In the Service of Her Majesty The Queen

The lizard is poking it's head out from under the shutters again this morning when I go out to the porch. Not too long after, I cannot find it. I do not see the black one.

Overcast again and muggy out. The weatherman says rain for the next week. But also says the clouds will part in the afternoons, so the sun will shine some of the time. At least it will not be the constant rain we have had. I wonder how much the rain has relieved the drought. Hopefully, a lot. My lawn thrives and if it ever dries out, will need to be mowed.

Not much more happening this Sunday morning. The birds sing and fly around from tree to tree and to the ground, and I assume the squirrels are going about their business. Whatever that might be.

Here is an interesting link to the Kennedy Space Center, but I believe the shuttle landing has been changed to Edwards Air Force Base, due to the weather system offshore.

http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/


I hope you had a good night and slept well.

Good morning!

 

I hope you had a good day today and that sun was shining.
Off and on, here. But better than none. Some rain, but
nothing like what we've been having all last week.

The shutter lizard was out later this afternoon, soaking up
the sunshine. Eating bugs. Sending out it's lizardly vibes,
I suppose, to other lizards. If there are any.

The moon is still dark.

I hope you have the day off tomorrow and do something
memorial.


To all who will sleep tonight on this side of the world,

The Nightly Mission:

End the night by sinking into sleep,
profound, deep and washing away
any cares you caught up today.

Slide into dreams that take you
to a caring place, keep blues
at bay and a smile on your face.

Wake up in the morning!

G'Night.

 

Good afternoon!

Hope you had a good night and that the morning went well.

My morning was busy...

The sun is out and no rain.

I saw the lizard poke his head out from under the shutters, but he
went right back in when the neighbor girl mowed my lawn. The
birds didn't like it, either. Or the squirrels.

So now my lawn looks presentable. The other neighbors will be
satisfied, I guess.

Memorial day here in the states. There are flags up all over. I
am writing a verse to my brother for this day. My way of paying
respect.

I hope you have a good afternoon and night.

 

To My Brother

The last time I saw you,
standing at my door
before you went to war,
you were thin.

A funeral brought me
standing at your door.
We stood there, like before
I went in.

You were not thin this time.
And no blaze of light
in your eyes, it was night.
I saw that.

Your wife was also there.
She looked haunted too
It was because of you.
You knew that.

The next time I saw you,
I got an urgent call,
sent from the hospital.
You were dying.

You were thin, once again.
Lying flat and alone,
no one to help you home.
I sat crying.

You were not there they said.
But I had eyes to see,
said the words, set you free.
I held your hand.

The last time I saw you,
you left, went with a sigh
and that was your goodbye.
You left the land.

 

I hope you had a good day, all day.
And a good night. The rest of it, too.


To all who will sleep this night on this side of the world,

The Nightly Mission:

Try to have fun
once in a while,
try a smile.

Be in the moment.
Take it with you
when you lay down
your head in your bed.

Feel good about your self.

And don't forget to wake
up in the morning!

G'Night.

 

Good morning!

I hope you had a good night.

Warm again today, and few clouds in the sky. Hazy to the east, blue and clear to the west, midway between the 2 to the north and south. We are forecasted to get rain this afternoon. A thunderstorm, most likely.

A neighbor was mowing the lawn and the noise drowned out the birdsong, if they were singing. One of the jays chased off a crow that was much bigger than it was.

The shutter lizard was out this morning, sitting on the broom handle by my door. Bright green and bobbing it's head up and down. I am sure it is the same one, but it has grown some, is a little bigger than it was.

And the black lizard was on the ground at first, then moved to the bottom porch rail nearby.

I was glad to find them both.

I go to work today, thought I had the day off. I am glad I called in. I am scheduled for the late afternoon shift this time.

I hope you have a good day.

 

I hope you had a good day.

I did. It was fun.

Work can be a lot of fun, sometimes.

