Rain, rain….rat snake!

Raining her in the Lowcountry.  Like, really raining!  The first night there was thunder that shook the house, flashes of lightning to often, large, and close they lit up the house, and even a heavy, if short, hail storm.  We got up at 5am to the street flooded over a foot deep from one side to the other.

The storm kept me up all night…the boys woke up and peered outside and said, “it rained?”  Sigh.  Boys.

Because the water is always deepest right at the end of our driveway the boys came and went on their bikes from the second drive at the end of the yard (actually it is a glorified patch of gravel, sand, and leaves)  It was there they encountered the second of our much loved reptilian residents….our black rat snake.

Gorgeous! Right?  I love that we have so many kinds of reptiles here…and a fine assortment of amphibians as well, but that is a topic for another day.

We have anoles, both our native Carolina (green) anole

  but also the introduced Brown anole

We have Fence Lizards, the only spiny lizards native here 

And of course an abundance of snakes, turtles, tortoises, alligators…the list goes on and on.  It is a great place to raise kids…so much to explore, so many amazing animals to appreciate and love and protect.

I was tickled and delighted the boys came up to the house thrilled about finding the big rat snake out in the rain, making his leisurely way up the magnolia tree, where the thick leaves will provide some protection from the storms.

Looking forward to seeing him again one lazy afternoon, basking in the morning sun.

Friday Fun and fantasies

Another gorgeous Lowcountry Friday.  Sunshine, perfect temperatures (at least for this summer loving girl), breezes off the ocean, and so many flowers in bloom it is hard to pin down a single fragrance to love the most.

The frogs are in full throat.  The anoles are courting madly.  And the big snake that likes to frequent the back porch is just huge this year.

Have I told ya’ll about the snake?  Big one, as big around as the three year old’s wrist, loooong (as in when the back is twined around the limbs of the bush beside the door, the front end is already curled inside and down along the leg of the desk inside the door), so probably about 4′, and totally gorgeous.  When we saw it coming inside the first time this spring we were afraid the kids slamming through the door might hurt the snake…so we slipped it’s tail off the branches and let it slide on into the porch and out of sight.  Next time I saw it, it was headed out of the porch under the door… I happened to open the door and there it was.  So I knelt down and gently caressed it’s back and down it’s tail.  It paused, raised it’s head and looked back at me for a long time as I continued to stroke it.  I told it what a lovely animal it was.  Then it sort of ‘shrugged’ (if snakes had shoulders, lol) and slipped through my hands and went about it’s business.  Now when it sees me, it doesn’t slither away but waits to see if I am going to stop to pet it or not.  I think we have an understanding.

I also think it is a female…and quite possibly gravid, based on just how heavy it has gotten.  Won’t that be exciting?  Lots of little snakelings racing about the yard?  😀

now for the fantasy part… the lovely reptile reminded me of my current wip… and the drachen that live in that world.  Not ‘dragons’ in the sense we, especially in the West, think of them but actual reptiles and coming in a variety of shapes, colors, sizes, and habitats …as most species do.  Some have no legs, some aquatic, ones with wings have only two as the forelegs have become wings (no six-legged reptiles here 😉   Nor do they spit fire, although they can be fearsome creatures…particularly some of the larger ones…they are also intelligent and fiercely loyal.

I rather like this one, although the one I am most partial to in my story has ram-type horns (as some dinosaurs did) 

What do you think?  Would you like to share your world with the drachen?

 

FLOWER MOON

Change is coming.  I can feel it in the air.  Hear it in the breeze.

So close and real it is palpable. As if, if I knew the exact moment, I could reach out and grasp it…

     …like the moon…

The Full Flower Moon is upon us. Smiling from a star-filled sky.  It is a most appropriate name this time of year.  Even more so, it seems, this year.  The air is perfumed with magnolia and jasmine, wisteria, roses, and sweet tea olive.  

Things are changing.  Something new appears each day.  New butterflies join with newly opened blossoms. 

New migratory birds drop by to add their beauty and song to the spring chorus.

Much is the same as ever it has been. Frog songs. Spanish moss festooning the ancient live oaks.  The beauty of a new full moon shimmering over a peaceful sea.

Some things change.  This Flower Moon sings a new song and leaves me wondering what this change brings.

Fantasy Friday

What seems like a lifetime ago I used to post Fantasy Friday pictures and prompts.  Sometimes they were interesting snippets or interesting concepts which, with a weird and rampant imagination like mine can lead to very odd places at times.  Others they were photos or pictures of artwork of interest.

I love to see where other peoples’ thoughts and creativity takes them.  There is beauty and wonder in even the mundane.

Today is a Friday…and filled with wonders…and more than its share of the mundane as well.  Somehow here, on this first Friday of this new month, it seemed like a great time to bring back a little fantasy fun.  What do you think?

May we?

May we dance once more now that spring is full upon us

May we revel in the moonlight on magnolia blossoms…large and white as china saucers, scenting the air with sweet perfume

May we stroll the shore as white crested waves rush to roll about bare feet and erase all track of what is left behind

May we begin again…with renewed hope, and grace, and determination in choosing the path before us

May we dance