“Lingering In The Golden Gleam …”*
(UPDATED Site Note: By popular demand — images have reverted to a large size. Clicking on the images will still provide a detailed view from which one can zoom in. Other small site changes have been made and others are in the works. Please let us know if you have any issues or suggestions which will make your experience a better one.)
In the early mornings of our summer we celebrate the drops of dew as they shine like so many jewels scattered among the leaves of grass, clinging to flower petals and resting atop floating lily pads. Insects take awhile to become sufficiently dry before they can scurry or fly around to attend to their daily chore of survival. Humidity is like a blanket made of woolen steam and we wish for a whisper of a breeze to provide relief.
The good news is that all of our rainy season moisture infuses Nature with the properties necessary to generate and sustain life. Birds are now busy raising new families. The insect population is at its peak, which coincides with those new young birds learning how to feed themselves. Flower production is in overdrive in order to support the burgeoning bug crowd. The circle of life is in full swing.
We love it!
My alarm clock is named Gini. She gently nudges me in bed and lovingly whispers “want to go for a ride?”. Granola bars and fruit are tossed into a bag. Water tumblers are jammed with ice. We race the sun to our patch. Another glorious day has begun.
Bird activity is nothing like it will be when fall migration begins. Many birds remain quiet and inconspicuous as they may have young ones close at hand or may have begun their annual molt, during which time they are not as agile as normal and may be vulnerable to predators. We understand and don’t mind turning our attention to other natural subjects.
The morning was a bit shortened by an early thunderstorm. Our enjoyment had no limit.
An Anhinga found a handy perch from which to wait patiently for breakfast to swim along.
We enjoyed a bumper crop of American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea).
A well-camouflaged nest has done its job for this year as it provided a comfortable home for a new family of White-eyed Vireos.
Hiding among the lotus blooms was a deep purple Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata). A favorite of pollinators everywhere.
Bright daisy-like flowers adjacent to the pine woods turned out to be Prairie Fleabane (Erigeron strigosus). Many of the plants were over three feet tall.
During their first year, Little Blue Herons are white, turning into a combination of blue/gray/white as the year progresses and eventually into the slate blue of an adult as they begin their second year.
Florida lists 29 species of plants in the genus Ipomoea, which includes the Morning Glory. This one is known as Man-of-the-Earth (Ipomoea pandurata) and is also called Wild Potato, Wild Sweet Potato and Manroot. By any name, a beautiful flower!
Our early morning summer explorations continue to be absolutely fabulous! There is just so much to see and experience that our senses are easily overwhelmed. Yes, it’s hot. As long as we’re able, though, we shall continue to linger “in the golden gleam”*.
Enjoy your search for a natural place and come back for a visit!
*The title of today’s post is from a poem by Lewis Carroll. A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43907/a-boat-beneath-a-sunny-sky
Our Natural Places 
I learn so much about plants from your site..wins me bonus points from my wife when I get to point out a plant … fades quickly when she asks me some followup question about it and I quickly move on down the trail ha. Is there a trick to getting “gently nudges”, I either open my eyes to a poodle nose a millimeter from my eyes or Linda whacking me over the head with a pillow.
LikeLike
Every trip is a learning experience it seems.
The “gentle nudges” may be a euphemism applied just in case someone I know very personally happens to stumble across these pages.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Really enjoyed the photos. Hopefully a longer ride, and no storm, next time.
LikeLike
Thanks, Brad.
Florida > Summer > Storms > Fact Of Life
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoyed the narrative, as always, Wally, and the photos are just wonderful. The formatting of the blog post is not a game changer for me. Beautiful diversity of captures from the sort of place I love to be!
LikeLike
Thank you! I’ve decided to keep the larger image format but have now made each photo “clickable” for higher res pic and ability to zoom in a bit.
It’s the sort of place we love to be, too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I never had a load problem and always enjoyed the blog as was. Not everyone takes the time to “click”, I know from personal experience that many just scroll through without seeing the larger image. I post full size and the only difference from clicking through is the lack of distracting other things. I share because I enjoy people seeing what I saw so a larger initial image does the trick. I see that you reverted back to the old way.
That Anhinga shot, in the soft morning light and with such pleasing detail and lovely pose is a winner. Great shot! Not to dis the others but..just sayin’.
