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Spring Prelude

(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

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Photography Tags: american robin, cedar waxwing, eastern phoebe, laughing gull, loggerhead shrike, northern mockingbird, osprey, palm warbler, rosary pea, sandhill crane, tenoroc fma

A Natural Place For Therapy

(Today’s post describes our visit to Colt Creek State Park in central Florida on September 26, 2025. Gini had knee replacement surgery 30 days prior. I will have four more sessions to complete 36 visits to the clinic for cardiac rehabilitation. Our last outing in Nature was August 15. Kudos to those who waded through all three blog parts!) (Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) Friday. Late afternoon. No… Read More

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: celestial lily, chapman's goldenrod, colt creek state park, eastern phoebe, four-petal st. johnswort, gulf fritillary, pine lily, rayless sunflower, red-shouldered hawk, seven sisters, spider wasp, wild turkey

Morning Ramble

(Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) In order to enjoy sunrise at some of our favorite distant locales, the clock must be set to scream at an alarmingly early hour. Scrambling to get the gear packed, remembering to grab the food bag, did we check the gas gauge last night? We do it because we love to be in that special place at that special time when the sky… Read More

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: cattle egret, cutleaf evening primrose, eastern phoebe, moonflower, netted pawpaw, osprey, rambur's forktail, sandhill crane, savannah sparrow, sunrise, tenoroc fma, walter's viburnum tufted titmouse

Local Color

(Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) “Sounds like an alley-cat convention.” Gini’s hearing, which is significantly superior to mine, was picking up at least a dozen individual Gray Catbirds calling. During pre-migration, this species forms up into groups of one to a couple of dozen birds as they prepare to return to their northern breeding territory. After some far-flung adventures, it felt good to be in our familiar “patch”… Read More

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: blue dasher, bluejacket, canadian toadflax, cucumberleaf sunflower, cutleaf evening primrose, eastern amberwing, eastern phoebe, eastern pondhawk, florida toadflax, gray catbird, long-jawed orbweaver, prairie/savanna iris, river sage, spicebush swallowtail, spider web, woodland false buttonweed, zebra longwing

Spring In Winter

(Click images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) Good news and bad news. The good news: Our central Florida winter has not had any days below freezing. That means we have been pretty comfortable as we explore. The bad news: Our central Florida winter has not had any days below freezing. That means mosquito larvae have not suffered much degradation and there will soon be many hungry adults looking for a feast…. Read More

Category: Birds, Fauna, Flora, Florida, Photography Tags: bald eagle, blue-gray gnatcatcher, burmarigold, climbing aster, double-crested cormorant, eastern phoebe, indian blanket, limpkin, opossum, osprey, rosary pea, yellow-rumped warbler

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