THE GIFT OF THE DAY

This was my gift for today. As I was cleaning out the cat dishes, I noticed the colors around and behind St Francis, otherwise known as St Fwankie by my little neighbor friend. I hoped I could get the colors to come out, but I think the sun was a bit too bright. I might try again this evening.

YESTERDAY'S GIFT

SOMETIMES LIFE is amazing, isn't it? Every year, for as many years as I can remember, my first fall camellia has opened on my birthday. This year was no exception. I have 2 of these bushes, both are over 10 feet tall. They are probably 20 years old by now... The one in front of my bedroom window opens so it is the first thing I see when I get up on my birthday and open the curtain. Is that cool or what? Kinda Ma Nature saying, "Happy Birthday, old girl!"

MORE SLEEPING PLACES!

I did a post about a week or so ago about the places the outside boys like to sleep in the summer time. I kept hoping to get Punkin in one of his favorite places, but just about everytime I go outside, Punkie gets up and comes over to me for some lovin'! As you can see here, the boys were sleeping all curled up together until they noticed I was out in the yard. I am glad this new camera is faster than my old Nikon, as Punk was up and rubbing against my leg in a second after I took this shot.
Often they sleep right next to the carport, especially if it is threatening rain. Here they are curled up next to the house plants that are outside for the summer. Soon it will be time for the plants to come in... the guys were asleep on the greenhouse last night, curled up together in the same little box.

As I went out with the camera, Spook hopped up and ran (he is, after all, Spook!) Punkin, however was apparently sound asleep, and not happy about waking up. But he rose to the occasion and demanded a belly rub... and food.

But sometimes, bless his heart, he is just dead to the world. How he can be comfortable like this, I have no idea. That is left over gravel from my driveway. He often sleeps here all night!

WHILE HANGING CLOTHES ON THE LINE...

WHILE HANGING THE CLOTHES ON THE LINE yesterday, I spotted a flash of bright blue on a nearby stump, actually one of my Buddha stumps. I dropped the towel back into the basket and went in the house for the camera. It had already been a day of pretty gifts with blue on them, the Dianas on the carport, and here was one more blue gift. It was a young Blue Tailed Skink. Now, really, isn't he really kinda pretty, for a lizard, I mean???

Blue-tailed skinks are usually about 4 to 8 centimeters long. This one was about 5 inches long. What is so cool about them, besides their color, is that if they become frightened they have the ability to pop their tail off and it will continue to wiggle and distract their predator while they run away! They then grow a new tail, which I understand looks more or less the same, but it does not have any vertebrae in it. I don't really remember if it has a piece of cartilage, but I know it does not regrow any bones.The young have a dark black body with bright yellow stripes leading from the back of the neck down to the meeting of the bright blue tail. Apparently as the juvenile males age, they lose their yellowish stripes and their back starts to become a brownish black color, and they begin to grow a reddish color underneath the neck during the mating seasons. It seems the females usually keep their blue tail for their whole life, though. The little guy I photographed has a hint of reddish orange around the head area. But I like the turquoise stripes leading to the blue tail.

We have had lots of these skinks around this year. I am sure they are usually around, it is just that I have not noticed so many before.

OK, don't forget to send me your "Gifts!" or post them on your blog and send me a link in the comment section!

TWO GIFTS ALMOST AT ONCE!

The sun came out today for a while. It has been a cool, wet week, over 6 1/2 inches of rain, temps in the low 70s. To be honest, I have not felt very well for a couple of weeks, so I have not been outside as much as I have wanted to be. But, on my way to take the trash out this morning, a Diana greeted me on the carport. Dianas often visit what appears to be bare ground or the concrete on the carport or patio. Sometimes they check out the old or left over cat food. I have seldom seen one on a flower. Someone told me they ingest some kind of minerals from the dirt. Maybe my carport floor is dirtier than I think! LOL!

