Because a Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans)
 perched atop the hummingbird feeder during his portrait session …
the Hungry Hummingbird had to wait its turn.
As The Session continued,Â
the Big Furry Beast had to Entertain Himself,
and three Young Tomatoes
met their Untimely Demise.
True Story.
The End.
:~)
While I was dumping dirt out of a large urn . . .
. . . an American Toad (Bufo americanus) appeared on the ground in front of me.
He/she was not amused.
He/she thought that dirt looked familiar.
A quick sniff by Aslan …Â
… and The Toad was back in the pot.
It started with a wig.
A curly black afro wig that Margaret needed for an English Class project.
Parke & I searched, and found it in the closet.
I had her don the wig so I could take her picture.
Then, we added the headband.
THEN, Vincent joined in on our fun …
 First, we decided that he needed a bit of Sprucing Up.
Next, we purloined some Headwear from a few Stuffed Monkeys (& a Chubby Alien)
This allowed us to transform Vincent into:
 A Chef …
… and a Rhino both Mysterious and perhaps a bit Sinister!
We raided the bedroom that belonged to Somebody Who Wasn’t Even In Town.
Oh, the Props we found there! Now we could tell The Story of The Sweet Dreams:
“Vincent’s Grammy always told him that if he’d sleep on a Peppermint, he would have Sweet Dreams.
As he slept, A Mysterious (and perhaps a bit Sinister) Skeleton crept up on him.
But OOPS! The Skeleton’s arm fell off before he could Do His Mischief.”
(SWEET! )
Vincent gave this Tale One Thumb Up
No … no … he gave it TWO Thumbs Up! (Wow) Â :~)
He wore a silly Bunch ‘O Bugs
on his head …
 … and wept with despair over his chances of ever winning The Algebra Award.
As a matter of fact, we decided Vincent felt like quite the Dunce when he thought of his lack of Abilities In Math.
(It’s so hard to wield a calculator when you’re shaped like Vincent!)
But we weren’t finished with Vincent yet!
We wanted pictures of Prince Vince.
 
… and Vincent,
the Exotic Dancer,
playing a Yellow Guitar …
We chewed Gum and cut Teeth and rounded up some Bling (and a Belly-Dance Skirt) for shots of Vincent’s Flashier Side.
… turned him into The Rhino In The Bubble …
…brushed his teeth …
Â
… landed The Bluebirds Of Happiness in The Wig …
… put our toys away …
… and went to bed.
The End
Vincent Van ‘No had lived In Town for several months when he decided that it was time to meet some of his Fellow Beasts.  He’d heard wonderful things about a Swanky Place located on the West-Hand side of  The City — The Watering Hole.
Still a bit embarrassed about his recent ear-ectomy, Vincent donned his
Best Hat
(which was quite fashionable back in The Jungle)
and skipped off for his Adventure.Â
When he got to The Watering Hole, the first thing Vincent noticed was that
NOBODY Â who was going in was wearing a hat.
(He stashed his in a nearby bush.)
The Watering Hole was a lively place, full of Colorful Characters from every species!
Vincent, who had always thought of himself as Very Gregarious, found himself Shy and Awkward in this setting — in fact, the term “Wall Flower” repeated itself in his head like a Scratched CD! :~þ
Just when Vincent was Thoroughly Disgusted with his Own Behavior,
a Cute Little Monkey offered him a bite of her banana.
Although he politely declined the Banana Bite,
the proverbial Ice Was Broken and Vincent found a New Friend in The Cute Little Monkey.
Eventually, The Cute Little Monkey was called away, but by then, Vincent had re-gained His Confidence and decided to strike up A Conversation with The Hippo.
While not quite as Colorful a Character as some of The Other Beasts, The Hippo was Kindly and Gracious and he and Vince exchanged email addresses.
All in all, Vincent had a Wonderful Evening at The Watering Hole.
He and his New Friends looked forward to getting to know each other and Many, Many, Many Enjoyable Times Together.
The End.
One fine Spring Morning, The Rhino decided to explore Avian Culture.
He found a Popular Feeding Spot, nestled into some dried Oak Leaves, and waited.
It wasn’t long before a Titmouse happened by in search of some tasty seed.
Being a friendly Titmouse, he greeted The Rhino with a chirp,
grabbed a seed or two,Â
and was on his way to parts unknown.
