Archives
(Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) A few very cold mornings are uncomfortable events for these native Floridians. Ever the optimist, Gini opined that the below freezing temperatures will help “set” the sweetness for our local strawberry farmers who run sprinklers all night to provide a frozen blanket to protect the little red bundles of pleasure. Today, the thermometer rose sufficiently for us to venture out and explore what… Read More
(Click images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) “Wow!” That’s an overused interjection, for certain. Sometimes, however, nothing else conveys the meaning one seeks. Besides, it’s a direct quote, so there. The object of Gini’s amazement hove into view as we came to the first bend in the road after entering Colt Creek State Park. A large swath of lavender along the edge of the pine forest offered a spectacular “Welcome Back“…. Read More
Header Image: Florida Scrub Jay It was a dark and stormy night. The day was bad, too. The last few days of September saw Hurricane Ian gain incredible strength in the Gulf of Mexico before roaring ashore in southwest Florida at nearly a Category 5 level with winds around 150 mph. Five months later, many areas of that beautiful coast are still reeling from the amount of damage the storm caused. Some… Read More
Header Image: Ruby-crowned Kinglet Apparently, we did not exhaust ourselves enough during the Lakeland Christmas Bird Count so we volunteered to participate in the Green Swamp count. Twenty people. Over 500,000 acres of swamp. Challenging! Gini and I were assigned to the East Tract of the Green Swamp Wildlife Management Area which consisted of a mere 51,000 acres. The vast majority of this area is inaccessible. The Christmas census is designed to… Read More
Header Image: Burmarigold or Smooth Beggartick (Bidens laevis) Standing by the side of the road in the dark. Hands cupping our ears. Straining for the sounds of the night. “Whip, whip, whip, whip!” The loud call accompanied the sound of flapping wings passing us as an Eastern Whip-poor-will flew along with mouth open wide to inhale insects hovering above the sandy stretch of road. Ten minutes later, the surprisingly soft trill of… Read More
Our Natural Places 