

butterflies are still feeding

Gulf Fritillary on Blue Mist

there are still plenty of dragonflies

lizards & frogs soaking up the sun's warmth

a lone mushroom not ready to give in to the cooler weather

 and now...the moon.  

giving in to the power of the magical moon. 

5:04am  -  oct 30 2012

‎"Have you ever danced with the Devil by the pale moon light? I always ask that of all my prey." 

~Joker

doesn't it look like the moon is wearing a pine needle hat...

5:07am  -  oct 30 2012

oOo

inspired by the moon and the skeleton trees of winter...

here's a note card i painted with acrylics...

enjoy the scents of nutmeg or mint

the taste of apples, nuts & wine

the feel of smooth black stones, obsidian or jet

the colors of black, orange, white, silver or gold

black cats, bats & jack-o-lanterns

dark mysteries

deadly nightshade, mugwort, sage, mandrake, oak leaves

celebrating the lives of those that have died...family, friends, pets.  the spirits of the dead. darkness~fire~hope~new dreams~new beginnings~out with the old~in with the new

Happy Samhain  ~  Happy Halloween

stay cool & be safe

especially those who have been dealing with the wrath of Sandy...

my thoughts are with you.

laura

isn't ~may~ over yet?

"The journey is the reward."

~Tao proverb

i think it's been a week since i've been out here...

floating through cyberspace.

maybe it's been a couple of weeks.

maybe a month...it sure feels like it!

my sciatica problem was about 99% gone...(totally healed now as i write this),

when my lower, right side jaw began to ache.  throb.

i woke up one morning looking like a chipmunk

and in way too much pain.

i drove to the nearest emergency walk-in clinic and left with a prescription

for antibiotics and another for an anti-inflammatory...

and a diagnosis of an abscessed tooth.

but until the medication coursed through my body...

the swelling & pain kept getting worse.

i thought my jaw would burst.

i cancelled all my appointments.

i did nothing.   nada.   zilch.

i'm ok now.  well, sort of.

i have an app't (fear!) with a dentist (fear!) tuesday afternoon (fear!) for them to take a look.

while my jaw swelling was subsiding

and the throbbing became bearable...

i got a call from the mother of one of my clients.

i figured she was calling to set up a massage for her daughter...like she does each month.

nope.

she called to tell me that ginny had died that morning.

~WHAT?!!~

i thought i misunderstood her.

i've been seeing ginny for about eight years. 

in the beginning, she was getting massage therapy once a week.

then we went to twice a month.

and for the past few years i've seen her once a month.

ginny was 29. she lived in a Group Home. she had Cerebral Palsy.

that morning, the staff got her out of bed and into her wheel-chair.

she complained of back pain.

she complained of not being able to breathe. 

the staff called 911 and ginny's mother.

ginny had a seizure. then a heart attack.

she passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital...of yet, a second heart attack.

ginny was such a happy-go-lucky person.

always wanting to please.

always wanting to help.

and always wanting to talk about her boyfriend problems...and eager for advice.

she loved anything Sponge-Bob...and could recite line by line...all the Harry Potter movies.

she had a contagious smile.

although she needed assistance with some of her daily activities...

she was always bubbly & wanting to do whatever she could...for herself...and others.

once ginny crossed your path...she had claim to a piece of your heart.

it was a shock.

but i know that wherever her spirit is...she runs free...

on legs that were never able to hold her upright independently.

she's probably rolling around in a field of wildflowers...laughing...

and playing with her dog who recently passed away.

ginny was her mother's joy & light.

i feel for her.

she is missed...by all those who had the pleasure of being touched by her.

this candle is in remembrance of ginny's life.

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.    

~Thomas Campbell, "Hallowed Ground"

it's still the month of May.

saturday morning, sam & i were going to pick wild blackberries 

from the field across the road.

but there were a couple of wild fires not too far away...

and the air was thick with smoke and un-breathable.

so, i decided to head into town and do some grocery shopping.

when i pulled into the parking lot...and parked...

my car wouldn't shut off.

the key wouldn't turn.

so i drove back home...

but even sam, who is a mechanical genius, couldn't get the key to turn in the ignition.

back to town.

hoping the chevy place was open...being a holiday weekend.

whew.  they were open.  and i found out there was a recall for the faulty ignition.

so after a two hour wait, i was good to go. my car was good to go...

and my wallet wasn't any lighter!

oOo

i've decided i can't keep up with my newly developed plans for both a 

Friday Fringe and Morphing Monday posts.

...eenie meanie miny mo...

friday fringe it is...with a morph tossed in now and then.

(oops. power outage. thunder rolling in.

 tropical storm, winds & rain heading in our direction.)

SO, i ask again...isn't May over yet?

i'm looking forward to june...and a full moon.

oOo

remember...reflect...and honor...

all the soldiers that have died while serving our nation.

a happy memorial day to those in the usa.

be cool. stay safe.

laura

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, 

and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.  

