Boredom Breeds Beauty

Today was long and boring. I was mad for a good part of the day because Scott was supposed to take me to the zoo to see the baby panther BEFORE it is all grown up, but we stayed at home and did house work instead--what fun. After our housework was done I vegged out in front of the computer and messed around with itunes radio (which has a very annoying all Christmas all the time channel that apparently today was only interested in playing every version of The Little Drummer Boy EVER made) and read a bunch of random blogs that had interesting titles. I found a few that were very interesting and well written, but most of the others were trying to sell something and so they bored me further. Scott was lost in football land, so I grabbed my camera, my kid, and my dog and went on another nature walk down our street to see what photographic splendors I could find. First of all, let me just say that I have never seen (or almost ran into) so many banana spiders in my entire life. Good Lord! It is like their mecca-land in the woods by our house. Every few feet is a web with an upside down horror perched on it over its artfully constructed zig-zag pattern (which I am thankful for, because these really white parts of the web are what save you from not seeing the webs at all!). I got some pretty cool shots of wild honey bees gathering nectar from these weedy little flowers, a spider as big as my hand!, some really pretty (and again--unknown) flowers, and Katie. I am posting some of my favorites below. Enjoy!

Flower Challenge

This post is a challenge from a gardening blogger who maintains as beautiful a garden as her blog (you can check her out on my favorites links "Blooming Writer"). She did a post of her favorite flowers for this time of year and challenged other readers to follow suit so she could see what their gardens are up to. Well, I must admit that I have no green thumbs and so any plant or flower that can survive without any intervention on my part is always my favorite. These are some garden shots from my house that I took last week --but have NO IDEA what the names of most of these plants are. I'm hoping Jodi can give me hand with that--she is quite the expert. Here are the plants that can survive the wicked gardening practices (or non-practices as the case may be) of the Queen:

This of course is my ever faithful Morning Glory

This yellow beauty and it's beautifully matching inhabitant are unknown to me!

This almost burgundy flower looks somewhat like a Crepe Myrtle (sp?) but none of my others are blooming right now...this one is a mystery to me also.This is a Date Palm in my side yard, it looks cool, but it is VERY messy. The birds and spiders love it!

I have no idea what the GIANT yellow flowers are, but they sure are tall, probably about 10-12 feet tall. I took one shot looking up at them from the ground and I am pretty tall. They look like daisies to me, so I just call 'em Big Ole Daisies--which I'm sure is probably incorrect! The plant below I was told is called a Shrimp Plant, but its not like I would know the difference if it were correct or not.

This plant has such little flowers and they look so dry and kind of like bells and rarely do the flowers all open up at once. Again (here's a surprise) I don't know what they are.

This little beauty is my Tangelo tree which is a cross between an Orange and a Tangerine tree, all I have to say is YUMMY! I could sit under the tree and eat them all day!

I have heard this little white flower called an impatient and a 4 O' Clock, so I don't which if any name is correct. But it comes back every year on its own, so it must like my harsh gardening.

This is a pineapple plant that grew from a pineapple top that came off a pineapple my mom grew in her yard. It hasn't died in 3 years, but it hasn't produced any fruit either. I'm just proud that some thing I planted on purpose hasn't died!
This is my Hibiscus plant and I know that because it said so on the package when I bought it. It came in a pot with two other plants and this one flowers and has grown a foot and a half higher than its friends planted about 4 feet away. The other two also don't get flowers--they just exist. they are green and leafy and and don't grow or make flowers...it's weird.

The Color Purple

As part of my reflections lately, I have been going on "nature walks" around my yard and neighborhood and finding some of God's artwork that inspires me. I saw this Morning Glory blooming late in the afternoon and couldn't resist a shot. This flower is very symbolic for me because it reminds me of my Granddaddy, who passed away when I was about 14. He was like a father to me and we spent more time together than just about any other adult spent with me during my childhood outside of my mom. He had a wood shop behind his house and I used to spend my summers there learning how to use the tools of the trade. I helped him build tables, gun cabinets, stools, hope chests, end tables, coffee tables, toys, etc. These were some of the most precious moments of my childhood. I had a pretty tumultuous home life and there was a certain peace being in his presence, like all was safe and warm and loving. He never had much to say, but our hearts did a lot of communicating that tongues and voices aren't needed for. Growing all over his wood shop was an incessant vine of Morning Glories. The vine became quite intrusive, even slipping one or two of it's tendrils in through a crack under the door, as if to see what craftsmanship was taking place inside. My Granddaddy never cut them down or pulled them up, or even really made any attempt to control them. He was the one who first told me the name of that truly glorious flower. I asked him why they named it Morning Glory and he said it was because they only bloom in the morning and the blooms close as the day grows later. I don't know if this was true or not, or if he just wanted to have an answer for me; I have noticed that most morning glories do twist up closed by the late afternoon in preparation for their grand appearance the following day. The house I live in now is surrounded by Morning Glory Vines in the woods all around our house and climbing on the house itself. For some reason I cannot bring myself to kill these vines or pull them off of my house because I feel like they symbolize my Grandfather. Every morning I go out my back door and see a whole crop of them blooming gorgeously in the early light of morning and it feels like a giant, "Hello!" from Granddaddy. I feel like their presence here is my Granddaddy saying he will never really leave me and he is protecting my house by wrapping those loving vines around it like his big strong arms would have wrapped around me for one of his famous "bear hugs." I have also noticed that quite a few of the flowers do not close up in the afternoon and this says to me that he is always watching--ALL day, not just in the morning. All of this symbolism makes me think of one of my favorite books, The Color Purple and my favorite quote from the book:

