native blooms & critters...

 

my 'ironweed' is blooming!  yay!

it's a florida native...and over the past few years, i've decided to treat my

gardens with a 'survival of the fittest' attitude.  

i used to cover everything in the winter 

when it dropped to freezing or below.  not anymore. 

when i'm looking for a plant or two to add to the yard,

i now tend to go for native...the ones that can survive the summer & winter

on their own...plants that will invite butterflies 

and provide food for caterpillars.

 

'red spotted purple'

  

blue-eyed grass

if it's a native...

then it's sure to attract all the little local critters!

 'long tailed skipper'

 'anole'

black-eyed susan

 if it's a weed...if it has little flowers...

if those flowers attract the butterflies...then it stays!

 

'gulf fritillary'

the native plants help to conserve water once established...

and they provide food & shelter for all the little critters.

 the magical dragonfly

 

'buckeye'

of course,  if you have the butterflies...then chances are...

there's a caterpillar or two hanging out somewhere nearby!

 

above: 'checkered skipper' caterpillar

below: a 'checkered skipper'

beauty berry

 

a  'fiery skipper'

'hackberry'

 

i hate to leave a question mark here...but i searched...and can't be sure!

maybe...an 'army worm' caterpillar?

 

 

'clouded skipper'

butterflyweed

'gulf fritillary'

 oOo

well, that's a wrap!

 

literally.

some thing has rolled itself up in a fern leaf...and it looks as though

it's about ready to unroll...and fly...

have a safe journey & enjoy the ride!

laura

preview...next time...

crystal rainbows

 

and a BIG THANK YOU to

 lorna @ Artymess

AND

 

cindy @ Bug Safari

oh, and maybe some spiders and mushrooms and owls,

OH MY!

gotta get to an early appointment...will play catch-up later!
:) lk

quick nature fix & signage!

 

speck of dirt trapped in rain drop.

the past few days has been hot. sweltering. 97 but feels like 150.

the weekly forecast they showed last sunday was for isolated

thunderstorms every day. nope. wrong again.

i shouldn't complain though, because we've had more rain than usual.

 i can't get enough of these BIG BRIGHT PINK hibiscus flowers! 

  

it's just a little too hot to be doing anything outside during the day.

 

it's kind of a drag...leaving a client's home...me, a little over-heated...

getting into my car that's been sitting in the sun for 2 hours...

only to grab a nice refreshing drink from my water bottle, 

and have it scorch the inside of my mouth.

*just kidding*  although that has happened...

now i try to remember to grab a frozen water bottle before i head out!

 

if you were to give this following mushroom picture a title...

what would it be?

 uh...do these leggings show off my figure, or what!?

(is it just me...or does anyone else see...a...crotch...)

oOo

on my way home the other day i saw another misspelled sign.

at a church.

i did a U-ey...and got it!

FIRST,  let me say that i NEVER saw ARCHAEOLOGY 

spelled like it is in this sign!

BUT when i got home & looked it up...it seems that ARCHEOLOGY  

is acceptable!

WHY are there 2 different spellings?

check out the Society  for American Archaeology!

it has to do with the 'ae' being a diphthong...or connected letters...

in the original spelling of ARCHAEOLOGY.  

in the late 1800's the US Government Printing Office decided to eliminate

the ligatured 'ae'...and it was simplified to an 'e'...

for ease of pronunciation & spelling.

it is rumored that for some Archaeologists, the two spellings 

symbolize competing aspects of the field.

social science vs humanist.

ANYWAY, it just didn't look right...and it was kind of interesting to read about it.

click the link up there under the picture if you want to know more.

OK, so what about this one?

isn't BUDDA  spelled  BUDDHA?

(maybe it's the chinese way of spelling it?!)

thanks for dropping in...

stay cool (literally!)  have a safe journey & enjoy the ride.

laura