Friday, December 10, 2021

A Quiet Life


This little one is a green tree frog. The color did not really come out very well and I do not know why. He's not nearly as brown as he looks there. He is clinging to the clothesline and I never in a million years would have seen him if I hadn't been hanging the laundry out today. They are native to this area and not rare but it's always lovely to see one. I love their little faces, their big eyes. There is a page HERE where you can listen to short snippets of their calls. 
Or, if you'd like, you can watch a Rated R very short film of what might be happening when you hear them calling. 

 


Sexy times with an intruder sneaking in for the prize. Poor little wooer guy. He sang his heart out and then... well, you watch if you want. Get out your hankie. 

Mr. Moon got in last night around 8:45. I was eating my supper and he walked into the Glen Den and I yipped and jumped up to hug him. He was home! He didn't shoot a Tennessee deer or a Tennessee anything but he did stock up on some Tennessee barbecue which is great because no one needs to clean it or cut it. It's done done, as we might say. And it is delicious. 
The cats were happy to see him, Jack presenting himself to be petted by the man and Maurice strolling by and pretending not to be interested in the fact that he was back. I think she is very glad he's home though. 
I know I am. 


Here's the other alpha male around here. Liberace. 
The lovely feathers you see on the back of him in front of his tail feathers are called saddle feathers. Makes sense. They refer to a "waterfall" of the saddle feathers. And the feathers around his neck are called hackle feathers. And there you go- yet one more expression we use based on chickens and/or their behavior. We all know what happens when Mama raises her hackles. When roosters are angry and in attack mode, they raise those feathers high, making themselves look bigger and fiercer. Liberace is not a really fancy rooster but I think his golden feathers are pretty and when the sun shines on them, they glow and glisten as if they'd been oiled. He's still growing his feathers out after his last molt and the tail feathers will get longer. He's a fine rooster, an excellent and very attentive watch guard for his flock, and always on the lookout, not only for potential threats but also for food. When he finds some, he makes his tid-bit call to tell the ladies that he's found treats and they run to see what he's got. And best of all- he's not a mean rooster. He's never so much as raised one hackle around us and he seems to treat the hens with loving care. 
A good rooster, like a good man, is a fine and mostly gentle thing. 

Well. This has turned into a nature lesson, has it not? I suppose that's because I really don't have much else to write about. I'm still not feeling so very well and took a nap this afternoon. I've left clothes on the line for overnight and that is something I never do. But they're not going anywhere. 

I hear the drummer at the church next door getting into his beat, car doors slamming, children calling out. Here we are on our own little plot of dirt, Friday night, maybe a martini won't kill me. It's warm and muggy, December in north Florida, frogs tuning up in the marsh down from the railroad tracks. I can almost feel the camellia buds swelling and opening in the dark, their leaves as green and glossy as the magnolia grandiflora. The ashe magnolias look like sticks now but they are as alive as anything could be, just taking their rest time as are the Japanese magnolias with their bare branches. Before I know it, they will be putting out their lavender-mauve buds, one of our heralds of spring. 
I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself there. But time flies so quickly. A blink, a nap, the season has moved on. 

This is the way it is. 

Happy Friday, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon

31 comments:

  1. So glad Glen has returned to you! The cats are happy yet aloof! Liberace is a beautiful rooster!
    All's right with your little plot of land!

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    1. Exactly. We all have our roles to play and we play them well.

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  2. It was so warm today and humid. Yesterday and today I had to turn the air conditioner on in the studio. Normally I would just have the door open but it was breezy yesterday and downright windy today and I didn't want the wind blowing my frit around or drying out my mold. I don't mind warm Decembers but being in the 80s is a little too much. Sorry you are still feeling puny. I had my annual physical today and my bloodwork showed improvements across the board and for once my blood pressure wasn't high. Of course I spent the whole drive in chanting 140 over 70 and being relaxed.

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    1. Same here. People are complaining about feeling like they need to turn the AC on. And yes- it is so humid. I keep thinking about Steve and his dehumidifier. I would need about ten of them for this house.
      So glad to hear about your good bloodwork! Terrific, Ellen!

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  3. Maurice's pretended disinterest is most likely her way of demonstrating that she's miffed at her guy for having gone away in the first place. An attached cat doesn't like her attachment taken for granted! Especially a crackpot cat like Maurice.
    But surely you can empathize with her mixed and muddled feline feelings....