Â
The Rhino calmed himself  and waited.
Along came a Blue Jay.
Blue Jays are known for not being overly friendly to strangers;
still The Rhino was excited to have been so close to such a stunning bird.
The Rhino calmed himself  and waited.
 Next to fly in was a Very Curious Sparrow.
In face, The Sparrow was SO Curious that The Rhino was a tad uncomfortable.
He sat Very Still and averted his eyes, as any Polite Rhino is wont to do.
Her curiosity (finally!) satisfied,
The Sparrow hopped off.
*Whew!*
The Rhino calmed himself  and waited.
A Robin passed by, searching for worms.
The Rhino couldn’t  help with that quest.
The Rhino calmed himself  and waited.
The next bird to approach The Rhino was a Very Chatty Cardinal.
He introduced himself to The Rhino,
pointed out some especially tasty seed,
TALKED WITH HIS BEAK FULL(!),
and, just when The Rhino thought he couldn’t bear it any longer —
flew away.
The Rhino calmed himself  and waited.
Finally, The Rhino was visited by a Very Genteel Dove
who welcomed him to the neighborhood,
answered all The Rhino’s questions,
and generally restored his faith in Birdkind.
The Next Day,
buoyed by his success at mingling with The Birds, The Rhino once again set out hoping for more Close Encounters (of the Avian kind).
He’d heard rumors of a Turkey Sighting in Another Part Of The Yard.
Upon arriving, The Rhino was TRILLED to see a Domesticated White Turkey in a Wild Cherry Tree.
He crept closer for a better view of this Magnificent Bird.
 The Turkey was interested in The Local Windmill, which had a platform that The Rhino thought would be The Perfect Spot for his observations.
Alas! The Rhino did not take the windmill’s blades into account.
As he stood on the platform, the whirling blades SEVERED his Right Ear!
Yes. The Rhino found himself the victim of an Involuntary Ear-ectomy.
:~(
Horrified, a massive Ear Hunt ensued, but the missing appendage was not found.Â
And ever since, The Rhino has been known as
Vincent Van Gone.
(A Rhino Adventurer of Some Renown.)
Faces in the Fungi
an album from my yard
Duck Wearing A Beret
Fungus Eating A Stick
Walrus Fungus (With Glowing Red Eyes)
(Eeek!)
Someone’s Peaking
(Around The Fungus)
Somebody Gave This Fungus A Star.
I The Lichen Is Likin’ It.
(Ok. Not a face, but still pretty cool!)
:~)
I’m Thinking Triceritops
 Island Guy In Baby Fungus
And That’s Who I Met This Fall!
We were walking through a Wetlands Exhibit and came upon this snake. Â It was alive, but not going anywhere.
I got closer …
… and closer …
… and closer …
… and closer …
… and closer still till I was …
RIGHT UP IN ITS FACE!
Which didn’t seem to phase it one bit.
(How cool is THAT?)
:~)
Having a Kayak on top of the car has turned out to be a pretty handy thing.
There’s the most obvious “It’s there just in case I get near some water” usage.
And, of course, when driving around town, the “Cool Factor”.
But in the driveway, it’s
A Foul Weather Feline Feeding Station (that the Dog can’t raid)!
This Portly Pet needs Assistance, though. I slip him onto his side, and, with slight exertion, STUFF him under the gunwale. (Do kayaks have gunwales?)
He can get himself out …
 
 … but really, why should he?
One Sunny Day,
In a stand of Coriopsis Blossoms,
 Fuzzy Yellow Caterpillar munched
…
 and munched
…
and munched.
Stretched out to his Full Length,
Hanging on with All His Feet,
He munched
…
and munched
…
aaaaaaannnnnnnddddddd munched
…
and munched still more
…
Because munching
is whatÂ
Fuzzy Yellow Caterpillars
do!
Lately, I’ve noticed that sweat bees are much friendlier than when I was a kid.  (This should in NO WAY be construed as a complaint!) They can hang out on my arm. I can take their pictures. AND I don’t get bit! Or stung! Or whatever it is that sweat bees do to make humans fear them. Here’s what happened today:
Wow! I didn’t realize my arm hairs were so long and flowing! ;~)
I don’t know how he managed with that hair holding him down, but he abandoned my arm.
He came back and checked out my finger, then flew off for other adventures. Hopefully he was as kind to his next host as he was to me.
:~)
