Just sitting here blogging

I was happy when Gattina jumped in and said she would host the next Fun Monday because I was starting to panic, worrying about who was going to host and if I should just maybe go off on my own and start posting a "Macro Monday" like I have thought about doing.  Then, she goes and asks us something so revealing that I still almost didn't sign up.

By Sunday, I am sitting here thinking, 'Wow, where did the weekend go?' and 'What the heck, I'll reveal what a disorganized mess I am.'  Honestly, I blog from many, many places.  My husband travels with his job and I often go with him.  So I might be blogging from a motel in Door County or a Starbucks in Lake Geneva, I might be offline preparing a post or photos while sitting in the car while hubs is in a plant.  Sometimes, I prepare a written post on the PDA while waiting for him.

Often I sit in bed and blog, or if I really need some place to concentrate I move to a chair in the yard.  The yard is great place to think, communing with nature while my wheels turn.  But there is another place I blog and read blogs and scrapbook and make cards and . . .

So there it is, in all its glory, my desk!  I've made a few cards this week and trusted that you wanted my desk as it set today, no preparing it, scrubbing it down and cleaning it off.  Yes, my laptop does still fit on it.

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Guess what, hubs updated our Newdae Photography Website, if you have a chance maybe you can pop over and check it out?

Birds of Sandhill

Wondered around Sandhill Nature Preserve for a little bit. Not sure what kind of bird this one was, but it was curious. Pine Siskin?

Scarlet Tanager

Thrush

Big Black Bug

Big

Big Black

Big Black Bug

Big Black Bug Backing up.

Whatever will I do when my son quits wanting to find bugs for me to photograph? I will miss them; I never would have found this one if it wasn't for him.

Midnight Snack

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

One afternoon I noticed this daddy longlegs on my flowers and wondered if the little red spots on its legs were eggs. I still am not sure about that, my son insists the red things are chiggers but we don’t have chiggers in Wisconsin.

Later that same evening my son discovered him having his midnight snack. It’s kinda gross but kinda cool and I was transfixed watching him eat the dragonfly. (See the one red thing still on a leg?)

Creepy, cool!

Munch, munch, munch, dragonflies make good lunch. (If you’re a daddy longlegs)

When I checked the next morning, only the wings remained.

Leopard Lily falls while SeeSawing

Well okay, I admit it, this photo is from last fall. But I tell ya, with all the yellows and reds I’m starting to see amongst the green it won’t be long and this’ll be here. This makes some people kinda cranky because they know. . .

. . .these days aren’t far behind. (side note - the snow was knee deep in areas and when I fell, somehow twisted my legs and could not get up, Dennis took the camera from around my neck and snapped before helping me up)

Thanx to Misti and SwampAngel, I now know that my mystery plant is a Leopard Lily (Ledebouria socialis) and it comes from South Africa. I love how full it is getting but am feeling a little guilty, like maybe I should divide it up.

This little sweetheart has given me my newest nickname, and I have to say it is one of my favorites. In fact, I like my new name SO much that I thought about changing my blog to SeeSaw’s Chaos. SeeSaw describes me in more ways than she could possible understand right now.

My tv and my bed swapped places and now the tv seems so far away, how in the heck can that be?

Tristan and his mom and dad left for vacation a few days ago, they made it to Chicago about 9pm and then a very panicked Britney rang my phone. She was the most hysterical I have ever heard! They were on the I90 toll way when their car died, just died in the one of the middle lanes. Well, it was dark and they had no clue if their lights were working and she was terrified they were going to be rear-ended.

I absolutely understand her fear and my stomach quickly turned to think of them being in that situation and me being four hours away and unable to help. A police officer did come along and help them get out of the way. To keep a long story short, there were lots of phone calls and a trip to an auto store, where it was determined to be the fuel filter that was causing issues and by midnight they were back on the road.

After the long drive to Pennsylvania Tristan wants nothing else to do with the car. I sure hope he can handle it one more time to come back home, I’m missing the little booger!

Yes, smelling the flowers means putting the flower in your eye!  Have you been doing it right?

It's a dog eat dog world - or is that dragonfly eat dragonfly?

Carnivorous dragonflies? I never knew!

Mysterious plant

Many years ago I bought a plant at a garage sale that the lady called an Ornamental Onion. It grew and thrived and was like nothing I had ever seen. Then, like I often manage to do, I killed it.

A couple of years ago, I managed to find another one, again at a garage sale. I love the unique look of the leaves and I planted it in one of the planters we bought while living in Texas. In the summer, I love to set it in the antique baby swing we found at another rummage sale.

When I decided to share this plant with you, I did some searching on the net for Ornamental Onion and saw nothing like this. So maybe it’s called something else? Do you know? Whatever it is, it loves to bloom in the summer.

It sends a few stalks out of little tiny purple blooms. They are so small (smaller than a popcorn kernal) and easy to overlook. But, they always delight me.

Useless Information

I was not really sure if I could come up with any little bits of trivia as the ladies over at Mama Drama requested. I can't remember my name half the time so I really don't remember anything unimportant from school. It took me quizzing some family members to come up with a few tidbits to share.

Years ago the kids and I gave my mom some fire bellied toads and mom has found out that only the males makes noise and it’s a barking noise. Also, they typically mate during storms.

Did you know that butterflies smell with their antennae and taste with their feet?

Did you know that flies can buzz without wings?

I also found out that the plastic (or metal) thing on the end of shoelaces is called an aglet, or aiglet.

With the exception of the aglets, I dug into my archives for the photos and they were all taken before my life with a digital SLR, in my days of point-and-shoot.

Update: I remember something from grade school - 'Able was I ere I saw Elba' - said by Napolean and a sentence that if you flipped it over would still read the same.

Also - 8 times 8 fell on the floor, picked it up and it was 64.

9x1=09
9x2=18
9x3=27
9x4=36
9x5=45
9x6=54
9x7=63
9x8=72
9x9=81
9x10=90

And to multiply the 9s all you have to do is write 0-9 all the way down, then come back up with 0-9 and you have the answers, 09, 18,27 - make sense?

Blue & Green Herons

While we were at the Sandhill Wildlife Refuge we did not manage to see any Sandhill Cranes, but we saw a Great Blue Heron.

Would you believe that this was only the second time I have ever seen a Green Heron?

And these are the best photos I could manage? Stupid bird kept moving away from me. *pouting* Go ahead, show me your awesome Green Herons, I promise I won't cry.