MYSTREE

Hmmmm ... now who could this be?

Odd ... this picture reminds me I still need to get Bear fixed.

This MysTree was growing right at the water's edge as I kayaked the Waccasassa and Wekiva last weekend.

When I sliced one open, it looked like this.

One of the shrubby trees still had it's leaves about it. They are pictured above.

Who is it?

Here's Your Stinking Answer!

P.U.
These have a really foul smell.



It's a stink horn fungus.

I knew it was there, long before I saw it in the lawn.
The name is apt.



A Pink Puzzler

What could this be?

I have scheduled the solution to post at 1800 hours EST.

Where In The World Is FC?

I have been somewhere beautiful for the past few days.
That's my excuse for the minimal posts.


It is my kind of place ... salty.

Am I still in Florida, or have I jumped peninsula and landed in the Caribbean?

Or Mexico?

The beaches here are warm and the water is a palette of blues and greens.

On the quiet back shore, crystal clear water beckons.

I answered.

Tall ships moor here in the post sundown afterglow.

So where am I?

Artifact: Installment 3 Of A Series: Final Question

If you are still with me, let me apologize for the lack of videos in this post.

My Hughesnet internet service went down last night and I haven't had time to spend an hour on the phone talking to an Indian techie.



Here at school, I've had luck with only one video upload today ... the last of the series.

That's okay, but I wanted to show you the intermediate scraping that took place under a shed roof during the rainstorm that came up.



Still photos will have to do ...


Above is the artifact, still on the picnic table, just before the rains started. You can see that even with the clay adhering to it, a face is becoming evident.


Here is the face, cleaned up and removed from the matrix holding it to the disc below. I had this all on video of course, but arrrrghhhh!

The grooves that turned out to be ... fingers? ... were full of clay of course, but the handy screwdriver of science made short work of this.

Here are the two artifacts together with a ruler for a sense of scale.

This is after both were washed of clay film.

Above is a close up of the face.

Is it a face or a skull? I don't know.

The material is heavy, light colored where I nicked it, and coated with a strange coppery substance (copper colored at least ... who knows?).

A close up of the ... hand. There is a definite palm impression there, but only 3 fingers. I held it this way and that in different light situations, but I never saw more than 3 fingers.

It's very odd.

I tossed in this collage as a review of the past 3 days, plus one of my commenters said she could not see videos so I wanted to help her out a little.

There is no time order to the collage, it's randomly arranged.

The only video I could upload today turned out to be the final clip anyway, so I will let it close this unusual chapter of discovery and wonder.

Ain't life grand?

Close Shave Puzzler

Hmmmm.

What could this mean?

Strange Substance Found In Florida

Yesterday, as I walked past the pond on my way to the JEEP, I noticed something amiss at the koi pond.

The water was behaving in a very unPureFlorida manner.

Weird.

Perhaps some of you who live north of the beautiful St. Marys River can explain this phenomenon?

The forecast low for tonight is 19 with a windchill of 2 degrees.

And then there is this forecast ... Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Primeval Puzzler

A primeval scene out of time?

Maybe not.

What's the earliest year in which this scenario might have existed?

Puzzler From The Sea

Here are three
from the sea,
What could they be?

Lithoconundrumnicity

This is a puzzler with the answer at the bottom of the post so don't scroll down there yet.



The question is:

What type of stone is this?


Above is the rock with metric units for you progressive folks.

This pic uses inches for you traditionalists.

Anyone recognize this stone?



It's almost as tall as it is wide in the pictures. It has a flat base and 4 flat sides that meet at the top.

Hmmmmmmm?


This is Mia ... a scrumptiously sweet yellow Lab. She's the one who found the stone.

Mia belongs to some good friends of mine. I've known Mia since she was a pup, although I don't get to see her very often.
She is quite the rockhound.

(wacka, wacka ... oh, I slay me)



Mia wants you to guess what kind of rock that is.

Clues:

It was found in Florida ... a rockpoor state, ... except for limestone that is.

It is biogenous.

So if you haven't cheated already ... mark down your best answer.

Then scroll way down to discover the origin of this stone.



Ready?



Here we go.







Hang on!















Almost there.









Here it comes.







Are you cheating or did you give this an honest try?







I'll know if you're cheating ... I'm a teacher.







Okay, here's the answer.