"Listen, God love everything you love--and a mess of stuff you don't. But more than anything else, God love admiration."
"You saying God vain?" I ast.
"Naw," she say. "Not vain, just wanting to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it."
"What do it do when it pissed off?" I ast.
"Oh it make something else. People think pleasing God is all God care about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back."
Excerpt from The Color Purple by Alice Walker

God does please me with my Morning Glories and my memories of my Granddaddy that they bring. No wonder purple is my favorite color!

Deer Fish

These pictures are amazing. I wish I knew who to give credit for them, but someone sent me this in an e-mail and it said they found this deer 1.5 miles offshore. They caught it and put it in their boat and carried it back to shore and released it. Apparently it was too fatigued from swimming to be combative about being brought into the boat. I wonder what in the world it was swimming out to sea for????? Sounds like a good starter for a children's story....The Deerest Fish of All, or the Deer Old Fish...okay, no more corny "deer" jokes. But you have to admit it is really remarkable. These are the kind of awesome nature photos I would like to capture one day. I'll keep my finger crossed for a better camera and some really confused wildlife!

The Plight of the Snow Birds

Last Saturday I went to Walmart to get the finishing touches for Katie's Halloween costume. It was then that I realized that the "Snow Birds" had finished their annual migratory passage to our great state from their northern homes. I could tell this because upon approaching the entrance to Walmart, cops were blocking traffic and a life-flight helicopter was trying to find a place to land to clear away the critically injured people in the wreckage below. I quickly found a different route into the Walmart parking lot, only to find that if I wanted to park somewhere, I would have to find another zipcode to do it in because blue-haired ancient people were coming up the lanes in droves and every parking space was filled by giant badly parked vehicles with out of state tags. At this point I also remembered how a situation like this last year kept me from going to Walmart for 4 months because I was afraid I would go to jail for breaking some rude old geezer's hip the next time I went. I finally parked in a whole other county and walked to Walmart. After I got inside the scene was no better. There were old people EVERY WHERE. The problem I have here, is not that they are old, or from out of state, but that they are intrinsically rude and annoying. I am trying to weave between them and they are either moving extremely slow and blocking all the aisles or trying to speed around on those motorized scooters and run over your toes. I thought that their behaviors in Walmart pretty much match those of their driving skills. They are either bumping you with carts, blocking every one's way, or trying to speed past you to make sure that no one gets the last box of prunes before they do. Which brings me to the point that maybe all old people should not be allowed to drive--not even a scooter or a shopping cart. I know, I know--you must think I am an evil geriatric hater or something, but no one loves their granny more than I do. Love has nothing to do with safety. And some of you may say, what about their rights to drive and get around and I say what about my right to not DIE on my way to Walmart. Or my right to not have the backs of my heel rammed for the entire duration of my shopping trips! Everyone knows the fate of Achilles. I know that when I am pushing 100 and I am racing around at unsafe speeds in the wrong lane in my barge sized car that doubles as an assault weapon I will want to eat these words, but for now, for God's sake if you can't see over the steering wheel stay your ass at home! If you can't shop without being a jerk to everyone in the store just because you are cranky that your hemorrhoids are flaring--stay home! This is enough to make me shop online for the rest of the entire season of "Snow Bird" activity. Now I remember why I was ready to move last winter...I think polar bears would be more hospitable.

Halloween

Here are some of my favorite Halloween pics from this year! Enjoy!

