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Back On Track

(Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) For ten miles, the road stretches in a straight line through the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest. Multiple trails lead from the road into pine woods, oak scrub and sandhill habitat dotted with saw-palmetto. We stop often to inspect the fine reddish-colored sand to see who has passed in the night. On this cool morning, Wild Turkey prints were abundant. There were also… Read More

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: bachman's sparrow, eastern meadowlark, flattened pipewort, florida scrub frostweed, florida scrub jay, four-petal st. johnswort, gray catbird, great crested flycatcher, lake wales ridge state forest, netted pawpaw, northern parula, palamedes swallowtail, pricklypear, smallfruit beggarticks, wild turkey track

A Pine Woods Morning

(Click to enlarge images, click again to zoom.) Sunrise. It happens every day. Many of us are still in bed or busy rushing to jobs or getting the kids ready for school and don’t notice our sun coming up right on schedule. Then – there are other days. Our trip to the forest had already been an adventure. Some of those rushing to that job were so excited about getting there the… Read More

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: barred yellow, deer moss, downy woodpecker, florida lupine, florida scrub jay, fog, hairy woodpecker, lake wales ridge state forest, northern mockingbird, prickly pear, spider webs

Our Day of Summer – Part Three

(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

More Ridge Riches

(Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) A symphony during breakfast is a great way to simultaneously relax and be filled with anticipation at what other treasures Nature will reveal as our quest continues. The musical richness provided by this morning’s performers was simply incredible. Loud and declarative, the White-eyed Vireo kept telling us “I’m a Vireo. I’m a Vireo.”. Clear chirps in sets of two and three notes were… Read More

Category: Birds, Fauna, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: american white waterlily, bigflower pawpaw, coastal plain hawkweed, florida scrub jay, florida scrub roseling, lake godwin, lake wales ridge, maryland meadowbeauty, northern parula, rolfs' milkweed, scrubland goldenaster, sherman's fox squirrel, smallfruit beggarticks, spatterdock, spicebush swallowtail, white-eyed vireo

Ridge Redux: Birds

Driving along a dirt road in the dim light of pre-dawn is invigorating. The condition of the road demands slow speed. With the windows down it almost feels chilly, even here in sub-tropical Florida. Gini confirmed she was the smartest in the group (of two) by bringing a sweatshirt which was now wrapped loosely around her neck for maximum coziness. Suddenly, the day was bright and we were seeing flowers along the… Read More

Category: Birds, Florida, Photography Tags: blue jay, blue-gray gnatcatcher, brown thrasher, brown-headed nuthatch, downy woodpecker, eastern towhee, florida scrub jay, lake wales ridge state forest, peregrine falcon, pine warbler, red-headed woodpecker, white-eyed vireo

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