Just creating more distance, in case you were rethinking that whole cheating thing.









There's still time to scroll back up ...









The answer is below.

























The stone is one of 7 similarly sized bladder stones that were surgically removed from Mia's urinary bladder last week.



SEVEN OF THEM.



Go back and look at it.





Mia is doing very well and recovering nicely ... which is a very, very good thing.

Hey, What's Up?

Here's something I found at the base of the blazing stars that were featured in the Gulf Between Us post of a few days ago.

What could this be?

Reminds me of the mud drip sand castles I made as a kid (okay, yes, I still make them) on the beach at St. Augustine.

-30-

Puzzler

So ... what is this ?

Who Needs A Game Camera?

If you're stealthy enough, you really don't need one of those game camera thingamabobs. You really just need to get out there, be quiet, stop, look, listen, and you will find critters.
If you sit still for a while, they may even come to you ... like these deer below.

Rurality seems to have a knack for interesting game camera shots with lots of critter variety, but most of us seem to get pics of moving branches, deer butts, and half armadillos. If you're just trying to document what's on your property, or catch Sasquatch strolling by, the game camera may be what you want, but there's no substitute for getting out in the woods.

It's just you and them out there and if you're good enough ...

... and quiet enough ...

... you'll come home with the shot.




Oops ... the secret is out.


Okay, THIS time, I was stalking these deer from the chilipepper red upstairs bedroom where I write Pure Florida.
From this window, I can see occasional kites swooping by,deer grazing, and the barred owls (3 at a time a few evenings ago).

It's a wonder I get anything written.

I'll end with a little puzzler.


Now, what do you suppose this could be?

Stickin' It To Ya'

STOP!
Don't watch the video first you cheaters!

Read the riddle, think, then click.

Riddle me this ...

What do these things have in common?

• A Tootsie Pop
• Rainbows
• Classic 50's Science Fiction stories
• The video below ... now you can click on it.

Oh Eye Get It! A Puzzler Just For You

Eye wonder if you can Eyedentify this Eyetem.

Eye'll wait until this evening to share the answer.

Puzzler Answer Update

Here's the answer to this morning's puzzler.

Just a bit of limestone with an imprint of a bivalve that lived a very, very, long time ago.

Thanks for playing along!

Puzzler: GEOlly, Miss Molly, What Is That?

What could this be?

Inquiring minds want to know.

What Bird Is That?

Wait!

Don't scroll down past the first pic or you'll ruin your puzzler!



What bird is that high in the Live Oak that towers over my house?


See it?




Roughly in the center, near a patch of light.










Is that your final answer?






Scroll down for verification, validation, and illumination.

Yes, it's the Lord Of The Rings chick, Gwahir, all grown up. You may remember him from previous posts about the chicks in the living room and the dog surfing incident.

When I let the 5 banties out to freerange, they always show up to roost on the porch at sunset.
Once it's dark, I pick them up, one by one and put them back in the chicken tractor pens.

Last weekend, Gwahir did not show up at sundown and I feared that the tamest rooster we've ever raised had been taken by a predator that day.

The next morning I could hear crowing coming from the front yard, but from my own perch on the porch, I could not see the rooster.
It seemed to be coming from above.

When I stepped off the porch and looked up, there he was, a tiny speck high in the Live Oak. (The second pic is maximum zoom with distant fill flash, and it was cropped)

My LOTR experts (Junior and Emma) tell me that such a lofty perch is appropriate for a rooster named after Gwahir, Lord of the Eagles.

I wasn't around when Gwahir soared down from the tree top, but somehow I think it probably was not as graceful as his namesake.

Got Puzzlers?

Que es el?



EVENING UPDATE:
AND THE ANSWER IS ...




Okay, now who owes Flounder an apology?

Cedar Keyuiz

How about a brief quiz?


I know you hate pop quizes, but this one is just for fun.
This huge iron bowl is out at the Cedar Key state museum. It's not real old by Florida standards, but was used before and during the Civil War. Those are full size railroad ties it's sitting on, so use that as your frame of reference for it's size.

Question number one: What was the function of this big iron bowl?




This is a common sight at Cedar Key. You'll find these everywhere along the working and residential waterfront.

Question number two:
What is the purpose of the Rube Goldbergian structure above?

Do your best.
Report cards come out Friday.