Our Natural Places

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Header Image: Pine Flatwoods It can be exhilarating to be prone in the damp grass early in the morning just after sunrise observing the waking moments of what is likely the smallest damselfly in the country. Rolling to the left provides a view of the nearby tree line just as a Red-shouldered Hawk lands atop an oak tree. Rolling on my back reveals a superbly clear morning of an impossibly blue sky…. Read More

Header Image: Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) A definition of a “timeline” might be: a sequence of related events arranged in chronological order and displayed along a line. Therefore, “Nature’s Timeline” could be as simple as: Spring  > Summer > Autumn > Winter Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Seasonal change is caused by the axial tilt of the Earth, which creates climatic differences due to greater or lesser exposure to solar radiation.  —-Reference.com,  Characteristics of… Read More

Breakfast was delightful and enhanced by the local ambience. Alligators now recognize us on sight and popped up to the lake’s surface every few minutes to be sure we were still there. Wading birds probed the soft mud by the water for their own breakfast. Waves of cicadas sang in unison, volume rising then falling, reminding us how much we love our Sunshine State and all the natural beauty it has to… Read More

A review of last year’s records began as a search for early fall migration arrival dates. It soon devolved into a tragic tale of ancient Babylon, unfulfilled love and blood-soaked — I’m getting ahead of myself. The data indicated a few early American Redstarts might begin arriving as early as the last week of July. Where would be the most likely place to search for them? Several choices presented themselves. Wait. What’s… Read More