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(Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) The turn-off is immediately after the bridge. I almost always miss it and have to do a U-turn. One problem is the highway is a shortcut for 18-wheelers heading for Interstate 75, typically from Interstate 4 to the south. The road saves them quite a bit of time as they don’t have to travel to where the two expressways intersect on the edge… Read More
Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: amanda's pennant, bar-winged skimmer, eastern black swallowtail, golden-winged skimmer, green swamp, loblolly bay, peelbark st. john's wort, pine savanna, pitted stripeseed, roseate skimmer, roundpod st. john's-wort, showy milkwort, spotted orbweaver, tarflower, tufted titmouse
(Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) You may be surprised to hear this, but Florida has “tourist attractions“. Beaches, picturesque old towns, prehistoric-looking person-eating hundred-foot-long alligators, cattle(!) drives, Seminole Indian reservations (complete with authentic casinos), fishing opportunities and the ultimate in planetary entertainment – an entire world built by a Mouse! Gini and I are both natives of The Sunshine State so we are quite familiar with these incredible… Read More
Category: Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: bandana of the everglades, bar-winged skimmer, blue dasher, bumble bee, fewflower milkweed, Florida, flower chafer, green anole, green swamp, hummingbird clearwing, little blue dragonlet, noyau vine, pearl crescent, purple thistle, showy milkwort, trumpet creeper, yellow fly
(Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) This year has been a bit different than others. “Getting old“, my bride says, “is not for sissies.” Indeed. Hindsight indicates we should have purchased one of those extended service warranties for our bodies. Our appointment calendar sure has been filled with visits to all sorts of medical practioners, laboratories, imaging services and we are now on a first-name basis with the local… Read More
Header Image: White-tailed Deer “What a really nice morning!” This was the second time Gini had made that statement since we left the state park. As we pulled into the Bar-B-Que restaurant, she observed that we always seem to say that no matter where we have been. She is right. This particular morning had not been particularly unusual. We saw a few birds, a few insects, enjoyed nice scenery and we talked… Read More
Header Image: Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) A pine forest is welcoming in so many ways. The unique green of the trees, the scent that has become synonymous with “fresh“, the cones on the branches as well as those littering the understory, the texture of the tree bark and the incredible diversity of life which calls the forest home. No wonder we like such a venue! Colt Creek State Park is one of… Read More
Our Natural Places 