Rainy Day Blogging

It was raining a little bit ago.
Soaking, light rain that made all of my thirsty plants shake off their dusty leaves and sigh in contentment.

Mom gave me this Amaryllis a few years ago. If you have never experienced the opening of one of these flowers, then you're truly missing out. I put hardly any effort into this plant. It gets watered just as much as anything else in my yard (which is very rarely by me. . .plants in my yard have to be able to mainly live just on rainwater). 
As you can see in this pic, the flower is coming close to opening up fully. I've shown pics of that before on my blog. It's always breathtaking. Simply beautiful. The kind of beauty that makes me stop and stare at it.

It'll probably open up fully while I'm at work. Oh well.

Other tidbits. 

Got a new bromeliad. My mother called it a housewarming present. Her logic was directed at the rental property that I just purchased. No matter, this pretty little plant will be gracing my front flower bed.  I love the gradient quality of the yellow center, green leaves, and blue pot.

 
Of even greater note, I bought myself a Lazy Boy recliner. For $150. It's brand new. With the tags.
Be jealous. . . :)

Went to another birding festival this past weekend.
Didn't see a whole lot of birds.
This osprey with his fresh fish dinner was a little ways off the trail that mom and I took.

The trail is relatively new, and wraps around the shore of Lake Apopka (which I learned on Saturday is Florida's 3rd largest lake. . .I had always been under the impression it was ranked 4th. . .hmm).

Noteables by Nancy and Jamie 
These are things that mom and I notice which most ignore.

Green Anole (in brown coloring) sunning atop a strange cocoon
of leaves. Mom spotted this one. Not sure what the cocoon was spun by. 

Branch that has partially broken off the tree on the left hand side of the pic. It is somehow supported by the Sable Palm in the middle. The tree at the far right of the picture has grown around the branch. The crazy thing is, the branch is still alive.

 The north shore of Lake Apopka used to be a prime spot for growing vegetables on what are called Muck Farms. The state purchased these farms a while back and reflooded them, with the idea being to restore the lake to its once pristine condition. I tell you all of this because the above pic is of volunteer mustard greens growing on the side of the trail.

If it hasn't been evident yet, I love nature. I love knowing about and experiencing nature. I love sharing that knowledge. I want to help others love nature just as much as I do.

 I'll end with this pic up the hill from my house.

The Creeping Crud

We will start today with a little poetry. . .

Invitation by Shel Silverstein

If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer. . .
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

I'm sick again. Have been for a week now. Was sick back in December. The creeping crud has returned. Stronger than before.

But, in spite of all that, I've had some really good days recently. I got approved for a loan, I got my taxes filed, and I have been helping mom get the rental business in a more organized state. No matter how sick I've been feeling, I'm appreciating the sense of accomplishment.

Not only that, but God has really been working on opening my eyes to the wonders all around me. Literally. It seems like they're getting thrown in front of me.

Beautiful Sunsets while collecting rent in the trailer parks. . .

 

 Gorgeous little snakes that slither down my front door to fall at my feet when I open it.  This baby black racer is non-poisonous, and a good little guy to have around for pest control.

 These last couple don't have pictures to accompany them, unfortunately. Mom and I were driving the other day into town and witnessed a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers chasing each other around a telephone pole.

The other little bit of wonder is that I have a pair of bluebirds nesting in one of my fence bluebird houses! I'm so excited!

I allowed myself a bit of a splurge on Wednesday. Bought myself a windchime to hang over my bromeliad bed. It's so delicate and mystical sounding. Brings a smile to face every time I hear it chime.

Other little tid bits that cheer me up in the midst of my sick. Toby went with me on Tuesday to take Steve to have an epidural shot. This required that the pup and I sat in the car for a couple of hours (they have a waiting room, but it's really not comfortable).

It wasn't hot, just bright. Toby wasn't really thrilled with the whole thing, just happy that he got to go with me. If you notice, I don't look too thrilled either. This is because I began to get chills while we waited, along with more of the hacking cough. Yech.

Chewie caught me unawares the other day. Just happened to catch this shot with my phone. He does this all the time so that his mom, Carrie, doesn't get all the dog food.

 The two of them are named after Star Wars. Chewie is obviously from Chewbacca the Wookie. Carrie is named for Carrie Fisher who played Princess Leia.