~Emily Dickenson

fueling the fauna & flora...

with rain.

yesterday afternoon dark clouds started rolling in.

we heard a light drizzle on the skylights and metal roof...

then all of a sudden, a loud crack of thunder and the sky opened up!

it hasn't stopped.

Never run in the rain with your socks on.

~Greenday

can you feel my guilt?   if i could send this rain to other parts of the country...

other parts of  the world...where they're in desperate need...you know i would!

 

 where i live in north central florida 

we have only hit the triple digit temp...as in

"FEELS LIKE 104".

hot & muggy. 

you step outside...immediately start to sweat...and there's no breeze 

to help the sweat cool you off.

but at least we're getting the rain!

soaking into the parched ground without delay.

all the little critters come out to wet their dry mouths.

the plants seem to grow overnight...and the mushrooms just keep popping up.

i've been seeing a lot more young lizards scampering around...

and nymph grasshoppers munching away on the hibiscus.

===

 

the cicada, in its final nymphal stage, sheds its skin...

and emerges as an adult.

  

a mushroom saving some rain water...

 a baby anole

 

a juvenile 'five-lined skink'

you can see how little these skinks are...next to the acorn.

 

even though you can tell this is a baby skink...

the bright blue tail also means that it's a youngster.

a grasshopper nymph

 

i'm not really sure what type of lichen these are 

growing out the sides of the old stump.

 a tiny katydid nymph

 

 a 'gulf fritillary'

i THINK this is a 'fiery skipper'

 

uh.  a mushroom on a mushroom.   tier upon tier.   cauliflower lichen?!  :)

The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.

~John Muir

AND NOW...i was planning to save this for next time.

but i just can't wait.

that old instant gratification gnawing at me.
share.share.share. now.now.now.

we have nests of Red-shouldered Hawks all around the yard.

this very vocal forest dwelling  hawk...

can be seen and heard all day long.

the young ones dart back and forth in the sky...like they're playing tag.

saturday, we were lucky enough to spot this one out back.

but the back door was closed...as usual.

we carefully slid it open...and the hawk seemed not to care that we were there.

 

 

sunday...just before the rain came storming in...

i went out back to see if i could find any feathers.

 OOOoooooooh.   AAAAaaaaaaaaah.

that's it for now.  

have a delightful day and a week of wonder.

be safe.

 :] laura

Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.  

~John Muir 

yard critters and more of that fungus-amungus!

this past week we've had rain almost every afternoon...

which  is a little unusual. 

the towns along the coast get rain almost every day...

but not us.

even if rain is in the forecast...it doesn't always make an appearance.

we can be watching the weather scan...

and it shows big blotches of green all over us...

but...then...what happened? where did it go? did  it just split and go around us?

did it evaporate before it hit the ground?

anyway...what i'm saying is that for us to have rain every day

is not the norm.

but i love it. i love the rain. i love a good thunderstorm.

earlier in the week...one evening...sam & i heard this loud tapping sound...

on the roof.  we have a metal roof and a couple of skylights...

it sounded as if someone was throwing golf balls.

we looked at each other & instantly we knew.

with surprise and recognition...we said in unison

"HAIL!"

that was the first time I'D seen hail  since i moved to

florida in '87.  come to think of it, that was probably the first time

i'd seen hail since i left NY in '74.

 well, a year or two after i moved to florida...when i lived farther south

in the tampa area...plant city actually (the strawberry capital!)...

i  awoke one morning to this fluffy white stuff covering everything!

icicles hanging from the carport and trees!

i ran outside and started to make snow angels in the front yard.

no, i'm just kidding...there wasn't THAT much snow.

everything was frozen. even the water pipes.

but let me get back to the here and now.

i haven't had to drag the water hose around...for about a week now!

mother nature has been giving me a break.

with all this humidity & wetness...

everything is growing like crazy. 

flowers blooming. 

(purple passion flower with it's fruit just over it)

 (inside a Day Lily)

the butterflies & dragonflies are flying around 

with permanent smiles pasted on their tiny faces.

 

and if i'm happy. if the butterflies & the dragonflies are happy.

then the  lizards are happy too!

 (Anole proudly displaying his dewlap)

 (Fence lizard)

even the squirrels are elated because 

they don't have to wait for me to fill their water bowls!

besides all the little yard critters...

one of my favorite things to spot...are mushrooms, lichen, fungus, moss!

each is so unique.

i've done a few posts on these  wondrous plants...but i can never get enough!

i can't help but take pictures of all of them!

don't worry...i'm not going to upload them all.

and unless you know your mushrooms...i'd advise you not to taste any!

 

 (twins!)

 

have you had enough?  just a few more...

 (siamese twins!)

(taste tested...no, not by me...)

(pushing its way up through the ground...thanks to all the rain.)

that's it. OH yeah...

just a couple of stubborn leaves i saw on the ground...

that have just flat out refused to lose their  bright Fall colors!

(fine by me.)

thanks for wandering through...and for NOT eating the mushrooms.

~have a safe journey & enjoy the ride~

:]  laura