Spring Hangouts

These are a few photos from a recent road trip…
and they all have to do with hangin’…
so here goes…

The first is Spanish moss hanging on a tree
at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science,
Jackson, Mississippi.

I have several other hanging moss pictures,
taken through the car window at 65 miles per hour,
but this one is much clearer to show you on the blog(!)

 Spanish moss is actually a flowering plant related to the bromeliad family.
In the Deep South, where I grew up,
the moss grows mainly on southern live oaks and bald cypress trees.
We don’t have it in our area of Southeast Texas,
so when we see it while traveling,
it always makes me feel like I’m close to “home”!

In a picturesque arboretum in central Alabama,
we came across these turtles hanging out in a quiet little pond.
They and a whole bunch of their closest friends were lined up, sunning on this log.

Then came a funny surprise –
while strolling through the campus of a large southern university.
It seems the campus bookstore sells hammocks,
and students are permitted to tie them in the trees
and hang around between classes!

Although I had already heard about the hammocks,
I was still rather taken aback when we turned a corner
and I saw feet dangling in front of me!

The boy was talking on his phone,
and when he heard us passing by,
he quickly pulled his feet up into the hammock, as a turtle retreats into its shell!
This was the clearest picture I could get before his feet disappeared!

I’m thinking of something else that also fits this category.
We’re hanging it out this weekend in memory of the thousands of brave men and women
who gave their lives in the service of their country — our country –
so that we might live in freedom and enjoy the life we too often take for granted.

I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend.

Let’s be sure to keep in mind our military men and women of past, present, and future.
Let us pray for God’s protection of those who are currently serving in harm’s way –
and offer prayers of gratitude for the soldiers and their families who sacrifice every day
to make possible this free United States of America that we call our home!

♥  ♥  ♥

Under the Butterfly Bush

We recently purchased two butterfly bushes to add to our landscape,
in hopes of encouraging more butterflies and hummingbirds to our little corner of the world.

So far, neither butterflies nor hummers have paid any attention to the new bushes;
they fly right by on their way to other plants in the yard –
or to the feeder, in the case of the hummingbirds!!
Ha!!

However, there has been some excitement under the butterfly bushes!

My husband made a new bed for the plants,
which involved moving the grass and amending the soil.
He dug up the first piece of sod to transplant to another spot in the yard –
Had no sooner laid down his shovel
than a resident robin appeared on the spot to pick up lunch –
A double order of earth worm comin’ right up!!

“Now…
to find the perfect spot for my picnic!!”

After the bushes were planted,
while the earth was still freshly turned,
Mr. Robin continued to stop by for afternoon snacks!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
 Look at the birds.
They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, 
for your heavenly Father feeds them. 
And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?
Matthew 6:26 NLT
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

We’re still hoping these new plants will attract the butterflies and hummers,
but meanwhile, we are enjoying the plants themselves.
They are very graceful and bend easily with the breeze –
and have beautiful flowers!

Today’s Color: Red!

Nandina shrubs throughout the back yard show off their bright red berries in the January sunshine.

While sitting on the back porch enjoying the colorful view and soft breeze,
we hear a hummer at the empty feeder!!
We fill our two red feeders with fresh nectar and wait to see if he returns tomorrow.
Maybe it’s a rufus that will stay with us all winter!
We had one for several years, but he died during our harsh cold last year;
we’d be really happy to have another one take up residence nearby!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Opportunity

The challenge for this week is all about being prepared
to take advantage of every photo opportunity.

It brings to mind something I read one time on
TexWisGirl’s blog –
“Every time I step outside, I either have my camera or wish I had my camera… “

These are some photos that I’ve posted before,
but I decided to group them together for the challenge
because each of them was an unexpected photo-op,
and I’m glad I had some kind of camera with me to capture the moment!

For the first one, I happened to have my little Olympus Stylus in my purse.
The egret escorted me along the sidewalk to my dentist’s office,
parading in front of me just begging to be photographed!

These next two photos were taken at a Cock of the Walk Restaurant in Alabama
several years ago with one of those really old-fashioned cell phones.
The peacock strutted around and put on a show,
so I was happy even to be able to get these low-resolution snapshots!

This last one was taken with another cell phone –
a little better resolution than the peacock pics.
To read more about the surprising opportunity with this beautiful doe,
you might like to click on the photo of her,
which will take you to the original post.