Speaking of Star Wars, I have to share the little gift that Richard left on my desk. They're pop up cards. I'll be sending them on to others who'll appreciate them just as much!

Check out these skies!. . . Ugh. . .Just absolutely breathtaking. . .

 To end, here's another poem from a book that I bought for my mom. It holds special memories for the two of us. She used to read them to me and Russ when we were little.

Excerpt from "Honey I Love" by Eloise Greenfield
My mama's on the sofa sewing buttons on my coat
I go and sit beside her, I'm through playing with my boat
I hold her arm and kiss it 'cause it feels so soft and warm
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE my mama's arm
I love to kiss my mama's arm

January Musings

I'm sitting at my computer, at church, and I found myself wanting to write a few words. I was momentarily distracted by the dog, who wanted a pic taken.

It's been a weird few weeks following Christmas. I spend so much time getting ready for the services in December, and it's always kind of a "wow, I have so LITTLE to do" once January steps in. Which is really not true, it just feels that way. For one because it's so quickly time for Ash Wednesday and Lent, and then Holy Week and Easter.  And then mission trip, Vacation Bible School, etc.

So, while I sit here with slightly less to do than normal, I'll type a few words and share a few pics.

If I haven't mentioned it already, I love my pup. Toby and all his eccentricities has totally changed my life. Yes, it comes with complications (not as complicated as those of being a parent!), but it has added a much needed variety to my days. We get up early (usually before sun-up) to take our morning walk and see amazing things like the big dipper in the sky, and sunrises behind the poor chopped up oak tree on the top of the hill (haircut courtesy of the power line crew).

I now walk with one hand holding a flashlight and Toby's leash, in the other my walking stick. I also either whistle or sing as loud as I can. There have been reports of coyotes in the area grabbing small dogs while the owner is walking them on a leash. Hopefully I'm scary enough before the coyote even thinks about getting near enough for me to bean him with my melaleuca stick.

In other news, both my brother and sister-in-law have acquired new jobs!!! :) Which gives me ample excuse to post some pics of my niece. . .ha ha ha.

Warm enough?

Scaring mama on the recliner!! :)

Mom and I have been birdwatching more lately, mainly because it's winter and all the northern ducks are hanging out all over the state.  Here's a few of my favorite pics that I took at Viera and Merritt Island.

Blue Wing Teals

Caspian Tern

Scaup pair

OH. . .AND THE BLUEBIRDS ARE BACK!!! YAAAAAAAYYYY!!! :)

Oakland Nature Preserve

Yesterday was one of those "it's so beautiful you can't stay inside" kind of days. So. . .mom and I got ourselves a lunch from Subway and made our way to Oakland Nature Preserve. 

 Here's some pics I took along our trip down the boardwalk through the wetlands. 

 

There's a bird feeder area before you get to the boardwalk, and this is where the Painted Buntings and Cardinals like to hang out. It's almost a guarantee during the winter months to be able to spot something interesting here.

 

Mom taught me a long time ago how to make the "psh psh shhh" noise that always seems to intrigue birds. Little guys like this warbler/vireo fly in closer to get a look to see what type of bird is making the noise.

 

The Maple Trees have been all confused this winter, so in the midst of dropping their fall leaves they're now blooming and dropping their seed winglets as well.

Little Carolina Anoles could be seen along the boardwalk peeping over the rails or hanging out on the fencing.

 

Mom's wheelchair includes the "tilt" feature which allows her to lean back and relieve pressure. We've sort of started a new tradition of taking "tilting" pictures in different locations. 

 These shots come from down at the lake pavilion. 

The park is located on the wetland and shore area 

of Lake Apopka. 

We were on our way back to the van when I heard this Red Tail Hawk screaming in annoyance. 

Watching as he took off from his perch I realized that he/she was annoyed by the Bald Eagle that was sitting in a nearby tree. As I began taking pictures of said Eagle, some people walked down the boardwalk. 

I pointed out the Eagle and the fact that the hawk was trying to scare off the larger bird. That was when they informed me that the Eagle was very likely the same bird that they had just released in the parking lot. And. . .the guy I was actually talking to turned out to be the director of the Florida Audubon Society. Pretty cool. 

Especially since neither him nor the lady who was with him managed to capture a photo of the bird. So, I emailed them mine. Anyways, here's the article on the Eagle. She was injured back in October, and became the 439th bird to be rehabilitated and released by the 

Audubon Birds of Prey Center.