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Friday Meanderings

August 10, 2018 by KTgreen

We don’t get them very often….

Alligator

Cause we live on brackish water and they are supposed to prefer fresh….

alligator

But, here’s a wee alligator in our back yard!

alligator

He scared the bejesus out of grandson Jack a few weeks ago while we were kayaking. (I just looked that bejesus word up after I typed it just to make sure I was using the right term. “an exclamation traditionally attributed to the Irish, used to express surprise or for emphasis.” And Jack’s Irish. Or at least a quarter Irish. So it’s appropriate!)

I used to have nightmares about Maggie getting eaten by an alligator. But now that Maggie’s gone, it’s kind of cool to watch him cruise by very slowly. As long as he stays wee! If he’s still here when he gets bigger, I’ll call FWC to get him removed. Just too many kids and dogs around here to risk having a gator in the back yard!

In other news, went out looking for Gil Watson the other day. Heard he was working on an amazing wood sculpture.

Gil Watson

Three cedar trees. One blew down in last year’s hurricane and knocked the tops off of the other two. So Gil was called in!

He’s almost done.

Gil watered down the two end pieces so we could see what they’ll look like when he is finished. The colors are amazing!

Gil Watson

Gil Watson art

Saved the best for last!

The OLD HOMOSASSA WATER TOWER IS PAINTED!!!!!!!

Woo Hoo!

Took over four years but a team of dedicated volunteers along with numerous donations and help from everywhere, we were able to raise over $60,000 to get it restructured, repaired, and painted. Next up–native landscaping and we have already had a local business offering to take that over! Woo Hoo! Then it’s lighting and new fencing.

And on to our next project!!!!!

Have a great weekend! It’s going to be hot. Everywhere!

Kathy

Things that fly….

September 26, 2016 by KTgreen

I posted this in my “Project 365” page as my photo of the day. He did not appreciate the paparazzi!

Here’s the rest of the story.

I didn’t scare him away for long. He came back the next day. And the next, and the next. Fishing is good on our canal!

I was trying to get a good photo of this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail as it flitted from blossom to blossom.

Then came across this one that was happily posing for me.

I know that this is a “skipper”. I did some research in my Audubon book and on the Internet and I think it’s a Long-Tailed Skipper. There are a bunch of them on this bush right now. Must be a good time for them!

My Audubon book calls this a Palamedes Swallowtail. Although I think I’ve seen it referred to as a Eastern Black Swallowtail.

And then I found three caterpillars on the milkweed. I’ve always assumed that they are Monarch caterpillars. But this year I discovered that the Queen butterfly’s caterpillar also uses the milkweed for it’s host plant and we had a few of them this year. So I did a little research. According to the Texas Butterfly Website, the Queen caterpillar has one “set of antennae and two sets of filaments, while Monarchs have one set of antennae and one set of filaments.” These guys definitely have three protuberances. Queen?

I never find the chrysalis. But I do know the difference as butterflies. Hopefully I’ll be there to get some snaps!

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August 29, 2016 by KTgreen

Owls

Terry’s mother was here for the weekend. And I just flew in from North Dakota on Friday evening. So I didn’t get much quality time with my camera.

This morning at 2 am I heard Maggie outside barking. She has a wee doggie door so she can go out to the deck and into a small fenced yard during the night. Typically Maggie goes out, sniffs around, takes care of business and comes right back in. If she barks, it’s usually because she’s spotted a racoon and chased it up a tree.

But this time I heard an owl. Which caused me to get up, turn all the outside lights on, and chase the dog from one end of the deck to the other to get her back in.

Maggie weights about 13 pounds. My Audubon friends have told me, while an owl can’t fly off with her, it could cause her serious damage with the talons.

Therefore I’m running around in my pj’s at 2 am pursuing a deaf dog.

All is well. Maggie had a great time and is now snoring on the couch. I’m wide awake with a fresh cup of coffee and looking for all of my barred owl snaps from the past few years to share with you. And share with my mother-in-law who reads this blog and loves owls and commented about hearing them from her room while she was here.

Owls

Owls in the Back