Photog Day!

Well my last post was a bit of a downer, I wish life could be hunky dory all the time but ANK...it's not so anyways as I had hoped I got out with my sister when she visited and it was a beautiful day! Cool and breezy, fall is on the way.  We visited the state park that is less than 5 minutes from my house so I guess I should be making my top 10 list of things that help me defeat  the grumpies? eh? I will save that one for another time.



The water lilies were really showing off today! The lake was full of flora! Ran into some other "amateur photogs" and we compared notes on what was interesting at the lake today..They got a good shot of the Blue Heron my sister and I flushed out of the back cove of the lake.  We didn't get a shot of him but sure enjoyed hearing him ONK at us as he flew away with long legs dangling..I like the wavy movement and  reflections of the trees in this photo and the highlight on the fern!

                   

Once again I enjoyed the cattails by the water they are starting to bristle out with seed...

I don't know all the plants I encounter

I didn't plan this shot but it sure looks planned! I love when good things JUST happen don't you?

this was a PLANNED Depth of Field shot..I don't know the person in this kayak but I think the kayak in the bokeh really helps support the "witness" of the reed stalks in the foreground! Whatta you think?

We've had a fair amount of rain lately and mushrooms are all over the place, my dogs (the girls) LOVE to go "shrooming" they know which ones to eat, I DON'T so I watch...but apparently butterflies know which ones to eat too!

The eastern tiger swallowtail male and female

A lady strolling a very cute boy of about a yr old pointed out this lovely writing spider...

                  

IT looks like all the turtle nests have been raided and only the wrinkled and dried up shell casings remain...Raccoons maybe? I'm only guessing these are turtle nests..you can see the hole where the eggs were dug up..

Around the backside of the lake my sister who has a great eye for spotting, found 2 Woodstocks resting in the high limbs of the Cyprus trees..

                
and here is the other one...they were a bit far away so some grain here...

                                  It was a fun day out!!! I was hugged by nature!!

PEACE

Groucho---

Grouchy Avocado

doesn't this resemble Groucho Marx or Oscar the Grouch?

Ive had nothing blog worthy...so I figured I would highlight the top 10 reasons why I'm so grouchy lately:

1. I wont go into my thoughts on how Women CANT get pregnant when raped,  this brilliance according to the Right Republicans!
2. Mum's the word about the report released this week that the Dead Middle Class shrank more in the past 10 yrs than it has since WWII
3. I wont do the math, CUT taxes and start TWO decade long wars and then complain that we're in the RED! DUH or should I put GWB!
4. I will continue to work the job I have since I struck out on my job search, so its no benefits, no yearly review, (which means no raise) and no place to turn.
5. I wont say a word about my flip flopping x who has sued me and is forcing the sale of land that's been in the family for nearly 40 yrs!
6. I am using all my restraint by not calling the sheriff's office to complain about the neighbor who has to play his music so loud..he is an acre away and I can hear his crappy taste in music over my own, with my doors closed!
7. I wont complain about gas prices shooting beyond the point of my budget!
8. I will not worry about my son who lost his job or wonder when he'll find another one.
9. I wont begrudge him the use of my prized silver bullet till his ship comes in.
10. AND last but NOT least I will continue to save money  for my early retirement although the bank that recruited my savings account is paying me a WHOPPING return of,
     ZERO point ONE %!  CAN I hear an amen to that one!! AND they just informed me that in order to not pay a surcharge I have to keep $1500 in my account at all times! WOW IM so blessed to have such a bank dont you think?

Im currently reading Blue Highways...its a super read he sometimes puts up a news headline to make a point...so mine would be:

            WOMAN FLIPS OUT; CAUSES UNKNOWN!

NOW On the bright side...I eat a lot of avocados :o) recall how they used to tell us to take an avocado pit, make a split in it and suspend it over a glass of water after inserting a toothpick in each end? AND this was supposed to grow an avocado tree!! WELL forgot that crap..

I grew one just tossed it into my compost pile added that compost to the garden bed and SHA-ZAM! Avocado tree, actually 6 of them made trees!  I chopped them up as I chopped up my compost and that was what encouraged the roots to grow.

Avacado Sandwich 

What about a coffee table book of these Funny Food Faces?

