Because about 100 bizarre fungi sprouted from the wet earth on christmas day we'll begin with the Columned Stinkhorn. And yes, they stink after oozing their spore slime.
Christmas day also brought us another gift: a small flock of Cedar Waxwings. Our camera was incapable of capturing the birds but here is Cymande and Lula enjoying the chance encounter. They hung around for 10 minutes until a Hairy Woodpecker scared them away.
Earlier this month we played with our friends (David and Allison) in Orlando and got totally overstimulated by things that threw us into the air and dropped us from the sky. I felt a bit sick by the end of it all. I failed to bring my camera because I figured it would be difficult to hold onto it while simultaneously screaming for my life. This chapter shall go undocumented. We did stop off at the Botanical Gardens in Orlando on the way home. Above, Cymande enjoys the fine Orchid Tree. Mmmm.
This is part of the new winter morning ritual. Reading with the light box.
We spent the entire Christmas weekend on-call and mostly at the clinic. I try to avoid discussing work here, but our job seemed to dominate our free time this holiday. Lake City did experience a little excitement and national fame (I heard "Lake City, Florida" on NPR) after a tornado touched down 10 miles north of us.
Oh, the coop. The interior is complete, as is the exterior! Now, we need actual chickens.
Charlie is back on Old Wire Road after they kicked him out of North Carolina. He is contributing greatly to the many difficult jobs around here. He also can be spotted batting oranges much to the delight of Lula.
Merry Christmas to all our friends and family and creatures of the forest and field.
