As a famous philosopher (Forrest Gump) once said that his mother told him about choosing from a box of chocolates, “You never know what you’re going to get.” This expresses precisely the possibilities that face us when we take a […]
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Florida certainly has its changing seasons although they may be more subtle than the more northern variety. This week at Wildflower Preserve certainly provided ample evidence of the arrival of spring. A flowering spiderwort in the butterfly habitat was […]
Just after arriving in Florida for the winter season in late October, an early blizzard is sweeping the northlands and I am dazzled by the array of fabulous creatures that are still active in Florida. The photos shown here […]
We have two sorts of “snowbirds” on FL beaches- human and avian. Many come long distances to enjoy the mild oceanic weather of the low latitudes during winter. Some of the birds breed in northern Canada so the contrast […]
My resolution for the new year is to ramble more and sit less. So to satisfy this goal I spent a great deal of time exploring the beaches and bays of Palm/Knight & Don Pedro Islands, FL, and the […]
I continue to be amazed by the beauty and biodiversity of creatures that I find at the recovering golf course that is called Wildflower Preserve in Englewood, FL. Only six years past a landscape that was predominantly mowed fairways […]
As winter tightens her grip on the natural world, the main effect we notice in Florida is less rainfall and periodic cool fronts. Since Wildflower Preserve contains many wetlands, the effect of winter drought is not immediately noticeable. Indeed […]
Since birds have good color vision but little sense of smell, you would guess that fruits that are designed to attract birds as a means of dispersal of seeds should be brightly colored with no odor. So how well […]
I am still enjoying the diversity of life at the very end of the fall growing season for flowers and insects. Soon for many species there will only be memories that will have to last us until next spring. […]
One of the great pleasures of the naturalist’s life is travel to locations where new habitats and species dazzle the brain. Our once a year trips to Salt Lake City, Utah, to visit family provide exposure to habitats that […]
As the summer comes to a close and the first chill of fall begins to intrude on our consciousness, there are still a few warm weeks left to enjoy the flowers and insects and watch for migrating birds. I […]
Late June is a great time for a natural history ramble since so much is happening. Birds have been breeding for some time and the first crop of babies is out of the nests. For those birds which breed in […]
Late June is a great time for a natural history ramble since so much is happening. Birds have been breeding for some time and the first crop of babies is out of the nests. For those birds which breed in […]
An ironic twist to the lore about secret places where naturalists find interesting critters is that often one will find a wonderful sight just at the back door or in the parking lot. Thus I always look around the doorway […]
One of the major features of the natural history of summer is the progression of breeding in which some species breed once and then stop at various times of the summer, and some reproduce all of most of the summer. […]
Every season and every place has its unique qualities of natural beauty. Although you would not normally think that the very hot and humid weather of August would be a good time to observe the natural wonders of a […]
Summer is a time of remarkable abundance in nature. There is a veritable explosion of life in all its amazing forms. There is so much of interest to a naturalist that there is never a lack of animals and […]
This might be your response when seeing this shed exoskeleton of a larval dragonfly, in this case a green darner, on the stem of a plant growing in a pond. We have a lot of these around our pond […]
The wood nymph butterfly is very cryptic when the wings are closed despite the presence of a few rather inconspicuous spots on the outside of the wings. But there are two dark eye spots with white centers surrounded by […]
Generally when we think about harvest-time it would normally be in the fall of the year. However the first significant harvest in this area of Virginia where cattle-raising is predominant is the first cutting of hay which is often in […]