A Full-time Life

MAY DAY 2017

   

 May Day is for giving away flowers.  

 When I was little we made May Day construction paper cornucopias and arranged jammed some garden flowers into them.    The tradition was to hang these baskets on neighbors' doorknobs, ring the bell and then run and hide.  I don't think the run-away part carried on to the next generation, but our kids used to take flowers to neighbors to celebrate the day.    And Bill and I always took bouquets from the garden to our work.    

 

 

We don't garden any longer and anyway most of our close neighbors here have already left for the summer season.... but here is a virtual arrangement for you -- our virtual neighbors.  

These certainly are not the same Spring flowers we (and our kids) enjoyed when we lived in the Pacific Northwest.  But they are good examples of the more tropical blooms we see here on Florida's Gulf Coast this time of year.

 

 

    No rhododendrons, no lilacs,  no tulips ..... but Plan B flowers are good too!

 

 

 

 

All of the flowers today are from our April visit to Naples Botanical Gardens.   I was fascinated by the purple centers on those daisy-like flowers and the blue-green tendrils on the vine in the center.   An unreal color -- but occurring naturally (no photo enhancement on any of these pictures).  

 

 

 

 

I'm pretty sure the sign really says  "Dancing Tree", but I'd like to pretend the lizard's foot  is covering an "F" instead and it it means that he is Dancing Free... as all lizards should.

 

 

Here is one more of the origami sculptures  at the Gardens  (there are more here at this earlier post).  This one is doing a lovely job of pointing out the beautiful blue Florida sky.    (Which is a definite advantage to spending April and May here.)

 

 

 Linking this week to: NATURE NOTES; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; MACRO MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; THROUGH MY LENS; FLORAL BLISS; SIGNS SIGNS; WEDNESDAY WATERS; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY.  THANK YOU to all of the hosts.  

 

BIRD BRAINS

  

On a  recent mini-roadtrip to Cortez Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico,  we did what we almost always do when we go away --  watched beautiful birds and observed their behavior.  

 

 

 

This handsome Great Blue Heron patiently waited for prey to swim by.

 

  

 

 

More birds looking for their next meal.   The Little Blue Heron walked along the shore hunting; Ibis (in breeding colors) searched for and caught small fish; and the always opportunistic gulls were probably hoping for a handout from the photographer.   

 

  

 

Shortly after we returned from that trip, my sister sent an e-mail linking to a review of this book.    I've always thought birds are smarter than usually credited and was happy to find the book at our Library.  I'd just started reading it when we went away on another short road-trip.

On our way home, we found a bird that definitely didn't qualify as a subject for the book.   We were driving our RoadTrek camper van just outside Sarasota when a car in the next lane beeped and made the universal gesture that something was wrong with our car.  Slightly panicked, I rolled down the window and the fellow shouted "You have a bird living in your air-conditioner ... I think it may be trapped."

 

 

 

Poor thing!

We pulled in at the very next driveway and there the poor mockingbird was -- trapped for sure in our roof A/C unit and growing more and more frantic.  She'd apparently flown in through the wider opening at the bottom, but couldn't see it once she was inside.      We had camped in the van the night before and run the A/C, so we knew the bird hadn't been there very long.    She must have flown in while we were making a short pit-stop just a few minutes earlier.  (In fact we were still sipping  our iced coffees.)  

 

 

 

 

Luckily, the driveway happened to be to a parking lot for an AutoZone.  And this auto parts/repair store had the right tools to loosen the heavy bolts holding the unit.  This employee started the work -- he was tall enough not to need a ladder.  But even with the A/C unit lifted partly up, the frantic bird was still afraid to fly out.  After about 20 minutes, the store manager came out wearing gloves and was finally able to reach in and catch the bird.  Which quickly flew back the way we'd come.     Definitely not a good example of the genius of birds, but I hope she was at least smart enough to have learned a lesson.   

