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Sarasota County is to be congratulated for preserving a significant amount of natural habitat despite an overwhelming tide of human development.  The area of Pinebrook Rd just north of Venice Ave is a good illustration of this with Pinebrook Park […]

    Deer Prairie Creek Preserve (DPC) along the east bank of the Myakka River in North Port has two distinct types of wetlands.  There are those that are “riparian” along the river and creek, and those that are distributed […]

One of the more obscure local natural areas in the Sarasota/Charlotte County FL area is S Venice Lemon Bay Preserve which is roughly broken up into three main areas.  The northern-most area (NE and N trail sections on map) is […]

So as expected after the monstrous cold front passed with a low here on Manasota Key of 43 F on Wednesday Dec 2, a few butterflies are reappearing as the days warm up in late morning/early afternoon. Today Dec. 4 […]

Fall and Spring migrations are exciting times for bird watchers since they get to see species that are passing through on their way to distant breeding or wintering areas. Yet the passage of these millions of beautiful birds can be […]

Are We Just “Re-Arranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic” aka the Planet?   A basic premise of the Native Plant Societies is that “native” plants are better than “exotics” for a variety of reasons, including benefits to wildlife.  This […]

As the end of August approaches, some animals, especially birds, migrate or become silent so that they are inconspicuous. Insects engage in feverish activity to gather food and reproduce. Naturalists begin to dream about watching nighthawks, hawks and songbirds migrating […]

Although there are always some flowers present during the warmer seasons, late-middle summer (late July/early August) seems to provide a wealth of flowers for the insects and birds that depend on nectar and or pollen for their nutrition.  Since we […]

  After a cold and wet Spring, July has been rather hot and dry in comparison. Yet we are at 3000-4000 feet of elevation at most sites I visit near Boone, NC. Compared to areas in the Piedmont where most […]

    There has been an explosion of flowers in late June and the butterflies now have a much wider choice of flowers. This group of nine photos illustrates some of that variety in our yard in Boone, NC, and […]

Once the famous early spring ephemeral flowers have finished blooming, there are still some spectacular flowers yet to come in late May and early June.  One of the most beautiful is the flame azalea (genus Rhododendron) which seem to be […]

As I write this in late April we have just recently migrated from FL to NC. So we find ourselves in our summer home in Boone, NC, which is at an altitude of 3400 feet. You can see from the […]

  The restriction of our movements caused by the COVID 19 pandemic has led to a serious problem in occupying our minds in a productive fashion without suffering from an overload of computer and TV screen time. One solution I […]

At Englewood FL beach there is often a large group of gulls and terns resting on the beach early in the morning.  Most are rather tame so you can walk near them in a non-threatening manner and admire them up […]

I recently attended a birding field trip to the Merritt Island area expertly organized by Abbie Banks and guided by Deb Johnson.  The so-called “space coast” is a remarkable mixture of NASA facilities, wildlife refuges and sewage treatment wetlands that […]

    As an older person who grew up with black and white TV, in my youth I could always look outside to find bright colors and bizarre shapes. Nature/evolution seems to have unlimited imagination in designing life. We are […]

There are many ways to enjoy nature. You might be simply awed by the beauty of scenery or the colors, shapes, interactions or behaviors of plants and animals. Or you might choose to take a more analytical look at natural […]

    I attended a recent field trip led by expert naturalist Jean Evoy to the Babcock Webb Wildlife Management Area (  https://myfwc.com/recreation/lead/babcockwebb/ ).  It was organized by the Peace River Butterfly Society (President Steve Scott, sfscott2011@hotmail.com ).  This enormous (65,770 acres) preserve in […]

      Of all the creatures in natures’ menagerie, spiders and their relatives probably evoke more fear and loathing than any others, even including snakes. There is just something about all those legs and the fear related to the […]