Call Me Crazy

Where shall I begin?

This morning I emptied the dishwasher first thing. Not blog worthy except for the fact that I did so because our owl stayed away today. Most days this week however, we've been treated to the sight of the owl quietly perched on a tree branch. Except one morning I watched as she swooped down to the water for something tasty which she proceeded to eat on the branch. I have no clue where the other owl went, but I'm thankful for every morning when one of them shows up.

Bruce came outside yesterday and began hooting at the owl who soon proceeded to fly off!

As you can see by the blurred motion, I get excited and can't for the life of me hold the camera still!! One morning while out searching, I was most delighted to see a Green Heron perched on a fallen tree branch. Herons of every type are easily seen around these parts, the green ones not so much.

Another morning, from our bedroom window, there was some excitement when I saw a mother Wood Duck and her brood walking in the grass, presumably to head over to the canal that leads to the big lake. It was Bruce who suggested I head outside to see what was happening. Never one to need prodding, I popped outdoors. Mama hid her family well in the grass...

that is until a Red Shouldered Hawk came flying in looking for food.

You should have seen how fast the duck family moved in an effort to be safe! Fortunately they made it to the water in time, although the mama was quite vocal expressing her either relief, or dismay that it happened at all!

Staying on Lake Willisara, I have no explanation why this is so, but our four ducklings seemed to have made it past the danger phase with all four of them growing up!

Because you have been following along, I bet this surprises you as well. Generally the ducklings don't make it so this seems to be quite rare. Interestingly enough, or at least to me, is the fact that the Papa has been nowhere to be found unlike earlier in the season when both parents were attentive. Isn't it fun watching real time nature?

Veering away from nature for a moment, let's go inside, specifically our bedroom where I had Bruce hang this super neat plant hanger that I filled with cuttings.

I nearly returned it because I couldn't think of a suitable location, but then thought of this idea which will work better once we replace the art work. Another thing I began work on is a small bed quilt for the end of our bed. While I love the scrappy one I have, in an attempt to coordinate things I pulled fabric from my baskets along with a few new purchased pieces which are shown piled up on my sewing table.

For me, this little corner is what makes a house a home. Firstly a better look at the drapery material! On the shelves is a wooden Puffin Nancy brought back from Iceland, a flower calendar from London, a photo I took at Bill and Fallon's wedding, the framed photos above are ones my Dad took in Rome in the 60's, and the list goes on. That orange stuff on the left is the awesome ironing board Bill gave me for Christmas several years ago that stayed up when I had my sewing room. Now, however, I struggle to find a good place to set it up when I'm sewing. For now, I iron in our bathroom. That's a new one, right? One of the reasons I wanted to make something more of our bedroom is that it felt so sterile before that it did not foster a place for creativity, thus my sewing machine remained in the off position. It would be a stretch to say that I've got my mojo back just yet, but I did put together a super simple piece that is still in the works.

Here's something exciting.....our very first Gardenia bloom!

Right about now you are thinking to yourself, same old, same old. Or maybe you aren't, but you would love to see something brand new. Am I right? Let's get on it then, shall we?

Thinking through my twelve years of blogging, I can't remember a time that I featured fungi, but then again, we all know how bad my memory is so I could just as easily be wrong about that. In any case, two days ago when Bruce was walking with me around Lake Davis, almost immediately I noticed a greenish colored mushroom in the leaves under the spreading arms of one of the many large oak trees.

Not long after, I saw some that were deep orange. And then I saw others that were of various sizes, some small and some huge as the one pictured below.

Were they all there on Tuesday and I just didn't notice? A mystery was developing and the more I saw the more intrigued I became. As we did with the alligators, I began a mental tally, thinking that I'd seen at least ten different mushrooms. So?

Following our sweaty walk, we visited Maureen who is doing as well as can be expected. No better, but no worse. Then we came home and had tuna fish sandwiches. The thing is, I could not get those mushrooms off my mind, prompting me to go to the web and find out what I could about Florida mushrooms. Not as much as you might think, or at least with my limited skills. What I did find, however, were not one, but two Facebook pages devoted to edible mushrooms. Scrolling through I still wasn't really able to identify the ones I'd seen. In spite of the crazy heat at that time of the day, I told Bruce, I think I'll go back and get some samples to examine. "Sure honey, have fun!"

If you can imagine, aside from the Muscovy ducks that followed me because I was holding a bag (and small knife), I barely noticed the birds while collecting sixteen different kinds of mushrooms! You know what comes next don't you? Yup....photos!

That one in the front that has what looks like cocoa powder on it was very interesting, although I still can't identify a single one of them, they sure are fascinating.

Some come in little clumps, some are thick, some large as a pita bread, and oh so colorful.  The undersides are as varied as the caps.

Once I was home, I got a large sheet of parchment paper, carefully laying them all out, dirt, twigs, weeds, and all. Before long a few small bugs crawled out prompting me to re-think where I had them. Yup, they went back outdoors on the front porch. I even had a little show and tell when I went to the pool to meet up with Susan, Sandy and Gayle who humored me by feigning interest. Just kidding, I think they weren't faking it!

During that afternoon hunt, I never did spot the greenish one, but it did satisfy my curiosity, at least for the time being. That said, it's highly unlikely that I will become a forager, simply because it is too scientific for the likes of me. Anyway, I'm still learning about birds, and I hope you are as well.

While Bruce is attending the condo association budget meeting, I am doing laundry in preparation for our trip, only two days away now. Woo hoo!!

your friend,

Gail

p.s. I began this post yesterday morning, stopping for an excursion that began with me returning all the mushrooms to Lake Davis in case they are food for some creatures. Perhaps I'll pop over there once the laundry is done and check on them. Call me crazy....