Does Monday Have You By The Throat? 02-29-16

Copyright 2016 AJ Horton

Hello and happy Monday.  Sometimes Mondays are hard days.  Sometimes maybe you feel like Monday has you by the throat.  Well, yeah, maybe, but at least you're not this lizard!  This little guy started his day by minding his own business and then WHAM!, things went from good to very bad.  Plus, it is just NOT going to get any better for the lizard.  He fought a good fight, though.

But back to Monday.  Some Mondays you feel like Monday has you by the throat like the lizard and some Mondays you feel like the egret, conquering every little problem that comes your way.  Which were you today?  

This picture was taken in Downtown Tampa, Florida.  I was lucky enough to see the egret just when he caught the lizard.  The egret is different from the ones I usually see - especially because it's smaller, has a yellow bill, some color on its chest, head and back, and is nowhere near the water!  So, I looked it up and this egret is called a Cattle Egret.  It likes to hang out in grassy fields (although this isn't one of them) and being around livestock (although there's no livestock around here either).  I found out that the coloring on his chest, head and back comes about during breeding.  Maybe this little Cattle Egret came to Tampa to find love.  How sweet!

So this Monday, maybe you conquered all your problems and found love.  What a great Monday you had.  No more being the lizard.   Thanks for looking.  See you tomorrow.

Peak-a-Boo Monday

Copyright 2015 AJ Horton

Hello on Monday.  One day I was out and I began taking pictures of the huge, but beautiful stump.  Is it still called a "stump" if it's huge?  Anyway, it was then that I noticed this little lizard playing a game of Peak-a-Boo with me; and I liked it.  I guess some people would call it "photo bombing" but I like Peak-a-Boo better.  This little guy is just not sure if he wants to come out on Monday. I'm not always sure if I want to go out on Monday either.   But, like this little Peak-a-Boo-er, I do.  I make it out, I do the best I can and I make Monday a good day.  I'm sure you do, too.

Peak-a-Boo!  I hope you had a merry Monday.  I thank you for looking.  See you tomorrow.

Monday Munchie

Copyright AJ Horton

Hello Monday.  There's a song sung by Mary Chapin Carpenter with a line, "Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug," written by Mark Knopfler.  While I was at Cedar Creek Dam Access Area yesterday, I had help in noticing this lizard had captured a damselfly for its Sunday dinner.  I had been photographing the damselfly and turned around to look at something else and - WHAM!  The lizard got it.  I never even saw the lizard before this.  Since lizards don't always have to have legs, some ways to tell if they are a lizard versus a snake is if they have eyelids and external ears.  Lizards can actually smell!  They smell by sticking their tongues out and "tasting" the air.  I am not quite sure how that equates to "smelling", but you can find out more about lizards on http://www.bioexpedition.com/lizards/facts-about-lizards/ if you're interested.

But now, it looks like the lizard is "the windshield" and the damselfly is "the bug".  I guess that's the circle of life.  It also looks as though the lizard may have bitten off more than it could chew, which is sometimes how I feel on Mondays.   I always start of with great hope that I can accomplish all that needs to be done on Monday and then, at some point in the day, I realize that I was wrong.  And, like that little damselfly, I get eaten up by Monday.  But, unlike that little damselfly, I do live to fight another day.

How was your Monday?  Were you the "windshield" - or the "bug"?  Were you the "munchie" or the "muncher"?  I hope your Monday was marvelous!  Thank you for looking.  See you tomorrow.