Rattlesnake Festival

Yesterday I went and got a new hairdo--which I absolutely love! It is virtually maintenance free and exactly my style! Hooray for Scott's sister! She is the one who did my hair and Scott's and Katie's yesterday morning. It was like a family hair reunion. After the hair experience we all went to the Rattlesnake festival. It was pretty boring this year compared to last year. Although I can't complain about the boiled peanuts or the funnel cake (which are the prime reasons for visiting any type of festival or fair). Katie went into the FFA petting zoo, climbed a rock wall, rode a pony, and jumped in a bouncy tent. She also watched a reptile show that I was too cheap to pay $5 to get into myself, so I just paid for her $2 ticket and waited outside the tent for her! Today I am headed to Lowry Park Zoo again to scope out the baby white tigers! It is supposed to rain today, so I will just have to enjoy them in the rain...good thing I'm not wearing a white t-shirt!

Glass and Feathers

Yesterday we went to the zoo again and brought Jarhett and Emi with us. It was really cool. This time the Tiger was out and he was roaring and yawning and attacking the glass at the window. There was one guy there who kept putting his hand to the glass and the tiger would either try to lick his hand through the glass or he would jump at him and snarl and slap the glass with his ENORMOUS claws. I got some pretty cool (and blurry) shots of this. I have never been more thankful for the invention of glass in my life. It was the most interactive experience I've had with the tigers there. The guy told us he goes there all the time and the tiger always reacts to him like that, so he thinks he must remind him of a zookeeper or a trainer. He also told us that the tiger we saw is the daddy to cubs who come out in the morning at the zoo, so we are going to the zoo in the morning to see if we can see the babies! I can't wait!!! We also saw Meerkat babies this trip. We dropped a feather into their enclosure and all the meerkats ran out of the holes and attacked the feather and bit it and then scratched it into the dirt. It was weird and awesome all at the same time. We petted the stingrays again and got some pretty interesting photos with the manatees too. We also got to see the kangaroos which were closed last time we went. I think I may be becoming addicted to the zoo...there are so many photo opportunites there. This last trip also let the kids feed the lorikeets which was cool, until one of the birds bit Jarhett. Anyhow, to make a long story short, I am stoked about the zoo!

Hickory Horned Devil

A few weeks ago at school, someone told me there were two huge worms in the ESE butterfly garden that were as big as a large hot dog. The cynic in me was like, "Yeah right." I had to go and satisfy my curiosity, so I went and investigated. These things WERE HUGE. They were so exotic looking. It was like something you might see in the Amazon Rainforest, not on our school campus. I had my camera phone with me, but the photos I was able to snap did not do it justice. I have finally made time to do a little research on the thing and found internet pictures and information. The "worm" is actually a caterpillar of a regal moth and is called a hickory horned devil. The younger version of the caterpillar is just as astonishing as the adult caterpillar. I am posting pictures I found on various websites about this really cool "bug."

The top picture is a picture of the young caterpillar (which is not the age I saw at the school). Then there are several shots of an older caterpillar that is not quite as large as the ones in our garden. Someone measured one of them and it was nearly 6 inches long. The last few photos are of the moth it becomes. It figures the day that something really awesome showed up at our school, I did not have my camera with me. Lesson learned...

Crossing Off My List

I guess Scott finally took the clue that I was lonely and bored. Sunday he took me to Lowry Park Zoo on a date. I got to pet a penguin from Africa and take our picture with it! I can cross Penguin Encounter off my do before I die list! YAY! It was so nice to get out of the damn house and do something not work related. Katie came with us. Scott had never touched a sting ray before and now he has. He was afraid of the penguin and the sting ray! I couldn't believe it. How can you be afraid of something so CUTE? The penguin's name is Tyke and he is 15 months old. It was really a great experience. I can't wait to go back and feed the rhinos, so I renewed my annual pass. Now I can go for a year for free! They said I could even come and volunteer there and get a more behind the scenes look at more animals. I am seriously considering doing that this summer. I could cross off half of my list! Animals are so awesome to me. My job has really been sucking lately. My co-workers really chap my ass. It is like working with Pre-K, except they are adults (in theory). I can't wait to be able to spend my free time at the zoo now and get away from my mundane life in a positive way that allows Katie to tag along! It is almost Halloween and I think that I want to take Katie to Zoo Boo. I am thinking about going to the Hillsboro River State Park Halloween festival if Scott can go. I am too chicken to go immerse myself in a mob of strangers in costume in the woods in the dark alone. Being less of a chicken would certainly make my life more exciting. I am trying to get in any activities I can before my back surgery because I have such a bad feeling about it. I'm sure that it is just my paranoia talking, but just in case I want to have lots of fun before I end up laying around recovering for a month. I know how depressing that can get. I think I will just look at it as an opportunity to catch up on my reading list! My friend is going to loan me her John Irving Books and I am going to have a reading party for one everyday in between my sleeping parties!