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 calendar has advanced as we are beginning to see warblers arriving in small numbers with their autumn suitcases packed with plumage for warm climes. Additionally, our Swallow-tailed Kites have left the area in favor of insect rich pampas in Argentina. Recently, we were rudely reminded that it is actually late summer as Hurricane Idalia raced northward along Florida’s western coast.
Back to mid-July. We had brunch by the lake as a Limpkin stalked an Apple Snail. Overhead, we were entertained by the aerial prowess of a Swallow-tailed Kite. An alligator peered at us from just beyond the shoreline. Gini remarked it was difficult to believe we had been exploring for two hours already.
Time flies …
The intense heat would soon encourage us to seek the air-conditioned refuge of our living room. Until then, we would immerse ourselves in close encounters of the natural kind. We have been to this area often enough that we could almost list what we would see before ever leaving home. Once here, it’s like greeting old friends. We know the address of a butterfly, the branch office of a dragon, the wading pool frequented by the egret.
It was a summer’s day. We loved it.
This bright male Northern Cardinal forced me to break my “cardinal” rule of not including photographs of birds on utility lines.
It was still a bit too early for warm air thermals to support the Swallow-tailed Kite’s preference for soaring. This one likely spent the night on this branch.
We don’t care that the Gulf Fritillary (Dione incarnata) is one of our most abundant butterflies. It is absolutely gorgeous from any angle!
A twig charred from a recent controlled burn makes a perfect ambush platform for this female Roseate Skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea).
So small that it could be mistaken for a wasp, especially when it flies with legs dangling, the diminutive Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera) hopes would-be predators do exactly that.
Although it is not quite as bright as its Gulf cousin, a Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) has a subtle beauty all its own.
It’s hard to believe one could not help but see a brightly colored lime-green spider just sitting out in the open. Unless it is sitting on a similarly-colored leaf where it blends in rather nicely. This Green Lynx Spider (Peucetia viridans) hopes an insect morsel won’t notice it either.
One of our larger black butterflies, a Spicebush Swallowtail (Pterourus troilus) has really striking markings.
Many of the lakes in this particular area are too deep for wading birds. Recent rains have created large puddles which attract all sorts of creatures, including this Snowy Egret which is busy looking for some of the smaller creatures enjoying the pool.
North America’s smallest falcon, the American Kestrel, is fascinating to observe. We were able to watch this one hunt from a fence perch and then from the air as it hovered and then streaked along just above a grassy field.
Our morning outing in hot July was incredibly enjoyable. Just like our outing in hot August. Very much like our outing in hot September. We’re confident cooler days are just around the hot, humid bend.
Enjoy your search for a natural place and come back for a visit!
Our Natural Places 
I hear you, on the “summer re-runs”. On the one hand, the heat and humidity is formidable… but on the other hand, who wouldn’t get up out of the chair for that Lynx spider or the Kestrel, or the Kite?! All wonderful photos, and all wonderfully observed. Take care, and enjoy the quickening autumn.
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We have to enjoy our summer re-runs since in Florida our Autumn only lasts about four hours.
Thank you Sam.
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I’m loving your tiny Kestrel and the bright red Cardinal. Good to hear you haven’t troubled the doctor lately with your aches and pains. Here in NHS Land doctors are harder to see than American Warblers in a Isles of Scilly hedgerow. IE, impossible. We sometimes get to see a nurse who consults the Internet, just as we do, before prescribing pills just as we do.
Off to sunny Skiathos Wednesday 28 degrees wall to wall sun. Yes, the global torrents turned into global boiling but the locals are used to it. They learned how to cope from generations past and the Ancient Greeks that Aegean weather is fairly predictable. Hot sunny summers followed by 48 hour thunderstorms when tracks through the hills turning into torrents of water and wreck low lying coastal hamlets.
Enjoy yourselves Wally and Gini. We sure will.
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Skiathos sounds like Florida, but with hills and no humidity. Gini and I hope you and Sue have a great time. Remember to balance sun, fun, birds and ouzo. Finding that exact balance is the challenge. (Hint: Add ouzo last.)
We’ve been having so much fun in the swamp and forest that our next doctor will have to try and find us.
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Great post, Wally! All your photos are wonderful, but the Kestrel sequence is really awesome!
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Summer does not want to give up here in Connecticut. We had high temperatures in the 90s nearly every day this past week, followed inevitably by thunderstorms. Almost like Florida, but it seems to keep the birds hidden in the shade. Love that green spider, along with all the other critters so nicely photographed.
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Thank you, Ken.
That’s not fair to move to New England and have Florida’s heat and humidity follow you. Hopefully, your autumn will cool down and remind you where you are.
