Predator & Prey

I noticed this spider one night when I was bringing in groceries. I was taking pictures of it when I disturbed a moth who flew up toward the light and fluttered all around it. It seemed to fly right through the web. Eventually it was caught. It desperately flapped it's wings to get free. the spider was very brave, darting in to spin then darting back out again. Notice there is another smaller thinner spider very close by. He 'sits' above watching everything happen.
These photos were taken in order.
Eventually the moth freed itself and fluttered around the light for a few seconds before landing on it.
It stayed there, resting.Then a fly landed near by. preditor

Some Of The Things I Saw On Today's Walk

Queen Anne's Lace up close. You can see the 'lace' is made up of many small flowers. You can also see the small dark flower in the center if you look closely.

Our neighbors have the most beautiful flowers in amongst the 'weeds' on their property.

The prickers are in bloom!

This was one willey bee. He was bouncing across Queen Anne's Lace like he had had some fermented nectar or something.

The beetle in the center of this flower was a beautiful green and bronze metallic color.

Plane and glider. We see this quite often actually. I can only imagine how beautiful our area must look from high above.

Thanks To Amos And Roossy

Both Roossy and Amos exercise every day. When they came to visit Roossy and I went for walks in the morning and we all went for a walk in the evening. I am so glad because now I am walking again. Fancy and I used to walk three to five times a week then when the baby came we walked on nice days but eventually I found many excuses and stopped. Since they left I have walked everyday but one. I have also stretched out every day but one. I forgot how good I feel when I walk. I love being out in nature and watching all the things going on around me that most people are just too busy to notice. I would also like to mention that when I used to walk with Fancy, she would decide when we walked and when we stopped so she could sniff something. Now we just walk, stopping only when she needs to relieve herself. We got Gio a wagon for his Birthday that makes it possible for the four of us to go for walks too. Gio is more than happy to ride in it and we don't end up carrying him most of the time during the walk.

A Visit From The Ongs

Gio looks up to Uncle Amos.

Amos is a very good Dad and great with children. He is patient and kind. Gio noticed this right away. He is usually very shy when it comes to new people but not with the Ongs. He made friends with them straight away.

Gio gives Tanta Roossy a hug.

I just love this picture.

Silly Amanda

Nasi Kuning (Yellow Rice)

Party food. Roossy is an excellent cook and a wiz in the kitchen. She showed me (I really wasn't much help) how to prepare many delicious dishes. I have never prepared so many different things for one meal before. Roossy made it look easy to do so. I will try to list all the food here (Roossy please forgive me if I forget something). Yellow rice, Scrambled eggs, corn fritters, deep fried tempeh, fried tofu (the kids really loved this), cucumbers, cooked carrot sticks, shredded cooked cabbage, peanut butter sauce, shrimp and green beans with oyster sauce, and Tops ready made chicken. Everything tasted sooo good but I would have to say my three favorite things were carrots with peanut butter sauce, green beans and shrimp with oyster sauce, and corn fritters (in no particular order).

Gio enjoys some tofu.

Frozen Fun

My friend, Roossy, and her beautiful family came to our home to visit for several days. Gio and Amanda were instant friends and played very well together. I got a popsicle maker from the dollar store and Gio just loves "Ieesss" AKA frozen lemonade. Here are several pics. of Amanda and Gio very proud and excited to show everyone their popsicles.

Here Amos graciously declines a taste.

Summer Snowflakes

Queens Anne's Lace are in bloom. I looked at them one evening and thought "they look a bit like snowflakes." I always thought the one dark flower in the center was cool. One evening Gio and I were looking at one and I noticed a white spider that blendened in very well with this flower. I wonder what kind of bug/insect they attract that this spider preys upon.

Woody?

I was taking one of my evening tours around the yard when I heard quite a commotion. Like someone was hammering metal, quite hard at work building or making something. When I turned the corner and started looking in the direction of the noise all of a sudden it stopped and two birds appeared on nearby branches to check me out. Turns out they were a pair of woodpeckers. The one flew away and this one stayed to keep an eye on me. I haven't heard them since that evening.

Thoughts

Well I've decided to adjust my raw foods plan. I am finding it hard to eat raw veggies. Fruit just tastes better to me .....sooo I have decided to include cooked veggies. Since I have done so I am enjoying this way of eating much more.

The last several days I have lost five pounds. My sense of smell is much better. I never noticed that ripe melons have a wonderful smell similar to lilies. When I eat just fruit I have much more energy. I am doing a lot less dishes, down to about a sink full a day. I don't drink half the water I used to. I get thirsty after eating out. I go to the bathroom more. There were a few nights there where I even woke up to go.

I don't crave chocolate like I used to. I now eat chocolate only a couple times a week. I used to crave it all the time. I do get cravings but they seem to last for days. My most recent one was for melons. I even found myself looking through a seed catalog at only melon seeds. I don't really crave meat like I thought I would. Sometimes I do crave fat.

With this way of eating I can eat till I'm full and eat foods that taste good. I remember when fat free was in, my Mom bought these fat free brownies that tasted like cardboard. No substitutes with this way of eating either, no fake meat or fake sugar.

Nothing goes to waste either. Both fruit and veggie scraps go to the chickens and what they don't eat is biodegradable.

On the down side, at any given meal a person may eat a pound of meat and/or 1/4 to 1/2 a pound of pasta but I at a meal am consuming several pounds of fruits and veggies. In other words eating this way right now is a bit costly. I hope in the future to grow more of what we eat.

Sooooo, so far this way of eating is working for me and I am enjoying it.