The Selfie Session
“Survivor” Snapdragon
This “Survivor Snapdragon” has lived through 2 Tennessee winters & being used as a Very Large Kitty’s bed. It’s just started blooming again. (Snapdragons don’t usually last in the cold weather.) Today, I gave it new dirt & a pair of Tomato Plants to hang out with. (The rusty Preying Mantis is a failed Kitty Deterrent.)
Picnic Tables
An Evening At The Watering Hole
Vincent Van ‘No had lived In Town for several months when he decided that it was time to meet some of his Fellow Beasts.  He’d heard wonderful things about a Swanky Place located on the West-Hand side of  The City — The Watering Hole.
Still a bit embarrassed about his recent ear-ectomy, Vincent donned his
Best Hat
(which was quite fashionable back in The Jungle)
and skipped off for his Adventure.Â
When he got to The Watering Hole, the first thing Vincent noticed was that
NOBODY Â who was going in was wearing a hat.
(He stashed his in a nearby bush.)
The Watering Hole was a lively place, full of Colorful Characters from every species!
Vincent, who had always thought of himself as Very Gregarious, found himself Shy and Awkward in this setting — in fact, the term “Wall Flower” repeated itself in his head like a Scratched CD! :~þ
Just when Vincent was Thoroughly Disgusted with his Own Behavior,
a Cute Little Monkey offered him a bite of her banana.
Although he politely declined the Banana Bite,
the proverbial Ice Was Broken and Vincent found a New Friend in The Cute Little Monkey.
Eventually, The Cute Little Monkey was called away, but by then, Vincent had re-gained His Confidence and decided to strike up A Conversation with The Hippo.
While not quite as Colorful a Character as some of The Other Beasts, The Hippo was Kindly and Gracious and he and Vince exchanged email addresses.
All in all, Vincent had a Wonderful Evening at The Watering Hole.
He and his New Friends looked forward to getting to know each other and Many, Many, Many Enjoyable Times Together.
The End.
How The Rhino Got His New Name
One fine Spring Morning, The Rhino decided to explore Avian Culture.
He found a Popular Feeding Spot, nestled into some dried Oak Leaves, and waited.
It wasn’t long before a Titmouse happened by in search of some tasty seed.
Being a friendly Titmouse, he greeted The Rhino with a chirp,
grabbed a seed or two,Â
and was on his way to parts unknown.
Â
The Rhino calmed himself  and waited.
Blue Jays are known for not being overly friendly to strangers;
still The Rhino was excited to have been so close to such a stunning bird.
The Rhino calmed himself  and waited.
 Next to fly in was a Very Curious Sparrow.
In face, The Sparrow was SO Curious that The Rhino was a tad uncomfortable.
He sat Very Still and averted his eyes, as any Polite Rhino is wont to do.
Her curiosity (finally!) satisfied,
The Sparrow hopped off.
*Whew!*
The Rhino calmed himself  and waited.
A Robin passed by, searching for worms.
The Rhino couldn’t  help with that quest.
The Rhino calmed himself  and waited.
The next bird to approach The Rhino was a Very Chatty Cardinal.
He introduced himself to The Rhino,
pointed out some especially tasty seed,
and, just when The Rhino thought he couldn’t bear it any longer —
flew away.
The Rhino calmed himself  and waited.
Finally, The Rhino was visited by a Very Genteel Dove
who welcomed him to the neighborhood,
answered all The Rhino’s questions,
and generally restored his faith in Birdkind.
The Next Day,
buoyed by his success at mingling with The Birds, The Rhino once again set out hoping for more Close Encounters (of the Avian kind).
He’d heard rumors of a Turkey Sighting in Another Part Of The Yard.
Upon arriving, The Rhino was TRILLED to see a Domesticated White Turkey in a Wild Cherry Tree.
He crept closer for a better view of this Magnificent Bird.
 The Turkey was interested in The Local Windmill, which had a platform that The Rhino thought would be The Perfect Spot for his observations.
Alas! The Rhino did not take the windmill’s blades into account.
As he stood on the platform, the whirling blades SEVERED his Right Ear!
Yes. The Rhino found himself the victim of an Involuntary Ear-ectomy.
:~(
Horrified, a massive Ear Hunt ensued, but the missing appendage was not found.Â
And ever since, The Rhino has been known as
Vincent Van Gone.
(A Rhino Adventurer of Some Renown.)
♫ Texture Blend Things ♫
The Very Hungry (Yellow Bear) Caterpillar
One Sunny Day,
In a stand of Coriopsis Blossoms,
 Fuzzy Yellow Caterpillar munched
…
 and munched
…
and munched.
Stretched out to his Full Length,
Hanging on with All His Feet,
He munched
…
and munched
…
aaaaaaannnnnnnddddddd munched
…
and munched still more
…
is whatÂ
Fuzzy Yellow Caterpillars
do!
Hopping To It
While leaning over the fence to prune away some branches, I spied a green lump on my next victim.
It was a Gray Treefrog
(Hyla versicolor), blending in as best it could.
I pulled the Panasonic from my pocket and commenced shooting.
He didn’t mind me recording his back view.
And the shot from the side didn’t seem to bother him, either.
Even a Down The Twig Pic was fine.Â
But … moving in for a serious close-up was apparently too much.
He
hopped
away.
I glanced around, hoping to find the spot where he’d taken refuge and discovered that the spot was
(Wow. Didn’t see That One coming!)
So he gave me the Evil Eye and turned to slink off.
Maybe it was because The Ant nipping at his heels got him confused, I don’t know.
At any rate, he hopped again …
… on to the Chain-Link Fence.
NOT the best hiding place*, even for a small frog!
*Here’s why I believed that Gray Treefrogs share a trait with the famed Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal. Both believe that “If I don’t see her, she doesn’t see me.”  ;~D
He tried to hail a cab, apparently not knowing that there are no cabs in this neighborhood. (Ok. That was just plain silly.)
In preparing for his final hop, his right-side feet got kind of tangled up on the fence wire.
Wouldn’t you know, the same thing happened on his left!
With a mighty heave, he got his feet straightened, hopped off the fence, and disappeared into the ‘safe side’ of the yard.
And we all lived happily ever after.
The End
Have camera (again), will post.
New posts starting in August, 2011.
See you then!