Was doing some yard work in the front yard this afternoon, and as I was finishing up, I noticed the green anole again on the same gutter downspout where I spotted it the last time.

Then I glanced up when I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye and spotted this little brown anole peering around the corner of some of the bricks on our carport.

Raced for my camera, and it was still there when I returned. Only it had moved over head and was now peering down at me.

So, having seen two anoles in the same area, hopefully this is a good sign, promising future generations of more little anoles scurrying about!

Tags:   DSCF4889A anole lizard peering down front yard spring Happy Earth Day

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In case you haven't heard - this spring, trillions of cicadas will emerge from the ground in multiple states, part of a very rare, double-brood event that hasn't happened in over 200 years!
The two broods last emerged in 1803, and the next double-emergence is predicted in 2245.

The emergence will begin when the soil 8 inches underground reaches 64 ° (F), and is often triggered by a warm rain. They will likely emerge beginning in mid-May and last through late June.

The 13-year cicadas, called Brood XIX, will emerge in Georgia and the Southeast, while the 17-year cicadas, called Brood XIII, will appear in Illinois. The broods will also emerge in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and possibly southern Illinois and the St. Louis area. According to the website Cicada Mania, the two broods will likely overlap in Iowa and Illinois.

*** While the map I saw shows their emergence in Georgia will not impact our area, this weekend while doing some yard work, I accidentally stirred one up. It flew across the backyard and landed in our holly bush. I raced for my camera, and it was still there when I returned!

Tags:   DSCF4874A cicada holly bush backyard spring 13-year cicadas, called Brood XIX rare double emergence thankfully, we'll be spared the overlapping!

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It's Movie Night again, and this time Stormtrooper Bruce is in a particularly good mood. After a typically grueling week, STB's Friday was unexpectedly different. The guys have learned to just go with the flow because they never know what to expect.

TK-432: Um, wow. This is either going to be very good, or very bad.

TK-1110: You got some splaining to do, bro!

STB: Guys, you're never going to believe it. Today was awesome!

TK-11110: Well, that's a start. Care to expound on that statement just a wee bit more?

STB: Long story shote - Vader needed a volunteer to help get some info out of a new prisoner being held in isolation. Seems I was the only one brave enough to step up to the bar!

TK-432: Sorry, but that's still a little too short. Fill in some gaps. And hurry - the pizza's getting cold!

STB: The prisoner is a new race of alien, and had resisted all of Vader's attempts to get it to spill the beans. But Vader noticed the alien has super sensitive hearing. So, he had the brainiac idea of getting someone to play music loudly enough to make confession the best option of saving it's sanity.

TK-1110: So you volunteered, played your annoying music, and the alien gave in. I'm sure there's an insult there somewhere.

STB: Doesn't matter. After three hours of banging on my drums and singing all the "drum" songs I know, I heard blood curdling screams during the "Twelve Days of Christmas." Seems that part about the 12 drummers drumming was just too much.

TK-432: So, you saved the day by saving Vader's caboose. And what did you get?

STB: Well, I got the rest of the day off, some serious brownie points, and I get to keep this set of drums for the rest of the weekend! Any requests?

TK-1110: Should I Stay, or Should I Go?

TK-432: I was thinking more like Silent Night.

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Viewing Large is always fun. Just click on the image.

Tags:   DSCF4870A (3)A Star Wars action figure action figure stormtrooper clonetrooper Stormtrooper Bruce STB TK-1110 TK-432 pizza cooler of cold ones cookie jar drums tv plant cushion bed pillow end table lamp mug tissue plates coffee maker commemorative Darth bottle of scotch

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At the arboretum, at some point each spring we are treated to this wild rose bush with its pristine white blooms growing next to the footbridge.

It's like a wild vine growing up one tree, and then covering the ground like a groundcover. During this visit the blooms were all in the shade of the overhead trees, but they didn't seem to mind.

Had to watch where I knelt grabbing this shot, lots of prickly things everywhere, plus who knows what else was lurking in the shadows?

Tags:   wild rose climbing rose white rose in the shade change of scenery arboretum spring DSCF4766(A)

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We recently visited our nearby arboretum for a change of scenery. It was a fine, sunny spring afternoon, but that sun heated things up making it feel more like summer than spring.

One of the first things we saw upon our arrival was turtles sunning everywhere. On the banks of the lake and stream that runs into it, and of course they were lining up on the log, seen above, that spans the edge of the lake where the stream meets it. Grabbed this shot while crossing the footbridge to get to the (shaded) sitting area.

The water was horribly murky, lots of pollen and debris floating on top of the water, and there were so many turtles swimming about, they were probably stirring up the mud on the bottom, making things worse.

Tags:   DSCF4755A sunning turtles turtles on the log turtles on the bank lake murky water hot spring afternoon felt more like summer change of scenery arboretum spring

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