Monthly Archives: September 2023

Fresh From Florida!

Heat. Humidity. Hurricanes. Mosquitoes. Traffic. Plus – the most incredibly diverse natural environment you could possibly imagine. Welcome to our home. Gini and I were both born in the Sunshine State. Our childhoods were remarkably similar. Fond memories of trips to the beach, going fishing, picking fresh tomatoes for canning (in Gini’s case, for eating as many as possible before her Mom scolded her), earning respect of our elders, learning the value… Read More

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: balsampear, barred yellow, carolina wren, cassius blue, eastern amberwing, gulf fritillary, little blue heron, little yellow, rambur's forktail, red-shouldered hawk, slaty skimmer, southern carpenter bee, spicebush swallowtail, variegated fritillary, water moccasin, western honeybee

On The Importance of Planning

It is vital to set goals is life. Without a goal, how do you know where to go? If you don’t know where you’re going it is all too easy to become lost, literally as well as figuratively. Mapping out a route for what you want to do in life is critical to being successful. Philosophy lesson for the day is over. Once in a awhile – okay, most of the time… Read More

Category: Birds, Fauna, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: american germander, black-bellied whistling-duck, boat-tailed grackle, colt creek state park, dorantes longtail, gaillardia, gopher tortoise, great egret, gulf fritillary, hairypod cowpea, little blue heron, narrowleaf primrosewillow, needham's skimmer, oppositeleaf spotflower, pale meadowbeauty, red-footed cannibalfly, red-headed woodpecker, red-winged blackbird, saltmarsh morning-glory, summer tanager

Morning In The Wetlands

I gave up wearing hiking boots. For one thing, my days of going on lengthy hikes over rough terrain are in my rear view mirror. Water-resistant linings and treatments for preventing water soaking through footwear can be somewhat helpful, but walking through Florida’s eternally wet grass is pretty much like wading a stream and your feet are just going to get wet. So I now have a pair of very comfortable shoes… Read More

Category: Birds, Fauna, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: bandanna of the everglades, black-crowned night heron, blue dasher, bumble bee, common buttonbush, eastern gama grass, eastern pondhawk, great blue heron, great egret, itchepackesassa creek wetlands, marsh rabbit, pickerelweed, purple gallinule, queen, rambur's forktail, sachem, scarlet skimmer, seven sisters

Can’t See The Flowers For The Bees

“Did you see that?” “Nope.” This is a frequent exchange between my brown-eyed beauty and myself. I often must gently remind her that when two of us are present, although we have twice as much chance of seeing something, it doesn’t work that way all the time. “But how could you miss that bird on the fence post?” “Because I was looking at the butterfly on the flower on the opposite side… Read More

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: dainty sulphur, feather-legged scoliid wasp, great blue skimmer, loggerhead shrike, orchard orbweaver, poey's furrow bee, robber fly, shrubby false buttonweed, western honeybee, white peacock, winged loosestrife, yellow garden spider

Stuck In Summer

We have turned back the clock to mid-July. I guess it is a testament of sorts to how busy we have been that there are several trips which have gone unreported. As we have an opportunity, we shall attempt to catch up. Weather-wise, today in the first week of September, it could just as easily be the middle of July. High temperatures, equally high humidity. Regularly scheduled thunderstorms. We recognize that the… Read More

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: american kestrel, eastern amberwing, green lynx spider, gulf fritillary, northern cardinal, roseate skimmer, snowy egret, spicebush swallowtail, swallow-tailed kite, variegated fritillary

Our Natural Places

Exploring - Naturally