… And The Livin’ Is Easy
(Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.)
Summertime. Hot. Humid. Perfect.
Starting early helps maintain a modicum of comfort. Until the sun rises above the tree line. Now it’s like a sauna. With bugs.
Sauntering around in a sweltering swamp is, admittedly, not everyone’s cup of chai. The distant calls of Barred Owls and an overflight of a couple dozen White Ibises help take one’s mind off any discomfort. Our day has begun.
It was early June of this year and the stresses of impending heart surgery and destructive hurricanes were not on our radar. Flowers were blooming, the birds were feeding new chicks, dragonflies lounged among the reeds. We relaxed in each other’s company. Conversation about family, interrupted by the scream of a Limpkin. Breakfast by the lake as the sun put its spotlight on an alligator in the shallows waiting for his own breakfast to swim by.
We still marvel at our good fortune of having this oasis exactly seven minutes and thirty-five seconds away from our house. Amazing.
Return with us now, to those thrilling days of summer in central Florida!
Breakfast bar for ‘gators.
We are constantly surprised at the things a Great Blue Heron will attempt to eat. This one eventually proved too much to swallow. Perhaps the above alligator will find it later.
Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) loves to climb. It’s been known to reach 30 feet and more as it wraps around tall tree limbs. Hummingbirds love the nectar of these blooms. Alas, not today.
Escargot hunter. Limpkins are the only member of their genus. Watching them use their scissor-like bill to extract an Apple Snail from its shell is fascinating.
Camphorweed, Stinkweed, Salt marsh fleabane, Sourbush and Cattle-tongue are a few of the common names of the plant known as Sweetscent (Pluchea odorata). Having crushed the leaves and inhaled, I don’t detect the “sweet” part. At all. Other members of the camphorweed family are even less appealing.
This male Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) may appear to be relaxing. If another insect flies by, he’ll become active in a hurry.
Quite the versatile plant, Climbing Hempvine (Mikania scandens) has been used for livestock fodder, cover crops and even medicinally. We love finding it as it is a larval host for the small and lovely Little Metalmark (Calephelis virginiensis) butterfly.
At first glance, some are confused as to what species this bird might be. Female Red-winged Blackbirds can be a challenge.
More often than not, Grassleaf Lettuce (Lactuca graminifolia) looks very scraggly and unkempt. Then you see the flower. Suddenly, the plant transforms into quite the beauty.
Our most common raptor is the Red-shouldered Hawk. Their sharp eyes don’t miss much. Especially lizards and frogs.
A patch of small sky-blue blooms grabbed our attention. As we drew near, the familiar forms of Whitemouth Dayflowers (Commelina erecta) brought our morning to a close.
Yes, our central Florida summers are hot and humid. Yes, we have gnats and mosquitoes. Yes, we have snakes and alligators. Yes, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Enjoy your search for a natural place and come back for a visit!
Our Natural Places 
I am just watching the evening news from Florida where Nigel is sounding positive about news that may emanate from there by tomorrow. I hope he is right, but then he is the most honest politician we have in the UK. Here is bonfire Night, where we celebrate Guy Fawkes who almost made it in burning down Parliament. I wish.
I note you delve into the archives whilst Gini is perhaps out of action or simply taking a well deserved rest. Give her our best regards and a UK Hug.
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Our thanks to Nigel for his positive attitude and great reporting! It was a night to remember for us. Celebration time.
Gini will be having her incredibly wonderful heart tuned up a bit tomorrow (Thursday, 11/7). Soon she shall have a shiny new aortic valve and she will resume her role as an unstoppable force of Nature!.
Hug applied. And appreciated.
Take care of the place for the next few days. I’ll be counting pigeons on hospital window sills.
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Thank you Wally, Gini and the People of America for showing us the way. Take care.
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Our pleasure.
Now. The hard part. Cleaning house. (And senate.)
Gini’s surgery went well and she is home recovering. Thank you for your positive thoughts.
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That is some precise distance calculations there Wally! I had to laugh at your description as I have often considered putting the Limpkin “scream” as background ambiance on our haunted trail – blood curdling ha. I already use the Barn Owl calls on one of our props – our nonbirding guests never believe it is real. “Perhaps the above alligator will find it later” – were you referring to the fish or the bird ha.
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Nature offers some pretty interesting sounds!
That ‘gator wouldn’t mind finding either one, although most Great Blue Herons might try to eat the big reptile just to see if could be done.
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Wonderful post. My jaw dropped upon viewing the first photo. The lotus flowers really capture the light so beautifully!
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Thank you very much, Peter.
We like that spot for breakfast as the sunrise on those yellow blooms is a great way to start any day.
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Amazing photos! I love nature, and llato. I always take a wool blanket in my free time and go sit on it in the meadow. Time spent this way after a hard day is incredibly relaxing for me.
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Thank you. A great way to relax.
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I like the first image of all the lotuses lined up!
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Thank you, Maria. We liked being there, too. It was our spot for breakfast at sunrise. Nice.
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Now I’m going to have to calculate the time and distance to Dudney. Given current construction and activity around a large intermediate school, I suspect the distance is similar, but the time double: unless another inattentive driver has smacked into someone again. No matter: the destination is more than worth the journey, as it clearly is for you.
Once again, similarities abound. We also have the hempvine, dayflowers, fleabane, and trumpet vine. Your grassleaf lettuce reminds me of our skeleton flower (Lygodesmia texana). Do (or did) people actually eat yours? How did it get the common name ‘lettuce’? Then there are the lotuses, alligators, and mosquitos. If you ever have a mosquito shortage, we’d be glad to send a few million to you.
I love the photo of the heron attempting that fish. That’s a perfect illustration of the ‘high hopes’ made famous in the song.
