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(Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) Here we are again. We don’t exactly know each tree by their name, but we know we are among friends. The arching branches provide shade for our late morning breakfast. A breeze by itself makes no sound, but when it rustles pine needles above our heads it gives the impression of waves breaking along the shore of our souls. No matter how ingenious… Read More

(Reminder: Click to enlarge images. Click again to zoom.) A cool morning! Okay, perhaps not “cool“, but “not as hot“. It was a few minutes past sunrise and our target area for exploration was already buzzing, literally, with activity. Birds were chattering and insects were beginning to move about as the dew evaporated. Today was one of those unplanned excursions and we hoped to find a few subjects willing to pose for… Read More

Header Image: Common Ground Dove “It’s orange!” The mistress of understatement flung her index finger toward the top of a small tree. I followed the track and located the indicated insect. It was, as described, orange. Not only that, it was something new, to us. The bright bug was a Clay-colored Leaf Beetle (Anomoea laticlavia), in the Family Chrysomelidae. There are over 1700 species in that Family, many of which have not… Read More

Header Image: Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina) We missed sunrise. It was necessary to be home before lunch time. The decision to go for only a short while was, as usual, the right one. I take full credit. (Don’t let her know. I wouldn’t want her to be embarrassed.) Our local birding patch has now become our “sure hope we see some stuff today” patch since spring migration has ended. Fortunately, there are… Read More

Header Image: Sandhill Cranes Thank goodness we have venues nearby where we can travel less than ten minutes and enjoy birds, blooms and bugs! If we had to plan for a long drive, we might “accidentally” oversleep. Our unscientific research reveals that sunrise and the early birds wait for no birder. One of our current favorite patches is Tenoroc Public Use Area. It is near the city of Lakeland in central-west Florida… Read More