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    1. "Crackpot"? Oh well, I suppose she is.
      And I think we can all relate to having mixed feelings about things. As with many humans, I do believe that Maurice will forever be affected by childhood trauma. Kittenhood?

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  4. I liked the survey of beings, human, feline, and amphibian. All's well then everyone in place. I think you like that.

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    1. Three times I tried to add in feathered snd hit the wrong button, gah.

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  5. Liberace is so lovely and such a fine portrait of him you have taken, I am thinking to paint him!
    Your days are all lovely and warm, I settle in with a cup of scalding tea , sit back and pretend that I am there with you. All warm and moist...

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    1. You could always do a search for "Elvis" on the blog and do a painting of him. He was such a beauty. How we loved that boy! But Liberace is pretty fine too, honestly.
      Warm and moist is a very good description of how it feels around here. I swear- I'm afraid my baby greens are going to bolt!

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  6. Well, I must say I was a little shocked at the frog porn. A three way? Or really a two way with some other guy butting in. Who knew?

    Glad your hubby is home and safe. The rooster is watching over his flock and Mr. Moon will keep you warm tonight. Sleep well my friend.

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    1. Yes m'am! A froggie three-way. Informed consent neither asked nor given!
      I am sleeping very well with the man back. It's a sweetness, having him beside me again.

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  7. We are so much the same but in one thing we differ. Frogs, lizards, rodents freak me out. I guess I'm that's why I'm the city sister and you're the nature girl. I'm a little worried that you're under the weather feeling is still hanging on. I hope the babies are all well again, and that you soon will be too.

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    1. Well I promise you that I do not "handle" the little critters. I am ashamed of myself for that but it's not something I feel comfortable doing. But yes- I do love seeing them and knowing they are around.
      I'd be a bit more concerned about the lingering affects of this crap but Jessie reports the same and August is just now pulling out of it so...
      I think it's the nature of the beast.

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  8. I love your nature notes. Tree frogs are about my favorite creatures in the world, and the don't live in our sagebrush desert, so thank you especially. Glad Mr. Moon is home safe and sound, and I suspect as happy to see you are you are to see him.

    And Liberace. What a fine fellow in all ways. (One drawback to living in town is that roosters aren't allowed. One day-old Rhode Island Red chick from the feedstore grew up into a rooster, and a gentle handsome one like Liberace. I was extremely fortunate to find a home for him on a farm that was looking for sweet-tempered roosters to add to their breeding line.)

    Chris from Boise

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    1. I'm so glad that I could bring a little green frog into your world. And I'm also glad to hear that you found a home for your own beautiful rooster.

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  9. Welcome home Mr.Moon ! Good to know he is safely back. That rooster is one beautiful bird.Like Linda Sue, I would love to be able to paint him, but sadly don't have the skills.

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    1. I wish I could paint too! But I truly cannot. When I try to draw or paint I realize that I have no idea what things look like and even if I'm looking right at them or at a picture, I cannot translate what I see onto paper.
      Sigh.

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  10. Liberace is indeed a fine rooster or as we say in England - a fine cock! I am glad that Glen is home safe and sound after his Tennessee trip. Did you know that there is a valley that leads to the true highlands of Scotland called The Great Glen?

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    1. As well there should be! The Great and Mighty Glen!

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  11. Love the tree frog video! From what you wrote I was afraid he was going to die, so I'm glad THAT didn't happen, at least. It is weird how the frog in your photo looks so brown. I was going to say I'd never seen one quite like that!

    Glad Mr. Moon is home safe and Maurice is practicing her indifference. LOL!

    I never knew what "hackles" were. I always thought it was some kind of horse thing.

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    1. Nope. No one died in that film. Just the hopes and dreams of a little green frog.
      I'm glad that Mr. Moon is home too! Maurice is being Maurice. She's a hoot, that one.
      Mammals do have hackles. They are the hairs on the back of the neck so...

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  12. Are you sure you didn't have Covid? Your tiredness sounds like what my daughter had as she recovered from her Covid...
    Hope you get your energy back! Hope you can plan some holiday fun with family.

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    1. I'm pretty sure that I don't have covid. I haven't been exposed to anyone with it as far as I know and what I have seems exactly like what Jessie's and Lily's families have had.
      We haven't pinned down any holiday fun plans yet. We better get started on that, I suppose.

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  13. Oh wow, between that frog and Liberace you are surrounded by pure handsomeness (oh and Mr. Moon coming home too)! Lucky lady!

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  14. I love both the frog and the rooster! Also the fact that Mr. Moon is home. :)

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