LikeLike
I really appreciate your insight, Steve.
I had forgotten about that folder at the rear of the filing cabinet market “If it ain’t broke …”. It’s pretty full.
I appreciate looking at the details in your images as there always seems to be something there I didn’t catch on initial viewing. “… people seeing what I saw.” You expressed it perfectly.
The Anhinga is not colorful nor is it likely to win any birdy beauty contests, but in the right light it can look pretty good.
Again, thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahhhhhh…. Can you hear my sigh of satisfaction?
I was astonished by your photo of the lotus-filled — what? Lake? River? Backwater? It looks so very much like a certain bend in a lotus-filled lake at Brazos Bend State Park that if I’d seen the photo without any context, I might have assumed it was Brazos Bend. I do love the lotus: the seedheads as much as the flowers. They always look like shower heads to me.
The photo of the Little Blue Heron is wonderful. I’ve only seen that stage a few times, but it’s my favorite. The combination of blue and white is just so elegant. The Pickerel weed’s pretty darned elegant, too. The ones I’ve seen have been a much lighter blue; I suppose it’s a combination of factors that vary the colors in those, too.
As for a better experience, the only thing I can think of is hitting I-10 and heading your direction for a real-time tour with you and Gini!
LikeLike
Customer satisfaction is our goal.
The lotus blooms are on a reclaimed phosphate mining pit. A couple dozen of these pits were sold to the state over 30 years ago and they designated the area for developing a Fish Management Area. It’s spread over 1500 acres and they’ve done a fair job of re-introducing native fauna. It’s our favorite local spot since it’s only 10 minutes from the house.
Gini used to be a florist and can’t understand why I don’t harvest all those lovely seedheads for her crafting projects. One day I’ll introduce her to Al the Gate(r)keeper.
Hope the adventure into changing images hasn’t left a scar.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No scars. I was a little curious about your mention of phosphate mining; that was a new one. I found this site, and got some education. There was one thing that made me laugh. The word/euphemism used for the process of separating phosphate from sand and clay? “Benefication.”
LikeLike
Like many (most) of your readers, I preferred the older format, never had problems with viewing the photos because they took to long to download.
I love the feather details in the anhinga’s wings, and the lotus flowers are heavenly.
LikeLike
Thank you, Tanja!
I feel myself drifting backwards ………
LikeLiked by 1 person
I must admit I preferred the former layout of your pages. Content is instead always much appreciated. 😊👍
LikeLike
I really appreciate your opinion! Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I view your blog on a broadband laptop with external second screen. I really, REALLY enjoy being able to click on the images in your blog and see them full-screen. They are stunning! Dew drops, the blue haze (like on plumbs, can’t remember the word) on the lotus leaves, rich saturated colors, lowering sky, all gorgeous. However, I agree with several commenters that the initial 2″x3″ photo display inline with your narrative is not very attractive, and does force a bunch of back-and-forth clicking, which is not so pretty good.
From my perspective the best solution would be to display the photos initially in the size they used to be, but add the new click-to-enlarge for those of us who enjoy that. My friend Linda Murdock, bird photographer and blogger, was the person who convinced me to shrink my photos from approx 24 megapixel (4000×6000 pix) to around 6 megapixel (2000×3000 pix) for web display. She actually recommended 1500×2000, but I wanted more detail.
I tried reading your blog on my samsung S10E cell phone (connected to the same broadband) and compared your prior post to this one. The previous post’s images display full screen width, while the current post’s images size to maybe 80% of full screen.
When testing photo load performance, remember that you need to clear your temporary internet files for each speed test, because the crafty internet re-uses images stored locally from prior page reads (even those when you were working on your post, before you published). Your subsequent tests will almost always come up with blazing speeds, if you don’t clear the history.
And I do read your narrative. I caught the “leaves of grass” reference (very sneaky of you), and your “woolen steam” was SO perfect.
With Gini as your guide, you won’t go wrong!
LikeLike
Thank you so much for the detailed feedback, Sam! I may try something akin to your advice and check on the results.
Everyone’s experience is a little different and I’m probably grasping at straws in an attempt to please all.
