Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night. (Rainer Maria Rilke)

Friday, October 23, 2015

The Spooky Garden


Well, this post might be a little lame, because frankly, my garden is rather far from spooky - it being a cheerful, colorful, subtropical garden.  BUT, All Hallows' Eve is absolutely one of my favorite times of the year, so I'll give it a go and you can see if you get a chill or two up your spine, haha.  


Now, don't worry...none of my photos are very chilling.


And this one is probably more psychedelic than spooky.


And this one a bit goofy as this grackle is definitely giving me the evil eye!  


But add a little black and white - and the mood suddenly changes.


The Birds, The Birds!  Honestly, this was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  A flight of swallows flew up out of the preserve behind our house in a vortex motion.  I wish I would've gotten a video, but I was so surprised and felt I was very lucky just to have been in the right place at the right time for such an event.  Google bird murmuration if you aren't sure what I'm referring to, it is amazing!


"Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore - Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!" Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."  E. A. Poe


Maybe the scariest thing about this is how I let this beautiful vine dry up!  I did however like the decayed draping over the urn.


Wooooooooooooo - eerie birdbath.


Even the gorgeous morning light can create a spectral atmosphere using some of the photo editing features.


Vines can be spooky.


Spanish Moss definitely has a Southern Gothic thing going on.  (I keep thinking I should take that moss off, but I like it too much.)


Some of our neighborhood residents are rather ominous.


Definitely just an experiment with editing features, but this Anthurium ended up looking kind of dark and shadowy to me.


As did this peach Hibiscus.


Southwest Florida has some truly very picturesque places that make for a spooky vibe.  This is Shadow Lane in old Fort Myers, one of my favorite streets to wander down and take photos. The gardens in this section of town are drool-worthy!  But that's another post.


LOVE old oak trees!


I'll refrain from posting any more local shots after this one.  Buckingham Cemetery is an historical and hauntingly beautiful place filled with live oaks draped in Spanish moss,  It has a jungly setting with a few confederate graves.  (I've been wondering if the "PC" Police have made the caretakers feel they must take down the confederate flags...) 

I also apologize if this is an upsetting photo to any of my readers - I realize cemetery photography is not every one's 'cup of tea'.  I appreciate the historical aspect of old cemeteries, some are peaceful, some have an uncanny, uncertain feel - but that's probably just me...


And just to end on a brighter note - here's a baby pic taken eleven years ago of our Tibetan Terrier Flash and the rest of his brothers and sisters.  Flash is second from the right.  Our older TT named Kohl sired this litter and I think he did a pretty good job with mom Goldie. 

I did not take this photo. I don't remember the photographers name and apologize for not giving him credit...I normally wouldn't post someone elses photo, but gosh darn it, they're so cute!

 I hope you all have a safe and very Happy Halloween!



Thursday, October 15, 2015

Mama Raccoon and the Kits


I was just saying the other day, that I never have my camera whenever I see a raccoon.  Well, not that this is a great shot, but Hurray - I finally got a pic.  

This was an unusual situation as mama raccoon made her nest clear at the top of the Giant White Bird of Paradise that grows next to our pool cage.

So when we noticed her she had already given birth to two kits.  Well, we could sit on our couch and watch her from the living room as she sat in her nest during the day.  It was very interesting to see her move her babies around - she seemed a little rough, but I'm sure she knew what she was doing.

Anyway, we tried not to disturb her by going out onto the lanai, but we had to take care of the pool and water orchids, etc. and she finally decided to move her kits to a new nest somewhere.  I don't know where.  


While she was moving the first baby, I went out and tried to get some photos of the other little guy.  It wasn't ideal conditions - the sun was beating down, taken through the pool cage screen, but there he is.  Looking kind of like a little sloth.  

I'm glad she moved them as we desperately need to powerwash the pool cage and I hated disturbing them whenever I needed to go out back.  

But it's always fun to have a front line seat to the backyard nature show!


For just one second, I'm going to say something about my health - which is a subject I don't like to discuss - kind of like politics and religion.

Last week I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that I have to take some rather heavy-duty pharmaceuticals to help combat any damage that it is doing.  

I have no idea how this will affect me and may or may not hinder my gardening (and just when we're coming into the fun gardening season!!!), but I thought I'd just say if you don't see anything very exciting showing up in my gardens lately, this is why.

I hope I can continue on as usual, time will tell.


But even if I can't garden much, there is still always something interesting (at least to me) going on in the yard.  Even if it's just a fly on a leaf.  I love the iridescent colors, his wing details and of course that gorgeous green leaf!


Or maybe this cool Orb Weaver.


Or how this collapsed wet spiderweb turns into a rain chain.


Anyway, changes are a part of life.  I'm trying to think positive.  I'm changing my life of debauchery, like giving up alcohol, seriously exercising and eating a mainly plant based diet.  (What took me so long! lol)


And Hey - I've still got Magnolias blooming!  :)

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Tribute to Ozzie the Eagle


People from all over have watched the southwest Florida eagle cam with the famous pair Ozzie and Harriet, for years now.  

I'm so sad to learn of Ozzie's passing on September 30th of this year.  

When Ozzie was injured and in rehab earlier this year, a younger male started hanging around Harriet and she apparently didn't chase him away.

Well, Ozzie came back and tried for his rightful spot (maybe according to the laws of the jungle, it wasn't his spot anymore?) - well, he and the interloper, as I like to call him, duked it out and Ozzie was found injured and then succumbed to a blood infection.

You can read more about it online....it's just so sad.  



Here is a shot of their nest.  You can see the cams strapped to the tree.  



This is the huge tree their nest is in.  You can see it about a quarter of the way down from the top.




Oh, Ozzie - you will be missed.   



I have a very hard time with sad stories, so I thought I'd try and end this post with a little bit of Happy.

Around the area of their eagle nest, they have horses.  Lots of beautiful horses.  This guy was the sweetest, most gentle soul.  He reminded me of my dog Flash.  He'd stick his snoz in my neck and hair and I fell in love at first sight.  He even took a carrot from the palm of my hand with the most utter care and softness.  



Now this guy, what a gorgeous black beauty!  His personality was much different from the above horse.  Let's just say his motor ran high and he was zooming around the pasture most of the time.  His carrot receiving abilities were rather roguish and a little bit rough.  Luckily I ran out of carrots after that, lol. 



How nice of these three to line up so perfectly for a parting shot.  So I'll say ta ta or toodles or whatever until next time....I hope you don't mind seeing a horse hiney, their colors are incredibly pretty!