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There was great excitement in the neighborhood this morning. At 5:30 a.m., there was lightning and thunder, and by 7 a.m. a half-inch of rain had fallen. Unfortunately the coverage was limited, but it was greater than our other spotty showers, and I just came in from photographing two critters who were loving it as much as me: two White Ibis in my front yard, probing the newly moistened ground for whatever they were finding. They’re still there, so they must be finding a lot.
I adore the Green Lynx spiders, and this is a fine portrait of one. The spread-tail photo of the Kestrel is a fine one, too: my favorite of the group. “Streak” is a good word to describe their flight. I’ve rarely seen one on the wing, but they’re terrifically fast.
Do you think your Cardinal was molting? or perhaps a maturing juvenile? Its feathers look a little different to me, as though it’s in the process of ‘something.’
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We keep wishing steady rain would grace south Texas with a visit. Soon.
One day, I will find a Green Lynx on purpose. The Kestrels are speedy, that’s for sure. That Cardinal was likely an adult nearing the end of its seasonal molt.
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I’m glad I got out yesterday because we are having pop up showers today. But I always say I love summer best….it’s a good thing! lol Love the Kestrel in flight and I’ve just learned to ID the varigated Fritillary. We sure have a lot of butterflies right now. Enjoy your weekend!
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Thanks, Diane.
We ignored the shower forecast today and managed to have a very good morning. Yep, butterflies all over the place!
That particular Kestrel is a Florida native which is a subspecies of its migrating cousins which will soon begin showing up. Fun to watch them hunt!
Take good care.
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Love, love, love your photographs! The kite was a new one for me. I do not think we have any of those in the Dakotas.
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Thank you for visiting with us!
The Swallow-tailed Kite doesn’t venture much beyond the extreme southeastern U.S. and spends mid-August to mid-February in South America. Fun birds to watch!
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Absolutely delighted that you delved back into your files and found this wonderful record of a morning out, Wally. Birds, butterflies and dragons are beautifully displayed here, and an amaziing spider thrown in for good measure.
You’re not the only ones having warmer weather than usual. Currently, we are technically in the middle of a heat wave, with today’s temperatures being the highest of the year. I’ve just come downstairs from a post-lunch nap in our bedroom which is one of the few rooms we have with air-conditioning. Tomorrow, we have an amber warning for thunderstorms.
My very best wishes to you and Gini – – – Richard
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Thank you so much, Richard. Although it was a “typical” morning, it felt very “special” at the time. Reviewing the images confirmed how special it had been. We’re very blessed to have more of the “special” sort of outings it seems.
Actually, our summer temperatures seem normal for our area. We both recall growing up in the heat and humidity with no air conditioning, but it was normal, so – no big deal. We still get out and play in the hot stuff, but we have learned to love that A/C!!
Gini and I hope you and Lindsay enjoy the coming weekend.
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What a great red on that cardinal, especially against the blue of the sky. Definitely worth breaking your no-cable rule.
It’s good you caught the kestrel in different poses. Inquiring minds want to know: given that there’s a swallow-tailed kite, is there also a kite-tailed swallow, or is that too much to swallow?
The green lynx is a common spider in central Texas, and always fun to see.
I think most people imagine dragonflies as chunky, but stumpy and looking waspish is a different way to be a dragonfly.
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Bright male cardinals demand attention. So I usually comply.
As for who knows the answer to your tail tale, it may be too much for the swallow to follow but the kite might.
I’m often startled to see a green lynkx spider as it’s usually hiding in plain sight.
I’ll try to catch an Amberwing in flight to underscore the similarity to a wasp.
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As always, your splendid photos and accompanying words carried me away, but I have to admit to not being as enamored of your heat and humidity.
I particularly loved your evocative paragraph about “the address of a butterfly, the branch office of a dragon, the wading pool frequented by the egret.” It’s so special to know where to find all these wonderful creatures.
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Thank you Tanja.
The unknown is always exciting when exploring a new natural place. There is something to be said about the familiar, too. It’s – reasurringly comforting.
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Beautiful shots! I can’t believe you spotted that green spider and the picture is fabulous!
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Thank you, Dina.
I was trying to follow a butterfly in that spot hoping it would land and I’m sure I passed over that leaf a dozen times before spotting Ms. Lynx.
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Thank you and Gini so much for showing us the small beauties (which are HUGELY beautiful) in your hot and sticky part of the world. And sadly I hear you on my body constantly storing up fat for winter. And hanging on to it. Tightly.
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You are very welcome, EC.
We’re glad to do it so you don’t have to. (But we wish you could join us once it cools down.)
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Great nature selection Wally. Funny how fast summer flies by as the animals are already prepping for winter.
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Thanks, Brad.
I reckon I’m always preparing for winter based upon the rate at which I accumulate fat stores.
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