Again, thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good news. Julie offered to pop over to complete your regular trim. If you pay her air fare she is offering a senior’s discount that equates to a cost to you of just £7 payable in cash only. She will make the necessary enquiries to ensure that your ESG is compliant. Be aware that she is partial to a nightly G&T and has been trained by an accomplished imbiber of the classic mix.
The NW skies continue to leak and the wind doth blow as normal. Otherwise we await the arrival of global boiling and the coming of The New World Order. Help!
LikeLike
Advise Julie not to book her flight just yet. The cost-per-hair-trimmed versus cost-of-barber-trip will very likely be an unacceptable ratio.
Word from the secret lair of actual scientists indicates Global Boiling will be with us for a couple of years. https://climate.nasa.gov/news/3204/tonga-eruption-blasted-unprecedented-amount-of-water-into-stratosphere/
As far as the NWO is concerned: Keep Calm and Carry On.
(Pssst. There is no help on the way.)
LikeLike
Your phrase “leaves of grass” connects to another poet, Walt Whitman, whose main book of poems bears that title. And speaking of poetry, “a blanket made of woolen steam” is quite a piece of iambic tetrameter.
Regarding the formatting of your posts, I compared the previous one to this one. In the last one, the images are initially larger and don’t allow clicking. In today’s posts, the pictures are initially pretty small; when clicked, they open to much larger versions, perhaps even the full-size originals. It depends how much detail you want people to see. A middle course would be to follow the new approach except that when a small image is clicked it enlarges to the size of images in your previous posts, or perhaps somewhat larger, but not to the very large size that some commenters have said takes a long while to load. I have broadband and I found that a few of the large-size versions loaded in stages from the top down.
LikeLike
I wouldn’t presume a connection to one of America’s premier poets. Although I “may” have subconsciously used his title …..
Thank you for the feedback on the formatting. The jury is still out, but they are getting testy.
LikeLike
I only use the big screen to read blogs (and I do read rather than just look at the photos). Your old system works better for me too, but for those who depend on their phones this might be a better option.
Thank you and Gini both for sharing some of the wonders (and joy) that nature gives us.
LikeLike
Thank you for the feedback, EC.
You’re welcome on the sharing thing. We don’t mind a bit.
LikeLike
Sorry, Wally, but I have to echo the previous comments. My reaction before going to the ‘comments’ section was that it disrupted and detracted from the flow of reading the post. It wouldn’t be so difficult if, like on Blogger for example, it was possible to read through the post and then go to a section where you can just look at the photos in full-frame, one after another, without having to go back and forth continually.
I now realise that I have not actually taken in much of your post, but I did notice that your your Anhinga image, when viewed full screen, revealed an exceptionally wonderful photo.
I shall go back and try again.
Best wishes to you and Gini – – – Richard
LikeLike
Don’t be sorry, Richard! We try new things to see if they’re better. Sometimes, they are not!
We’ll continue to consider the best options for all concerned. Then, Gini will tell me what to do. 🙂
LikeLike
Hmmm prefer full size images, that’s what a photo blog is all about but hey this is your blog Wally do with it as you think best, still a great read!
LikeLike
Thank you, Brian.
Good ideas on paper sometimes are less effective in the real world.
LikeLike
I have to say, I really don’t like your new format. I never had a problem in the past with load times. Now, the photos are so small that I have to ‘click to enlarge’ and each enlargement takes what seems like for…ev…er to load. I’ll come back and look at the images when I have more time. (Note: I always look at posts, leave comments, and such on my PC with a broadband connection. I never use a phone, so it may be that these small images are better for those committed to the small screen.)
LikeLike
And having to click back and forth of necessity seems disruptive. It breaks the narrative that’s such an important part of your blog. I know. Picky!
LikeLike
Again, thank you!
(I had no idea folks actually READ the narrative!)
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
One of the reasons for changing was some apparently had a problem with load times with the larger images embedded in the post.
I’ve just tried opening, closing and re-opening four times and when I click to enlarge the process was very quick. Additionally, the enlarged images allow for zooming in. (May not ever be useful for anyone!)
I’ll let it go for a couple of cycles and see what response we get.
Thank you so much for pointing out what may cause us to return to the tried and true.
LikeLiked by 1 person