Keep A-Movin’, May Belle! He’s A-Lookin’ Hungry

Avert your eyes May Belle!  Don’t let him  stare you down!



Oh no! He’s a-givin’ us the evil eye!


RUN  MAY BELLE! He’s a-sellin’ wrist watches!


It Says “Fall” To Me

In the part of the world where I live, the seasons don’t always start and end according to the calendar.  Summer starts before Memorial Day and  lasts well past Labor Day. So how do we really know what season it is?

Here are some of the things that tell me Fall is arriving:

The cultivated Asters bloom.  They’re the end of my perennials.

That daily text I get from the radio station usually includes the word “rain”,

we’ll have the occasional “one-dog-night”,

 
 

and my Beasts take steps to insure their winter food supply.

(And start arranging their bedding just so.)

I get the urge to buy (and wear) soft, fuzzy things …

… and fuzzy things show up in my yard.


Scattered whispy and puffy clouds are replaced by massive flat-bottomed ones.

(Yes, I DO see a cat guarding its food dish in those clouds!)


 
 
 
 
 
 

We have the traditional changes in the foliage, but the light across the landscape also changes. (Maybe because of those flat-bottomed clouds?)  Distant buildings glow.

Summer plants succumb to frost and the mums are available to the stray bees

… surely Fall is arriving.

 
 
 

Time to pull out the trash can and cook some turkey!

(Bet you didn’t see that one coming!)

Framed!


Pretty Cat, Pretty Cat — A ‘Q & A’ Post

Pretty Cat, Pretty Cat, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?I’ve been in the cold yard — out in the snow.

Pretty Cat, Pretty Cat, what did you do?I  wanted to come in the house — with you!

Pretty Cat, Pretty Cat, where have you been?

I went exploring and got in the car.



Pretty Cat, Pretty Cat, did you go far?The car didn’t move … Oh!  There you are!

Pretty Cats, Pretty Cats,  where have you been?

We’ve been on the front porch looking at things.


Pretty Cats, Pretty Cats, what did you see?

We saw a black cat — what a beauty was he!

Pretty Cat, Pretty Cat, what did you dream?

I dreamed of adventure …

I dreamed of cooked meat …

(I dreamed that I sat

in the Driver’s Seat!)

Pretty Cat, Pretty Cat, Where will you be?

I’ll pounce on a leaf,

or hide in the grass.

I’ll sit in a flow’r pot

Waiting for you to pass

(and pet me!)

I’ll rest on the sidewalk

(under the flowers)

I’ll drink from the pond

left after the showers.

We’ll doze around backWhile your Beast keeps guard

I’ll lay on a tableKing of the Yard! (Roar)

I’ll bathe on the porch

I’ll find a warm bed


Use a pot for my pillow

Or sit on a sled.

So … Pretty Cat, Pretty Cat,

How was your day?I walked on the roof-topAnd played the Squirrel’s gameThen  checked out the new guy

(I don’t know his name.)I stared down a RascalGot me a nap,

I guess I will go nowIn search of a lap!

:~D (Hint, hint)

Faces of Fall

While hiking on the mountain one fall day, I kept noticing how many faces were formed in the beautiful, colorful leaves.  So many reminded me of the faces crafters put on ghosts and pumpkins — all sorts of Fall decor.  So I’ve developed a theory (that I suspect will never be proved or disproved).  I think that people long ago got their inspiration for fall faces from their natural surroundings.

I submit to you my evidence:

Here’s a classic ghostly face.

Could this sort of thing have been the inspiration for the concept of “stick a needle in my eye”?  (I don’t know how this leaf can look so jolly under the circumstances!)

Some faces are friendlier than others.  (They look better full screen.  Click to enlarge)

Whoa!  Hey!  Is this leaf OLD ENOUGH to be smoking?

There are leaves which sport multiple faces.  My favorite face on this one is the side that’s trying to eat the green leaf!

I also like The Elephant.

