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(Finally. This is the last chapter of reporting on our only day this summer we were able to explore nature. It was August 15 and we were in the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest in central Florida.) (Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) It would have been easy to talk ourselves out of this trip. Both recovering from surgeries, horrible curve balls from Life, middle of Florida’s hot and… Read More
Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: barred yellow, black dancer, carolina yellow-eyed grass, cloudless sulphur, common buckeye, eastern amberwing, florida pricklypear, florida scrub jay, lake wales ridge state forest, loblolly bay, narrowleaf primrose-willow, october flower, roserush, sandhill st. john's-wort, scrubland goldenaster, southern needleleaf
Streaks of light from the sun rising above the cypress trees lit up the opposite shore of the lake where a Great Blue Heron and Great Egret were wading in search of breakfast. Stepping onto the wooden fishing platform caused a splash from below my feet. A young alligator surfaced several feet into the lake and gave me “the look”. An Osprey splashed just to the right and flew away with a… Read More
Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: barred yellow, blue dasher, blue-gray gnatcatcher, clay-colored sparrow, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, loggerhead shrike, pine warbler, red-shouldered hawk, salt marsh moth larva, snail, tropical checkered-skipper, yellow-throated warbler
(Reminder: Click to enlarge images, click again to zoom.) Gini and I tend to develop a routine when it comes to exploring. When we become familiar with a particular area through repeated visits, a pattern becomes “comfortable“. Today’s visit to one of our favorite “patches” is a perfect example. Tenoroc Fish Management Area is spread out over several geographically separated venues and consists of nearly 8,000 acres. That is a bit more… Read More
Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: american redstart, band-winged dragonlet, barn swallow, barred yellow, blue dasher, carolina chickadee, goldern-reined digger wasp, great pondhawk, green anole, green lynx spider, northern parula, northern waterthrush, olive-shaded bird-dropping moth, roseate skimmer, salt marsh moth larva, savannah false pimpernel, tenoroc fish management area, turkey vulture, variegated fritillary, viceroy, white peacock
Heat. Humidity. Hurricanes. Mosquitoes. Traffic. Plus – the most incredibly diverse natural environment you could possibly imagine. Welcome to our home. Gini and I were both born in the Sunshine State. Our childhoods were remarkably similar. Fond memories of trips to the beach, going fishing, picking fresh tomatoes for canning (in Gini’s case, for eating as many as possible before her Mom scolded her), earning respect of our elders, learning the value… Read More
Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: balsampear, barred yellow, carolina wren, cassius blue, eastern amberwing, gulf fritillary, little blue heron, little yellow, rambur's forktail, red-shouldered hawk, slaty skimmer, southern carpenter bee, spicebush swallowtail, variegated fritillary, water moccasin, western honeybee
It’s a beautiful day in our neighborhood patch. The pink/purple/orange dawn sky was clear. Relative humidity was 45% (amazing for Florida!). No wind. Cool air invited one to breathe in deeply. Regular flights of commuters were right on schedule as flocks of White Ibises, Cattle Egrets and Double-crested Cormorants moved from roosts to feeding spots. Quartets of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks whistled at us as they swooped low overhead. Just like the animals we… Read More
Our Natural Places 