Bad thunderstorm right before I left.
Rain again all afternoon, most of the night.

But sun this morning, yes!

I saw a baby lizard where I work. First
one I have ever seen. Tail and all, it was
maybe a inch and a half long, and probably
shorter. One of those that change color. It
was zipping along the wood under the back
door sill, which is dark brown. It was too,
but certainly not black.

I don't know how such a small thing (in more
ways than one) can please me so greatly,
but it did. A baby lizard. I hope nothing
eats it.

Driving home in the dark and through
rain, no flying down the road this night.

Back country roads are really really
dark...very few or no street lights.
Narrow wet asphalt. Deer apt to
dash in front of you at any time.
The live oak branches, heavy with
rain, hanging down making tunnels
out of the road and further cutting
the light. So I kept to the speed
limit.

I hope the first part of the night went well.

To all who will sleep tonight on this side of the world,

The Nightly Mission:

Curl up in your warm bed and sigh,
glad the rain and wind are not in the
room with you.

Let the sound of rain on the roof and
against the windows drift you off to
sleep.

In the morning, rise to the sound of
the birds singing, greet the day with
them.

G'Night.

 

Once again, the sky is filled with clouds
that speak of rain to come. A few patches
of blue allow the sun to peek through. It
is warm and muggy, though not as bad as
it will be later in the year.

I do not know what to think of the lizards.
This morning, there are 4 of them that I
find, and all of them are black. And that
includes the one that pokes it's head out
from under the shutters. Now, I have
seen the shutter lizard poke it's head
out for the first time in the morning, and
it has always been green. Now it is black.

A small flock of crows roams the lawn
next door, looking for whatever rises from
the wet ground. A jay attempts to chase
them off and doesn't succeed. Crows do
not worry much about jays, apparently.

One crow moves to my lawn, and makes
the crowly equivalent of clicking at me,
a short harsh sound compared to the
other birds.

I've read that crows can be taught to
repeat human words, and so can blue
jays. Yet the sounds they normally
make are so different. Jays, copying
every bird's song they have heard,
are melodic and versatile. Crows do
not copy any song that I know of, and
do not seem to have one of their own,
even. Just harsh calls of one kind or
another. Strange.

I hope you had a good night and got
up this morning in good spirits. And
the day ahead of you presents you
with no major problems.

Good morning!

 

Late, and I have too many things going on at once.

I hope you had a good day and that the night has gone well.


To all who will sleep tonight on this side of the world,

The Nightly (very short) Mission:

Sleep well
Dream sweet
Wake up tomorrow!

G'Night!

 

Up late last night, up late this morning.

A squirrel sits on the porch railing, gobbling down birdseed from the feeder.
On the other side of the feeder, a cardinal also eats. Brave bird to be so
close to the squirrel. Perhaps it isn't the killer squirrel. But even I am
nervous to be so close.

They both leave as soon as I come near. The bird first, the squirrel waits
until I sit down.

I come out too late in the morning to find any of the lizards.

The sky, blue this morning, has clouds scattered here and there. The sun
is hot, turns my skin red. Past reminders of sunburn. Sometimes I think
I have become nearly allergic to the sun, what with the reaction of my skin
and considering how sick I get if I am out in it for very long.

So why do I live in Florida? And complain when the sun doesn't shine for
days and days.

I hope you had a good night and woke up rested this morning.

The vampire is back.

Good morning!

 

I hope your day and the early part of the night went well.

I can see the moon tonight, the first time in ages, seems like.
A thin sliver of a moon, but bright for all that.

And I saw 3 of the lizards this afternoon. The shutter lizard who was peeking
it's head out from under the shutter, and it was green, like it usually is. The
largest of the lizards was sitting on the porch rail, brown like the railing. And
the smallest one was on the ground and black.

I am beginning to think the sun has something to do with the color change,
not only the surface they sit on. So when they are out of the sun, or it isn't
shining directly on them, I think they stay black. And when they are in the
sun, they match their surroundings. Too bad I have no way to check on that.