Even though these aren’t the best quality for posting on the Internet,
they all remind me of special moments…
so I’m happy I went ahead and snapped the pictures!

I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one.
Mark Twain

My advice (from personal experience):
If you’re in doubt about whether to shoot or not,
go ahead and snap the picture without hesitation!!
You can always delete later,
but I predict most of the time you’ll be glad you captured the moment.
Even if it’s not a professional-looking shot,
you’ll probably be glad you preserved the memory!

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful,
for beauty is God’s handwriting.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thank y’all for stopping by to visit Little Things.
May your life be filled with little blessings, little chuckles,
and little deeds of kindness (both given and received)…
…and may you be prepared to respond in just the right way
to every opportunity life brings you!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Skinny on Anoles

They LOSE it…
their SKIN, that is!

Anoles [uh-noh-lees], as well as other lizards, grow continuously throughout their lives, but their skin doesn’t.
Therefore, they have to shed their skin regularly as their bodies get larger.

It’s interesting to note that they don’t shed their skin all at once, as snakes do.
You won’t ever come across a whole, intact lizard skin.
In fact, you will probably never see even part of a discarded lizard skin –
because they eat their skin as it is shed!

Some of these pictures aren’t very clear, because they were taken at a distance and not in very good light,
but this is the only time we’ve been able to catch an anole during the shedding process,
and I want to share.

This first photo was taken through a window, and includes the reflection of wooden blinds.
If you look closely, you can see the loosening skin under his chin and on his appendages.

The picture below gives a clearer view of the loose skin, especially under his chin…

…under his chin, on his torso, and on his appendages.
The skin on his left ‘leg and foot’ looks sort of like a latex glove!

This view shows the skin being shed from the right ‘arm and hand,’ as well as under the chin.

♦   ♦   ♦

For another interesting view of an anole in the process of shedding,
check out Carla’s blog post @ Watching NOLA Nature.
While you’re there, I recommend you browse through more of her great nature photos,
taken in and around her “urban oasis” of New Orleans!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thank y’all for stopping by to visit Little Things.
May your life be filled with little blessings, little chuckles,
and little deeds of kindness (both given and received)!
♦
The next time you hear the expression, “You are what you eat,”
you just might think of an anole!!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cicada Shell

Those of you who read my previous post saw the cicada-shell photo.
I have decided to repost a blog entry from two years ago,
when I had an average of 3 loving and loyal readers per day!
   
Obviously, most of you haven’t seen these…
LOL !!

During this summer of 2011, our crop of cicadas wasn’t nearly as large or as noisy –
and I didn’t get any new photos of them.

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  • 

ORIGINALLY POSTED AUGUST 27, 2009:

We’ve been hearing the cicadas singing in the trees since they hatched out.

Supposedly, they sing loudest and best in hot weather.
Well — this has been a near-perfect season for them!

When I was growing up,
we spent summer vacations with our cousins at our grandparents’ home.
We would pick the “locust shells” (as we called them) off their big oak trees
and see which cousin could collect the most.
Of course, back then we couldn’t see them up close and personal
like we can now with digital photography!
If I could’ve seen them that well,
I’m not sure I would’ve stuffed so many into my pockets!

This one looks like a little monster, doesn’t he??

 Here is one of the cicadas after emerging from its shell (pictures taken with cell phone).

We think the cicadas in our area have a life cycle of 13 years – a long time to live underground!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thank y’all for stopping by to visit Little Things.
May your life be filled with little blessings, little chuckles,
and little deeds of kindness (both given and received)!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Weekly Photo Challenge: Textured

As I was going through my pictures to choose something for the “textured” theme,
I realized that each of these was photographed on a brick wall.
The brick-and-mortar background itself is a good example of “textured,”
so it was easy to narrow down my selection to the following five:
♦

DRAGONFLY

♦

ANOLE

♦

CICADA SHELL

♦

FROG

♦

SNAIL SHELL

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thank y’all for stopping by to visit Little Things.
May your life be filled with little blessings, little chuckles,
and little deeds of kindness (both given and received).

In our journey through life, we’ve all had rough patches in our background.
If we strive to make the best of them,
then the texture of our lives can be as strikingly beautiful as the creatures pictured above!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~