Male Dianas are orange and black. I don't see as many of them as I do the females, or maybe it is because I think the females are prettier. Check them out at http://www.stateanimals.com/states/arkansas/diana_text.html.

After taking a couple pictures of the first Diana, I headed for the trash can and scared her away. She flew out to the camellia bush out front and was still there when I headed back to the door. Another one had taken her place. Wow! 2 in one day! Enjoy!

PS - I am still waiting permission to post pix others have taken. But remember, the rules are - YOU must have been the one to take the shot. I appreciate all the pictures I have gotten that are beautiful, but I dare only post ones taken by you! Thanks!

OH, and if you have a blog and want to post your shot on YOUR blog - no problem, just post your blog link in a comment on my blog and folks can hop right over there!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

COUSIN KATHY, Happy Birthday to you! And many, many more!

ANOTHER GIFT

FIRST, I want to thank those of you who have sent pics... when you give me permission, I will post them on here. But, please, be sure the picture was taken by you so I don't make the copyright people unhappy with me.

The butterflies have been very busy. And I have been busy, too, but every now and then I have a moment when I can grab the camera and sneak up on one of them. It really doesn't give me time to play with the settings, so sometimes the wings are a blurr as they are moving so fast. But they are real happy with my fall azaleas. And I am glad...

I LOVE PUNS!

ENJOY!

PUNS FOR EDUCATED MINDS
1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.. Heacquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out tobe an optical Aleutian .
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
6. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
7. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in LinoleumBlownapart.
8. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
9. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
11. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
12. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'
13. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
14. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'
15.. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium atlarge.
16. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasonedveteran.
17. A backward poet writes inverse.
18. In a democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your countthat votes.
19. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
20. Some wives mend their husband's socks Others don't give a darn.

(Thanks, Frank!)

TODAY'S GIFT

I believe there are gifts out there just waiting for us to find them everyday. There are those who see only gloom and doom, and let's face it, there is a lot of that to go around. But I have always been one to seek the wildflower among the weeds (and do I ever have a weed collection!) or a spot of beauty somewhere in the midst of the "average." It is always there if you just look for it. Or maybe you have to change your thinking in order to see the beauty in some things. Obviously, I can thrill at the sight of a baby possum. Some people are so convinced they are ugly, nasty things, they can not allow themselves to see any cuteness in those little faces. It is true, there are a few things I do not think of as beautiful, but I am willing to be convinced.
A few moments ago, I was doing up the lunch dishes. I can't imagine having a sink without a window - so, I was looking and washing. Did I mention the fall azaleas have started to bloom? And this is what I saw. So I quickly dried my hands and grabbed a camera. The swallowtail was very camera shy, one shot was all I got, but it is enough. Why be greedy? And I just had to share it with you! My gift to you!
Wouldn't it be cool if everyone went out and took a picture, just one, of something beautiful today, and sent it on to their friends, and then their friends took a picture of something beautiful and sent it to their friends... well, you get the idea. We could flood the internet with pictures of the beauty all around us - our own personalized piece of beauty, not someone else's pictures, but something of our own... What an idea! I will be waiting to see what YOU have to offer!

SLEEPING PLACES

DIDJA ever notice the strange places cats find to sleep? Can this possibly be comfortable? Naturally, we expect them to find shady places when it is warm and sunny places when it is cool, but some of the places defy any reason - to a human. I guess under the chair is cooler than in the chair... I wonder if the truck is fun to sleep with? Guess it is a boy thing. Some times it is just so sweet to see Punkin and Spook curled up together. Most the time Spook is hidden, well out of sight - or so it seems, until he gets scared and suddenly runs out from under or behind something. Punk, on the other hand, is usually easier to find. Maybe it is his orange color that seems out of place.

I wonder if one gets any special benefit to sleeping in the shade of a Tibetan Prayer flag???? Seems like there is more cat than there is shade, here, Punk.

A good pile of hay is always comfy... unless there are fleas in it! Can't snooze for biting!