So welcome to the world of lizards, y'all.

I gave a speech today.

I talked to the vampire. And to a zombie. And to an artist.

I ordered a potters wheel.

Life is speeding up, even if a lot of it concerns only lizards.


To those who will sleep on the dark side of the world tonight,

The Nightly Mission:

Seek out that which broadens
your experience and bring it
into your life, you will grow from
it.

Stay safe. Sleep well tonight.
Greet the new day.

G'Night!

 

Good morning!

I wake much earlier than I would wish, considering how late I was up last night.

Nonetheless, I cannot return to sleep.

A busy day, birdwise.

Several buzzards ride the sky, soaring from out of the north and circling lazily to the south and back again, disappearing in the distance where I assume there is a lake.

The odd thing was the large blue heron that rode along with them. I have never seen any other bird among the buzzards before. It must be the air currents. The heron's equivalent of a Sunday drive, perhaps. It too, disappeared in the distance, leaving earlier than the buzzards did.

An egret, white, lands in a neighbor's yard, behind a fence where I cannot see it. One of the jays goes to the fence and flies back and forth along it, very disturbed at the egret.
Later on, after the jay gives up, the egret hops onto the fence and eats something. Very obvious swallowing, whatever it ate was fairly large. I think it was probably a lizard. It takes off to another neighbor's yard, out of my range of sight.

A small group of crows moves from one neighbor's lawn to another. One of them decides to visit the loquat tree and lands on a branch. A jay immediately flies to the tree and harasses the crow. The crow hops from branch to branch, squawking, the jay in hot pursuit. Another jay joins the fray, and together they drive the crow, 3 times their size, off. It flies across the street to join the other crows, giving up on the loquat tree.

Two ravens fly by, and all the jays call out an alarm. The live oaks ring with their cries. The ravens call harshly back but do not stop.

A strange looking bird lands briefly in the loquat tree. It has a crest, like the jays and the cardinals, is bluish on top, but bright red underneath. It doesn't stay long enough for me to decide which type of bird it is. No doubt wary of the jays, it flies off too quickly for me to see where it goes.

The sun shines and much of the sky is blue, but rain clouds are blowing in from the south. I hope the storm that will likely follow clears before I drive to work this afternoon.

Out from under the shutters, the lizard that lives there was watching me, it's head pointed toward me. It was green this morning. I didn't find any others.

And that was life in the neighborhood, as seen from my porch this morning.

I hope you had a restful night and that your day goes well.

 

I hope you had a good day. I hope the night goes well.

No rain today. And a few stars are out, along with the moon.

I see a strange looking bug, a large strange looking bug on
the porch railing and decide to go in the house. It can just
stay there. Without me.

A long day today, with little sleep last night, and I feel the
tiredness crashing down on me. I am off to bed for the night.


To all who will sleep tonight on the dark side of the planet,

The Nightly Mission:

Sleep well and long
and wake up restored.

Blessings!

G'Night!

 

Good Morning!

I hope you had a good night and woke up rested.

I did.

Off to work today, and no time to write.

The lizard that lives under the shutters was
poking it's head out this morning, and I scared
it back to it's hiding place. It was green.

One of the black lizards was catching bugs
on the ground by the porch...I was more
careful with it, and it didn't run away.

Hope your day goes well.

 

It was a nice day, today. No rain. Sun all day. And hot.

I got home from work and errands about the time the sun
was going down and the lizard that lives under the shutter
still had it's head out. Surprising. Maybe it was eating
mosquitoes.

More errands tomorrow.

I hope you had a nice day, too.


To all who will sleep on this side of the world tonight,

The Nightly Mission:

Live well, sleep well.
So they say.
But me, I think
the other way
around is true.

Sleep well and you
will live well.

So tonight, do that.
And have a good
day tomorrow.

G'Night!