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Morning In The Wetlands

I gave up wearing hiking boots. For one thing, my days of going on lengthy hikes over rough terrain are in my rear view mirror. Water-resistant linings and treatments for preventing water soaking through footwear can be somewhat helpful, but walking through Florida’s eternally wet grass is pretty much like wading a stream and your feet are just going to get wet. So I now have a pair of very comfortable shoes… Read More

Category: Birds, Fauna, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: bandanna of the everglades, black-crowned night heron, blue dasher, bumble bee, common buttonbush, eastern gama grass, eastern pondhawk, great blue heron, great egret, itchepackesassa creek wetlands, marsh rabbit, pickerelweed, purple gallinule, queen, rambur's forktail, sachem, scarlet skimmer, seven sisters

Another Day, another oasis

(Header image: Red-winged Blackbird) The sun is hiding just below the tree line. It will make its grand entrance in about ten minutes. A cloudless blue sky is beginning to have that pre-dawn glow. It’s going to be a gorgeous day! Glad I wore the boots. There is more dew on the grass than I expected and my regular walking shoes would be soaked by now. So would my feet. It’s just… Read More

Category: Birds, Florida, Photography Tags: boat-tailed grackle, common yellowthroat, eagle, great egret, itchepackesassa creek wetlands, little blue heron, red-winged blackbird, sandhill crane, swamp sparrow, tree sparrow

Scratching An Itch

It is 0645. Sunrise. Not a hint of a breeze. The grass path is wet from last night’s rain. Or morning dew. Both. In the distance, Limpkins call from opposite ends of the wetlands. Overhead, a pair of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks whisper about their breakfast plans. Sandhill Cranes trumpet loudly from an adjacent pasture where they spent the night. Morning has begun in the marsh as it does every day. The difference today… Read More

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: bandana of the everglades, black-bellied whistling-duck, black-crowned night heron, bulltongue arrowhead, butterflies, common gallinule, common green darner, dragonflies, great blue heron, great egret, hyacinth glider, itchepackesassa creek wetlands, long-tailed skipper, pin-tailed pondhawk, spicebush swallowtail, string lily, whirlabout, white ibis

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