Check out the sweet-faced cutie on the bottom left!  She got formed by a leaf and its shadow!  (I like this one better enlarged, too.)

The Bear Came Over The Mountain! (Sometimes it’s a whole tree, not only one leaf.) Oh, my!  Now it’s looking more like a beaver head.

I have nothing to say. I just like this picture

There’s a wolf  howling in the center of this collage!

Moss squirrel head. (Moss is just densely-packed really short skinny leaves, right?) :~D

Do you see the faces?



Now?  Do you see them now?

What about now?

Now?

Well, what about the turtle?

So … there you have it.  Anything remind you of crafty faces in the 21st century?  They’re just about everywhere out there in my world!

 

Spider Tales — Part Two

The Mother of All “Oh.My.Goodness.” Spiders

So.  I had an hour to kill while the car dealer did his thing.  I’d seen a couple of yellow butterflies fluttering above the overgrown area just beyond the parking lot. I headed that way, camera in hand.
The butterflies were gone when I got there.

Not to worry, I was sure there were plenty of other things to train my lens on.  I was right, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see.

Discovered a Spit Bug's Lair. I've just found out that there's more to this bug than the Spit!

I noticed a rolled up leaf with some webbing. Hmm. Somebody must be in there.

Time for closer inspection.

Oh wow. It has legs, but I've never seen anything walking around with a bumpy rear like that!

The side view didn't yield much information. Another leg ...

I saw another leg poking out as I approached the front of the Leaf House.

Resting with a leg out. By now, I'd decided these were spider parts.

Guess I got too close. A leg shot out at me!

And the legs went back in. Whew! That was a close one!

A (blurry) face! Cute. Love the mustache!

I returned to the rear and got a better shot. Still curious about that bumpy back side!

My work done there, I turned my attention to a nearby flower.

Buds. What still hasn't bloomed?

THEN I saw her.

At over 2" long, The BIGGEST SPIDER I'VE EVER SEEN IN THE WILD. In the grass. IN my hometown!

And I noticed movement on her lumpy part.  BABIES!  A plethora of BABIES were crawling around on their Mama.  BABIES who would GROW UP!  In the grass!  IN my hometown!!!
A passing dragonfly (perhaps a damsel, I don’t know.) caught my attention, and I turned to fire off a few shots at it.
When I turned back, she was GONE!

Found her! Hiding under leaves that frame her quite nicely

I really hadn't been sure about the babies, but this shot proves that's what they are.

I turned away once more and she was GONE.
I took my sandal-shod feet to a spot about a yard away to continue my photo shoot.
I never did get to shoot the butterflies.  They reappeared as I was getting in my car to leave.  And I saw one at each of the 3 traffic lights on the way home. :~p
And the Mama Arachnid?  Wolf Spider.  She doesn’t look quite like the one that’s most prevalent in this area, but she’s a wolf spider for sure.  In the grass. IN my hometown!

Spider Tales — Part One

A Buttonbush, A Moth, And A Crab Spider (I think)

Background:
I bought a Buttonbush at a native plant sale.  Didn’t know where to plant it, so I potted it beside the porch steps.  The blooms weren’t especially showy, but they  attracted several really cool, very small, critters for me to take pictures of.  Thus, I learned to check it out every time I ascended or descended the steps.  A fading bloom of this bush provides the setting for this Tale.

Oh, look! A moth is resting on the Buttonbush today!

It's one of those bark-colored moths. Interesting head!

Poor thing, it's got a torn wing.

Wow! It looks like the moth is eating a spider!

I did the school drop and checked the bush when I got home.

No! The SPIDER's eating the MOTH! Wow. Never seen THAT before!

Getting ready to leave again, I checked on the moth once more.

Normal moth position. Maybe it wasn't breakfast after all!

I went down to ground level to investigate.

Oh my! An alien has comandeered the moth!

Yeee Haaawww!

Target in sight, Sir

Ahh. Guess the moth is being consumed after all. Looks like the work of a crab spider.