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As I mentioned to Steve S. earlier, take that precise driving time as me taking literary license with my driving license. It is a short distance, which is appealing.
I found a couple of foraging blogs which mention L. graminifolia as edible. The leaves seem so small as to be of questionable practical use. But, if one is starving …The common name apparently comes from the grasslike leaves and “lactuca” from the Latin for lettuce, which appears to be from “lac”, milk, contained in the stalk.
I have definitely put your name in our reference list for “mosquito replacement” and filed it appropriately.
The Great Blue Heron could be the poster child for that song! (One of my favorites is of one with an alligator in its beak.)
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Always glad to share a celebration of natural beauty and resilience (your natural places, and your patient spouse). Hope Gini’s recovery is going well, hope the landscapes are recovering from being battered by hurricanes, hope you both continue to enjoy exploring.
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Thanks, Sam. Her surgery is actually next week, but we are taking it nice and easy until then.
We tried to check on some of our birding patches a few days ago but roads are still flooded.
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I’m glad you don’t mind the heat, humidity, gnats, and mosquito. Thank you for suffering so that the rest of us get to enjoy your natural beauty vicariously. 🌞
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We are very happy to suffer so you don’t have to.
Okay, maybe not “happy”. It just comes with the territory where all the good stuff lives.
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You forgot the word, Smell! Good smells come from that hot and humidity! lol 😉 Especially love your limpkin shot! Reading of impending heart surgery and in the comments seeing it was your lovely wife, I hope all is going very well with Gini’s healing and rehabilitation, please pass along my prayers to her for continued healing and recovery.
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Ahh, yes. The swamp as a distinct aroma which is enhanced by all that heat and humidity constantly cooking the muck and mire.
I was hoping that Limpking would snag a snail, but he decided to fly up to that branch and pose. I didn’t mind one bit.
We both appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
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Beautiful shots! It’s hot to concentrate and get good shots in the summer heat here. Hoping we get cooler soon.
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Thank you, Dina.
Yep, the heat is a challenge, that’s for certain. Cooler would be gooder.
(Sorry, I somehow missed your comment and I’m late answering.)
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Speaking of chai, just yesterday I explained to someone visiting from the Texas coast that Europeans who learned about tea by visiting China centuries ago picked up the word in one of two forms, depending on which Chinese language or dialect was involved. English (tea), German (Tee), Italian (tè) and French (thé) ended up with a t-form. Portuguese (chá) and Russian (chai) ended up with a ch-form.
And by quite a coincidence, a little earlier I’d asked the same person if climbing hempvine, which grew where we’d been out exploring nature in the Austin area, was present over by the coast.
“Exactly seven minutes and thirty-five seconds away from our house” raises the question of how you regulate your driving speed, traffic lights, and other drivers so precisely. Perhaps in addition to a driver’s license you take some poetic license.
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Many (very many) years ago, we had tea at the house of my Russian professor. She provided a very similar description of the word’s etymology. Chai made with water boiled in a brass samovar somehow seemed to taste
better than a tea bag dunked in hot water from the faucet.
I most definitely take extreme literary license in attempting to entertain our erudite audience. (Definitely not poetic license as I have little talent for creating sublime rhyme.)
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Despite loathing heat and humidity (and a decidedly wary approach to snakes and alligators) I delight in your expeditions.
Thank you both so very much.
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We both hope you’re having a good week, EC. You are very welcome to continue to enjoy the results of our adventures, even it is a vicarious experience. Not having to use the bug spray is a nice advantage.
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Hello Wally and Gini.
I hope Gini that your surgery goes well and that you will very soon feel well enough to bake the goodies and brew the coffee that Wally so desperately craves. We are rooting for you.
And be assured. I have not travelled over to the USA to help in the Kamala campaign and I sincerely hope that when DT wins he will jail every single one of those interlopers for interfering in your election.
I do like a plate that holds a nice piece of fresh fish but even I would baulk at tackling the heron’s feast. A super pose plus great clarity of the Limpkin on the tree – very nice capture.
That’s no challenge for me, the Red -winged Blackbird. I may have mentioned that the female of the species is my all time favourite USA bird perhaps because it has the feel of a black & white European thrush also called a Redwing. I’m sure you know of it and if you ever get the chance, twitch one. Unless of course you saw the species in Europe?
I am rather jealous of your Florida places that have so many broken down trees and stumps on which birds and insects so happily pose. Over here they would be cleared in no time by those with tidy minds (tiny minds). You know what I mean.
We had lunch out in Knott End Chippy – haddock, chips, mushy peas, bread and butter and a pot of tea each. Wow better than Florida any day!
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Thank you so much for the positive thoughts on my needs for coffee and baked goods.
Oh, and Gini says “Send him a hug for me.”. Not sure what that’s about, but consider yourself hugged.
If memory serves, we had similar interlopers a few years ago which forced us to drink coffee since we wouldn’t pay the tax on tea. Anyhow, happy to know we won’t have to visit you in an American jail. Birding there is likely somewhat limited.
We were lucky to see the Redwing many years ago and it is quite similar to the Red-winged Blackbird female/immature male. At this time of year, they are forming large flocks and will mix with grackles, starlings and the occasional Yellow-headed Blackbird.
I do know what you mean about those tiny/tidy minds. We’re attempting to resist that disease here in the Colonies but fear it may eventually be a losing battle.
Gini said your Knott End Chippy meal sounded good. I suggested it sounded like sarcarsm. In any event, my coffee cup is empty, so ta-ta for now.
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A lovely look at this natural Florida oasis – thanks for posting!
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You’re very welcome, Ed.
It’s close and lovely. Two good things.
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That heron certainly has eyes bigger than it’s stomach! Nicely caught (both you and the heron).
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Typical heron. Try to eat everything before it eats me.
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