The manager tightened the bolts again, just laughed about the whole thing, and didn't charge us at all for the time.    Bill said that AutoZone had always been his first choice when he needed car parts and service  -- and it certainly is now.  

 

The picture below is a different mockingbird (maybe smarter, maybe luckier, definitely happier.) 

 

 

Linking to the following sharing opportunities: OUR WORLD on Tuesday; NATURE NOTES; MOSAIC MONDAY; ALL SEASONS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY;  WEDNESDAY WATERS;  SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING. Thank you to all of the hosts.  

PEACE IN THE GARDEN

  

 

 

When we visited Naples Botanical Gardens last Tuesday, a group was learning to make mandalas from fallen flower petals.   Although we didn't take part in the activity, I found that  gazing at the arrangements and making photographs were meditative experiences in themselves.

We went to the Gardens to see the Origami Sculptures that are on display this month.  

And of course to enjoy the flowers.

 

 

 

The tower of cranes in the  center was created by sculptors Kevin and Jennifer Box.   Called "MasterPeace", it was inspired by the Japanese “Senbazuru," the act of creating one thousand origami cranes within a single year as a wish for peace, long life and good health.  Five hundred of the thousand cranes they created are scattered around the world as individual sculptures.  The other 500 are gathered together here in this 25-foot tall monument.  (All one thousand cranes are represented as together through the reflection in the pond.)

 

 

 

The single white crane is a symbol of peace and also a symbol of the spirit or soul.

 

 

 

 

Botanical Gardens always make me feel good ...

and on this visit, the hopeful symbolism of the origami cranes and of the mandalas was a beautiful bonus.

Someday in this world I hope our wish for peace comes true.

 

 

Linking to:  ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  FLORAL BLISS; and OUR WORLD on Tuesday.  Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

 

 

 

WALK OF THE WEEK - Eco Preserve

 

 Our (board)walk of the week was at Four-Mile Cove Eco Preserve in Cape Coral.   Here are some moods of the evening sky on that day.

 

 

 We saw the usual birds at the preserve -- Great Blue Herons, Ibis, Egrets, all those crows enjoying the air currents, but nothing super exciting.  (All birds are fun to watch, but we saw nothing that I haven't already posted several times.) 

Instead, the best birds we saw were  along a city street on our way there.  I've probably already shown a million pictures of burrowing owls too, but the cuteness factor is so darn high, I never tire of looking at  ... and  showing off ... these babies. 

 

  

 

An adult burrowing owl kept watch from a stake put up for her convenience.    It's pretty easy to spot owl burrows --  these stakes and the white pipe mark the safety  zones for these honored residents of the Cape. 

 

 

Above is a closer look at the owlets (zoomed in -- I didn't get any closer to the burrow).    Last year, I had a comment from a woman known as Cape Coral's Owl Lady, explaining that the dark-eyed ones are a mutation due to inbreeding.   (These owls don't migrate.  As the Owl Lady said, the Cape Coral owls like it here in Florida and don't want to go anywhere else.)   Three of this group of siblings had the more typical yellow eyes.  

While I was watching,  all of a sudden the one on the left slipped into the burrow  -- it  looked like it just kind of disappeared into the ground.

 

 

And then there were three.

The rest were soon to follow one-by-one.  It must have been their bedtime.

 

Following is a bonus left over from one of our excursions last month.   Too bad there's no way to enjoy  the delicious aroma of orange blossoms as we look at the pictures.

 

Nearly all oranges grown in Florida are Valencias -- mostly used for juice.    They taste fine, but they're harder to peel than navels and other eating varieties.   Different from other varieties of oranges (and, I think, most fruit trees) blossoms and fruit grow on Valencia trees at the same time.  A real win-win.... tasty fruit and wonderfully scented flowers all at the same time.    

 

Linking to the following sharing opportunities:  

SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SCENIC WEEKENDS; SATURDAY CRITTERS;  RATHER B' BIRDING;  ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; FLORAL BLISS; and WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY.

 

Thank you to all of the generous hosts.