seriouslyscorpio

thoughts of the moment and of my life

Tag Archives: mother nature


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NO CURFEW IN THE GULF


Well, I’m here to say, there is seems no end to this spring party in the Gulf….One doesn’t hear much, but the beaches are jump’in..yes, even ‘in the air’ jump’in.

Now that the little guys have arrived, their extended family have received their invites. It is time for sprucing up the digs, so many hermit crabs are up sizing. Yes, they do outgrow, their studio type homes, so searches go on constantly. People (nice humans) who visit the Gulf, know they should only take one live shell away from the beach each visit……what a shame they are allowed even that.
(another ‘be that as it may’) So it is proper etiquette to lift gently and peek in to these shell homes first, before plopping them into your bucket. If they have set up housekeeping, it is then necessary to put them back, and apologize for making thier little hearts skip a beat.

As spring progresses, many empty shell bodies are found. The tides give us a new view of what the Gulf has to offer, and the waves gently deposit the new, old, and empty shells of life in it’s beautiful waters. It is a fact of life, life and death, and the Gulf of Mexico shows us how the grand plan was put into place. I still wonder, at almost age 70, why things are the way they are, so don’t feel alone, if you wonder the same, now and then.

Discarded shells from other generations do provide exquisite art that cannot be duplicated. Their color, their shape, and their design are the architecture of God. Each is made to house the life inside…and is done so to perfection. Take note…..and know it is a simple joy to ‘stop’ and look at these treasures….they will move you and replenish your soul.

I spent the evening at low tide, picking and choosing my next gallon of shells….What a wonderful and inexpensive habit I have. The warmth of spring, the waters of the Gulf, a good friend, and a bucket. These are the days to remember. Thank goodness I’ve been allowed to realize these moments. Just take 60 seconds…and stop to look around…then take 70 seconds and then 80. Take in all the gifts God gives us each day..for free!!


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ACORN HARVESTING, SOUTH FLORIDA STYLE


South Florida should have an Acorn Festival….there are more acorns in my yard than the 6 squirrels living here can handle. They aren’t even hiding them…not even from one another for fun. They let them lie, they let them pile up. I think they need to stay in the higher branches of the oak trees or they will be pummeled. This year there are more acorns than even the old timers can remember. They bang on the tin roofs, they bang on the metal tops of the cars, they hit the as he works on his morning hit of cat nip, and they cover each and every inch of this yard.

There seems to be no reason for this gift from mother nature….and no end to gift giving! Maybe she forgot and waved her magic wand one too many times over our town, maybe too many squirrels called to say there were no acorns last year! All I know is that there is a possible oak forest coming here and I’m not prepared.

We raked a portion of the yard and filled our trash buckets for
‘green’ to overflowing….Remember now that acorns are not ‘leaf light’ and are not easy to rake, or to get out of the slits between the patio boards.

The acorns just lay there…..and sprout, oh yes, they are sprouting! Remember all my wonderful happy garden stores about saving seeds and cleaning the earth…..I ain’t sav’in these seeds and I’m aching all over from ‘cleaning the earth’ today.

South Florida also offers up another surprise with its oak trees….they don’t lose their leaves until Jan/Feb and they take forever to drop…..and, on top of that, there are little fuzzy flowers that come after that……to make more acorns, of course!

I know you are feeling sorry for me, as 12″ of snow fall in Minneapolis, or Spokane. I can see the tears from those of you in Buffalo. But please, have a heart and understand that these little devils are now laying in places I cannot reach…..and their sprouts are sprouting as we speak…..Ever read Jack and the Beanstalk…..?


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DEATH AND DY’IN BACK IN MY LITTLE TOWN


Creation, flawless as it is, is sometimes hard for us humans to understand. I know we all have different opinions when it comes to creation, and this discussion is not about that…..Mother Nature has pretty well put together how things work, the sun, the seasons, the temperature, the  chloroform idea, the magnetic field, and on and on.  I know there are a few forms of life we question when they over run our picnic tables, or swallow a deer whole, but since I wasn’t called on at the time of ‘making stuff’, I should be happy that I don’t have more or less anything.

But every now and then, I walk into sadness.  I know, we all have families, and friends who have passed, or have a certain type of chronic illness,  but at least, as humans, we have the ability to communicate our sorrow, our understanding, and our help.

My sadness comes for those, I can’t communicate with.   I know animals die in the forest, I know plants wither, but when it happens en mass, it is striking to the heart.   On the beaches of  south Florida, this time of year, the fighting conches are mating and dying.  They are wonderful little ‘people’ who spend their lives int he Gulf of Mexico.  They come in all sizes, shapes, and colors, and have a ‘foot claw’ that helps them move along in the sand.  They aren’t scary and don’t bite or sting or spit.  They are just wonderful little beings.

They become more human when you see them look up at you with their little telescopic eyes….they stick out of their shell, one on each side, and watch. Their eyes are on the end of the long telescopes…it is so cool!

Laws supposedly prohibit anyone from taking more than two live shells per day from the gulf…….right….. we could fill the local jails with people who bag these creatures by the hundreds …..and then are appalled at anyone who tells them to put the little guys back.  Another story….another time.