                                                                           Slimy Limy

I like the way I caught the light in the eyes of this one!!

Life is wayyyy too serious sometimes dont you think?

PEACE

Images of Summer!

Not much going on in DixxeLand these days just hot sultry weather! Im looking forward to Labor Day.  I stopped by the river bridge to see how the cliff swallows are doing...BY the numbers of the mud nests the colony is growing!!

                                                             the Wateree River

Most of the nests are nearly empty already, I found a few birds sitting out in the shade of the bridge supports resting..

                         On the far side of the river snowy egrets fished the shallows...

                    

Back on the bank these little butterflies in the sand...

I left the river and on my way home I stopped at Goodale Park, to see what's going on around the lake there...

and every time Im at Goodale I check on  the pitcher plants, there's two large clumps growing in the front edge of the lake... these are some of my favorite plants..

    

                   

... at the back of the lake some egrets fished far off, and  this one redheaded woodpecker flew around checking out the snags in the water...

                       

and not too far from shore this  anhinga made the perfect garnish for this flat topped cyprus...

Summer 2012 will soon be a fading memory,before you know it we will know if the Myans had a clue about beginnings and endings!!

PEACE

Onto August!

Im still reeling from seeing the painted bunting, it was a highlight for sure..The dogs are back to good....whatever made them sick is gone now...they were both up to snuff one day after returning home..Now they are spending their time snoozing in the living room all day staying out of the heat, while Im at work.  July will be August come Wednesday so SOON maybe the tempts will go back down to those "sweet", go outside and enjoy tempts. 

A large flock of house finches arrived in my yard the week I returned and so its standing room only at the feeders

These shots are through the window so a bit fuzzy...Unfortunately some of the finches that arrived have that dreaded conjunctivites! IF I can catch her I can cure her but she has ONE good eye so far I have struck out!  But Ill keep trying!

This young one looks good...

And the large swallowtails seem to be all around the yard lately...caught this  on the phlox flowers..



AND the newest member of our family is Oreo!

                   

 

He used to be a stick  pony...but I found him and decided to repurpose him to a cuddle pony for the sofa!!  He is a sweetheart for sure, I removed the broken stick, sewed up the hole and put him in the washer, he came out so pretty and clean!

I am currently looking for a new job...maybe back to a simple retail job..wish me luck.

PEACE

3 DaYs in the SuN

IT got hot at Edisto Island, but we survived.  Thank goodness I took a fan with us.  The girls both got sick and I had to cut my trip a day short, but they are both on the mend now...I think it was the water! They didnt like the Ocean at first but before we left they enjoyed a nice trot through the surf!

                    

They did enjoy sitting under the beach Umbrella tho...

It broke my heart that they got sick...ITS like when in Mexico dont drink the water, well when at the campground dont fill your dogs bowl from the faucet! Its the only thing I can think of, but I tossed out the brand new box of treats just in case it was that. Happy now they are on the mend as I said..!!

However one good thing did come of their Gotta Go RIGHT now experience we were already up to greet the sun!

AND the dogs werent the only thing that kept me from getting  sound sleep...5 of these came calling on the limb above my van..

Annie let me know right away that we had company, Flossie could care less but she barked at every human, and there were LOTS of them...I have to say the girlz had a hard time with no less than 100 men, women, and children rushing over to pat their heads...everyone loves my dogs, and thats what they all said "I LOVE YOUR DOGS"

NO wonder they got sick with all that attention and the posing too...here they are showing off the sunset over the Marsh.  OKAY enough of them...what about me?

WELL I walked them, fed them, cleaned up after them, tried to protect them from all the paparazzi and in between times I took photos, swam in the ocean, sat under the umbrella with them, saw this shrimp boat go by....

Followed by a pod of these:

IT is a pod or a school? Anways...

   had nice conversations with people I met on the beach, enjoyed looking through piles of shell, 

READ an entire article in my fav Arizona Highways mag, only started over 3 times, almost got relaxed, and bird watched! 

Lots of long lines of Brown Pelicans swooping over the water...

They fly in perfect sync...

It was so nice to watch them...the shadows they make as they go over are just as cool to see..

Meanwhile the view was nice...and over behind that rope is loggerhead turtle nesting area...so it was off limits...

