Our Day of Summer – Part Two
(Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.)
The red clay road is still damp along the edges from yesterday’s brief rain shower. Pine trees provide that fresh scent only they can manufacture. Blue sky, no breeze, no man-made sounds. We pause and sigh as one.
Ancient geological phenomena make the Lake Wales Ridge one of our very favorite places to visit. This unique ecosystem is covered with a mosaic of scrub, flatwoods, wetlands and lakes. Although we haven’t become lost here in our wanderings, we always become lost in reverie.
Although the dog days of summer have just passed, the hounds have allowed the heat to remain over the land with no relief in sight. Siriusly. (Reminder, the date of this visit was August 15th.) It’s okay. Our internal Florida bodily thermostats adjust to handle these egg-frying temperatures. Ooops. Gini just asked to get that car A/C turned down!
Yes, there are, once again, way too many pictures. Just scroll quickly and you’ll be finished in time for dinner.
In the center of surrounding pine forest and scrub palmetto is a small lake. This source of water attracts a terrific selection of birds, blooms and bugs. Oh, look. Here’s a familiar resident now. American White Waterlily (Nymphaea odorata).
One of the larger dragonflies in this area is the Golden-winged Skimmer (Libellula auripennis).
Where there is wet ground, we will usually find some member of the Sagitarria genus. This one is Grassy Arrowhead (Sagittaria graminea).
Also known as Hat Pins or Bog Buttons, Tenangle Pipewort (Eriocaulon decangulare) offers a different form than a “regular” flower bloom.
The male Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) has a really bright upper wing iridescence.
Supposedly, some botanist conjured a vision of the track of a huge mammal when observing the basal leaves of the Tall Elephantsfoot (Elephantopus elatus). The vision escapes me. No matter. The lovely lavender flowers more than make up for its name.
We’ll check back in the spring, but strongly suspect the area’s critters will keep the fruit of this Darrow’s Blueberry (Vaccinium darrowii) completely harvested.
By far, the most common bird call throughout the forest today was that of the Eastern Towhee. “Drink-your-teeeeee“.
Blooms of the Winged Sumac (Rhus copallinum) attracted a huge number of pollinators. Most were really small fly-like things which evaded all attempts to photograph them.
Endemic to Florida, the bright Yellow Milkwort (Senega rugelii) can often be overlooked in the taller grasses around the forest edges.
As summer wanes, family groups of Brown-headed Nuthatches begin to disperse to establish territories of their own for the next breeding season. Their unmistakable “rubber-ducky” squeaks are music to our ears.
Another gold jewel of the dragons, a Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina) is, thankfully, a common sight in this area.
This is our first sighting of the aquatic carnivorous Purple Bladderwort (Utricularia purpurea). Their ability to filter nutrients from prey they capture is fascinating.
Black and white and purple. What’s not to like about a Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) on Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)?
This is Part Two of a three-part series on the one day this summer we were able to have an outing. Good news on two fronts. Gini recovered from last year’s heart escapades sufficiently to have one of her knees completely replaced. The other one should be done early next year. She is doing well and walking a bit unassisted for the first time in nearly 30 years! Secondly, yours truly will soon graduate from several months of cardiac rehabilitation. We have managed a couple of recent outings and are preparing for more! (You have been warned.)
Enjoy your search for a natural place and come back for a visit!
Our Natural Places 
So glad to hear you and Gini are progressing well on the road to recovery – I feel your struggles ha. I have to say, that Pipevine Swallowtail is a stunner – beyond maybe our swallowtails, that species puts our butters to shame. Same goes for that Zebra, but the Pipevine wins it for me. As soon as I saw that Brown-Headed Nuthatch I went squeak, squeak and then read your accompanying text and burst out laughing – you nailed it on that bird!! Take care and can’t wait to read about your new adventures.
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She’s really doing well and she thinks she’s ready to hop, skip and jump down the swampy trails. Not just yet, but it has been terrific to see her progress.
We’re lucky to have so many birds, blooms and bugs to enjoy. Now, about that having enough time to do it all thing ………
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It was so pleasant to go on this tour, Wally, of all the beautiful plants, flowers, and wildlife in your Florida setting. I especially liked both the Pipevine Swallowtail and Zebra Swallowtail photos, oh my gosh so incredibly beautiful. Stunning dragonflies and towhee, too. And a lovely series of wildflowers and plants, very interesting. Congratulations to you both on your continuous healing. Great post, thanks so much.
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We really appreciate you kind comments, Jet.
It’s really a special place. Healing continues and each day looks better.
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Congratulations on your (and Sue’s) medical milestones! That has to be a relief for both of you. That water lily picture is just stunning! That one is definitely my favorite.
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Thanks, Jim and Barb.
Gini and I are both improving and looking forward to hiking the swamp soon.
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That yellow milkwort is really striking, and has such geometrically intricate design. Great photo of a very cool subject.
Of course, I oohed and ahhed over the birds you found. That brown-headed nuthatch is a cutie!
Glad to know both you and Gini are healing and making steady progress along the path to full health, and glad to know you can find joy even in the tiny steps toward recovery.
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Thank you so much, Sam.
We heard so many birds that day but very few came within camera range. Now that migration is underway we hope to get out to some of our favorite “hunting” patches.
We are very blessed to be able to find joy in all our steps!
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What a treat. By the time I finished lollygagging in your world, I’d starting humming a long-forgotten song that seemed just right: you certainly have found yourself a perfect summer place.
I’m always delighted to find ‘familiars.’ The water lily photo is stunning. I’m especially taken with the unusual blue-green color of the leaves. It might be a trick of light, but it’s gorgeous. The pipewort, arrowhead, and elephant’s foot are ones I’ve seen relatively recently, although they’re fading away; lack of rain may have hastened their departure.
I was fascinated by your bladderwort. I’ve seen only one species, and it was yellow. I did once find a small butterwort (Pinguicula pumila) that was a lovely pale lavender. I’m curious about your first photo. Is that a Rhexia species covering the land?
I’m so glad to hear both of you are making progress. You deserve as much time as you can manage in your special places.
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Lollygagging is the perfect word for what we do in nature. No schedule, no rushing. Just savoring the moments together in places we love.
Thanks for the earworm.
It is often too easy to pass by the “familiars”. I’m trying to retrain myself to concentrate on them instead. That bladderwort was the first purple one we have seen. Interesting plants.
Good eyes. Pale Meadowbeauty (Rhexia mariana) rolled out the pink carpet as we approached the lake.
We really ARE making progress. Watching Gini gain strength and balance to be able to walk across the room with no assistance or cane or walker or wheelchair in sight – a true miracle.
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Your caption “Lake Godwin” got my morning mind wondering if there’s a Lake Gotcha anywhere. Along a similar line, in addition to the pickerelweed you showed there is a plant called pickleweed (a.k.a. glasswort), which I saw on our previous visit to California nine years ago.
Glad to hear both of your recoveries are coming along apace, both literally and figuratively.
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I’ve heard tell of some lake quite a ways north of here called Gitche Gumee. Still searching for Gotcha.
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Zebra Swallowtail, what a stunner!
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I may have to have that one printed. Gini likes the color combination.
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Beautiful shots! Hopefully it will start to cool off soon in time for you both to get out there for some walks.
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Thank you, Dina. We definitely vote for that cooler weather thing.
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LOVING THIS! All my best,
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Thanks very much. We loved it, too.
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Whoopsies. Any chance you could remove the contact info? Thanks Wally.
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I think that did it. Let me know if not.
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