So now is the time of the year when the conchs come to mate.  I repeat, I know life and death are certain, but it causes one to pause when low tide uncovers the dead and dying by the thousands.  They leave us for their hereafter, and it doesn’t happen quickly…..Mother Nature steps in to see that their remains are taken care of by the local birds and hermit crabs. Admittedly, she has thought of everything, in spite of our doubts, but the whole thing is just hard to watch.  I am part of the cleanup  committee too.  Their colorful shells are carefully cleaned and used for decoration, crafts, and sent to schools where little ones learn about the sea.

All I’m say’in is, dang, when you are hit in the face with thousands of anything dying, it should have an effect on you.  How we treat  our fellow-man, how we treat our earth, and how we should care for every creature with love and respect, should cross our minds each time we walk around a life and not on it.

Handling sickness and death with love and compassion…..whether it is your friend, your pet, or the fighting conch is something we should strive for. Although we cannot change migration without dire consequences, we can feed those who are hungry and care for those who are alone and afraid.

Little eyes are little eyes, no matter who they belong to…….


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more…..rats, norwegian, that is


ah, the rat man cometh and me thinks the rat man thinks, he taketh away. I do enjoy Clarence….heck of a nice guy and he is doing is best, so I’m here to recommend him and have some fun too.

Some body and I mean ‘some body’ has been living, exercising, renting, or subletting an area of our attic for a few years now.  I think they are retired, maybe just passing thru from one neighborhood to the next. Who knows…

There are no little ‘bodies’ that I know of, and most of the time they are quiet tenants, however, lately all has not been well.  They have decided to scratch…either themselves, or a friend, or some wood, or insulation, I don’t know, but they are becoming too noisy for the neighborhood (my house).

Clarence came and set traps and has checked regularly for dead ‘bodies’, to no avail. He also plugged up areas where experienced rodents might want to get in.  We thought things were going extremely well, until about 3AM this AM.

First hubby woke up, then he paced, then kitty woke up, then he paced…he also had some crunchies, and then I woke up.  By then the activity in my bedroom was as busy as was whoever was in the attic.  We listened, we whispered, we listened, and then a decision was made (no we didn’t call Clarence).        Hubby, the hunter took his binoculars and his flashlight and went out to survey the roof of our bedroom.  He flashed here and there.  He    ‘binoculed’ here and there, but nothing was seen.  I watched and listened from the ‘inside’ and his light didn’t seem to bother our guest or guests.  They kept scratching, and banging around as tho it was mid-day.

So the hunter returned to bed, the cat returned to bed, and I followed.  Finally, around 4:30AM, the guest upstairs finally died, withered, got sick, gave up, was hit by his/her spouse, ate enough, or just left.  At 4:30AM in the AM who really cares.

Clarence was called  about 8:30 for an afternoon ‘check’….it is now 3:15 and no Clarence, therefore, no check.  Maybe Clarence melted in our ‘first rain of the season’….(previous blogs today).

Rats!!!!!!


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seeds of life


Have you ever read Lucifer’s Hammer?  I read it ages ago but can’t count how many times it has come back to haunt.  We absent mindedly take so much life for granted.  Just yesterday I cleaned a melon for supper.  I’m ashamed to say I carelessly tossed away the seeds, the spark, the promise of abundance, when, in fact, they could have changed people’s destiny because their health improved..

Then, maybe those little seeds dreamed of a vibrant fulfilling life in a child’s garden in the city, or maybe a college biology class working on feeding the world. Then again, maybe they were  the ‘worker bees’ , looking forward to being in the warm southern valley of California, to reproduce more of their lucious kind.

  Later on in the afternoon I began early cleaning of the yard.  All the agapanthus  have shown their best these past months and are now getting ready to retire.  Their mighty stems hold hundreds of black seeds, waiting for the opportunity to fall into the comfy, moist earth of summer. As their older brothers and sisters continue to grow from seasons under California skies, these new ‘kindergartners’  ready themselves for the cool seasons to come.

I truly had a difficult time throwing them away.  I have plenty, more than enough and I even give plants away at the end of each season. But these living beauties not only chose to give me asthetic pleasure for this summer, they chose to stay with me next year. And what did I do….I cut their blooms and sent them packing.

I feel bad, I am sad we all sometimes overlook what life is blessing us with. I don’t care if the English is not perfect in this writing….my heart is reminding me that we need to take better care of one another.  All lives are little seeds that need nourishing.  It may be the warmth of a garden, being taken care of by a tender heart.  Or it may be the warmth of a home, being taken care of by another tender soul. 

I promise to take better care of the seeds of life I run across.  I can help them find a new home, I can nurture them with the gifts of love, good morals and ethics, laughter, and forgiveness. Or I can help them go on to better places where they can be happy in new environments. 

Let the gardens flourish……   

So for the new seeds planned to send away, I’m getting them out of the green container, to let them dry in the sun in preparation for their new adventure. And for the ‘older, more mature’ plants in my yard, as well as my life, thank you for sticking with me, for being strong, season after season, and showing me God’s beauty should never be wasted.