In our “golden years” we are fortunate to be able to enjoy two wonderful spring times, one in our winter SW FL home and one in our new summer home in Boone, NC. In the North Carolina mountains the explosion […]
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You would normally expect to find wildlife in relatively unspoiled places, but sometimes a city park will reveal unexpected natural wonders. In mid- April I dropped off my wife at Sarasota’s (FL) Pinecraft Park, a place famous for spring […]
A team of volunteers organized by Chuck Idelberger and Stan Plizga recently carried out a seine survey for fish and large invertebrates at four of 13 ponds in the new 168 acre Broadmoor Park (a former golf course) […]
The Cape Haze Pioneer Bike Trail might seem an unlikely place to have a good nature-based experience. But in fact this 8+ mile long rails to trails paved pathway passes through some relatively unspoiled landscapes and crosses two tidal creeks. […]
Some of the most interesting places for a naturalist to visit might not seem the most likely to provide surprising insights into the secrets of nature. One such place is Hathaway Park in Charlotte County, primarily considered a place to […]
In an effort to keep fit I often take an early morning 3 mile walk from our yard on Manasota Key down to the Tom Adams bridge and back along the beach. Although this is not intended to be a […]
– – While attending a Peace River Audubon Society field trip to the campus of State College of Florida- Venice ( http://www.scf.edu/AboutSCF/Locations/SCFVenice/default.asp ), I was delighted to find that the lovely constructed lake just in front of the campus was well managed. […]
The Deer Prairie Creek Preserve is one of many wonderful natural areas owned by Sarasota County and SWFWMD ( .http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/recreation/areas/myakka-deerprairie.html ). It is huge (> 10,000 acres) and offers extensive pine flatwoods and aquatic habitats along the Myakka […]
Several days after a winter cold front has passed is a spectacular time to visit Myakka State Park, since it tends to be cool but sunny with little wind. Many of the iconic animals are on display, such as the […]
So far in this new year of 2018 we have had some long stretches of cool weather, including light frost inland, interspersed with warm temperatures. I was surprised to see that some plants such as sea grape had brown leaves […]
As naturalists in SW Florida we are fortunate to be able to enjoy seeing flowers, butterflies and birds active for most of the winter despite occasional cold fronts that can deliver temperatures close to freezing even along the coast. It […]
During some winter cold waves I find myself hunkering down in our house and yard and not venturing out to local natural areas as much as usual. This provides an opportunity to more closely observe natural events in our little […]
Dec. 17 was the designated day for the Venice Audubon Christmas Bird Count in 2017 and my territory was the Myakka State Forest, an 8592 acre piece of old Florida made up of hydric flatwoods, unusually pure freshwater ponds, […]
Although you do not generally think about late fall as a time for beautiful flowers, there are indeed some very interesting native and exotic flowers in bloom that are attractive to butterflies and other insects. On the beach you typically […]
If you walk outside with a keen eye for observation you will never lack for something interesting to see. As I hiked to Stump Pass along the beach I was struck by the beauty of this stump of a dead […]
As approaching winter is beginning to extend its icy grip across the northern states, on the Gulf coast shoreline of Charlotte County in Florida we still experience some very warm days interspersed with the occasional passage of a cool front. […]
We arrived back in Florida the last week of October after establishing a new summer base in Boone, NC. It is interesting to look for natural clues to the time of year in a place such as Florida which is […]
Although now in early October we are still awaiting full fall color in the forest leaves, there are many other interesting natural phenomenon to be observed. For example fruit ripening is well underway and there are many variations in […]
After 14 years of reporting natural events from our beloved Galax, VA, farm, we have moved to a smaller summer home on two acres. We were fortunate to find a spot that has a great deal of natural […]
During the past few weeks in August I have been centered in the Blue Ridge mountains near Boone, NC but have sallied out to Galax, VA, and briefly down to the Piedmont in Gastonia, NC. The nights have been getting […]