Each nest is marked so we can see it and I am happy to report NOT One person (or dog)violated this space!!

Some turtles did however lay their eggs on THIS side of the rope....so They have marked  LOTS of nests and hopefully they will have a good number to make it..they check the nests EVERY DAY!

...here is my campsite the ocean if just over that brush barrier on the left...NICE to hear the tide crash again, I lived this close to the water for almost 6 yrs and I didnt realize how much I missed that great sound of the changing tides!

all THAT was on day ONE...Ive got the rest of the week off so Ill work on a post about day 2 and 3, it'll give me something to do..HA!!

 



PEACE

THE Week before the WEEK

Do you ever get that feeling that every where you look there is a:

Snake in the bush? 

On the personal front I have this feeling that Im about to be swallowed whole.   The job is not going too good my boss has turned into...well this photo says it all

...and today I had a lawyer meeting again  I found out there will be 2 more hearings before IM officially divorced that really made my DAY---NOT!! The only way that news could be worse is if I had received it this Friday the 13th...

There is only one way to deal with such threats....and that is to put as much distance between them and YOU as possible! SO Im leaving on Monday.

...life gets fuzzy like this unsteady shot of the yellow billed cuckoo who had to stoop to drinking water out of my little water garden when it was so hot... this is thru the double paned window.. normally they stay hidden in the deeper woods. IM glad he didnt go diving for my wee fish that live in the other section of this water garden. I think I shared this previously...

 Im trying to keep my mind on the upcoming trip....planning, plotting, mapping, day dreaming, and Ive got all the necessary stuff I will need at the beach campground stashed in the van already..A FAN....Beach Umbrella, Bathing suit...a COOLER, maybe I should toss the GRABBER in too JIC another snake shows up?

NOW you tell me how am I going to swim in the ocean with 2 dogs on leashes that cant be any longer than 6 ft?  IF I tie them to my beach chair, well that could end up BAD..lol  I guess I will be surf walking--

 I cant wait to see how the girls like their first look at the ocean, we normally head to the mountains for hiking,  but this time its the Atlantic..and flip flops.

Don'tcha' wish life was simple as black n white?

                                                           Black n white warbler

 OH last Sunday there was a 250 lb black bear spotted 3 blocks from where I work!! RIGHT In the middle of town!! They darted him and
"relocated him in the country"...hmmmm I wonder how FAR into the country they took  him?

ILL be in touch!!!

wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |

PEACE

Once in a LifeTime...

BOY I thought I was in Arizona this past weekend....The weather is def changing...felt like Arizona! HOT n DRY..like 106 hot and with humidity in the low 20's THAT'S unheard of for us,,,, in JULY??? The second set of numbers is the outside tempts...check it out. Never mind the time and calendar I cant be bothered resetting that every time I change the battery in this unit...

                                 106 Degrees

...but the humidity did arrive and some T & L storms too..then I drove into town and DANG, did I take a wrong turn????????? I was gassing up the car, looked across the street and saw this! IT was sticking up over the roof of the old John's Welding building. LIKE WAY TALLER than the building!!!!

              

AS the bell on the pump charmed me and soaked up the dollars, I was mesmerized by this sight and saying out loud, what the hell is that??? I knew it wasn't there before.... I pass this building every single day!!

                   

SO when my thirsty Chevy was satiated I crossed the street to see what was growing on, I mean going on....I KNEW there was a large succulent agave plant in the "courtyard" of this old building, Ive admired it for years...and THEN I realized what this plant really is...

A Century Plant! THIS one looks to be at least 25 ft (maybe more) tall.... IVE seen them blooming in Arizona but in SC? I didn't realize this huge agave  plant Ive been admiring for yrs was a century plant...and the sad part is once it blooms---- it dies! You can see the plant has already started to sing the death song..Ive heard they live about 25 yrs...reach maturity at about age 10....I know this one has been here LONGER than 10 yrs...more like 20.

                     

 

THE bugs and bees are loving the blooms  I hear they can sometimes stink....I didn't smell anything..

after the blooming stage pods will form, I HOPE to get a seed from one of these pods...This old building has been for sale for a LONGGGG time, so I should be able to trespass and get a few seed pods..

Pretty amazing eh? So....is it hot enough for ya?

ENJOY YOUR 4th!!



PEACE