After Margaret and I sold our 107 acre wildlife farm near Galax, VA, last November, we have been “homeless” during the summer escape from Florida heat. We are slated to close soon on a home with two acres […]
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If you are an environmentalist you rarely have a day that lifts your spirits up if you think too much about the future, with massive increases in human population and over-utilization of planetary resources. However there is a feel-good story […]
Since we are “homeless” during the summer after selling our VA farm, we have been alternating trips to northern cooler climates with stays in Englewood, FL. We have been exploring the possibility of buying a summer home near Boone, NC, […]
We had a very exciting spring migration of neotropical birds through our Manasota Key yard in mid-April to early May, and when it was over we definitely yearned for more. Since we were scheduled to attend a grandson’s high school […]
Most things in nature intrigue and often mystify me. I like to paraphrase the saying that nature is not rocket science, it is far more complicated ! In addition to the intrinsic beauty of flowers, biologists find evolutionary meaning in […]
Many birds that have spent the winter in Central and South America migrate directly across the Gulf of Mexico. Strong northwest winds on April 24-25, however, brought an abundance of these birds to the yards and parks of the Florida […]
If you are near the coast or a river you will have recently noticed osprey nests with the adults flying around and making a lot of noise. In some cases you cannot see babies in the nest because it […]
In April, birds that have been wintering in Central and South America and southern states such as Florida are now flying north to areas of the US and Canada where they will breed. In our region of Florida we get most of our migrants when […]
In late March and early April there are many natural signs of the changes that occur during spring. Flowers bloom, some animals breed and bird migration increases. I was pleased to see a young sweet bay magnolia plant blooming at […]
While waiting for my wife who was at a dental appointment at an office on Clark Rd in Sarasota, I noticed some parrots flying by and making loud calls. At first one and then another settled on a […]
It has become popular for butterfly gardeners to raise monarchs in protected circumstances on tropical or giant milkweeds and release them into the wild. It is much less common for other local butterflies to be reared in captivity. Gulf fritillaries […]
Allain Hale from the Sierra Club organized an exploratory paddling trip for four of us across the Myakka River from Campbell Rd in North Port to the riverside campground in Myakka State Forest. This was an adventurous loop of […]
One of the most amazing transformations that occurs in nature is the metamorphosis of a monarch caterpillar into a pupal chrysalis and then into an adult butterfly. What makes it even more exceptional is that you can observe this in […]
In our area of Florida signs of Spring often arrive in February and now in early March are very evident with warm or even hot days, and trees such as live oaks in bloom. This warmth along with occasional rainfall […]
We are fortunate in having a lot on Lemon Bay which is both picturesque and attractive to wildlife. However a major aspect of the yard that brings in wildlife is the vegetation. We have about 160 species of plants divided […]
As I was walking quietly along one of the trails at Wildflower Preserve that borders the upper end of Lemon Creek, I was surprised to find a six foot gator in shallow water, that did not move away on my […]
It is heartwarming to see various local examples in SW Florida of people assisting wildlife to survive. Birds that are primarily beach species are in a struggle for existence, yet at Englewood Beach the gulls, terns, and shorebirds are appreciated […]
Although SW Florida has much better winter weather than most places in the US, it still has some windy and cooler days along with occasional bouts of red tide at the coast. But on the whole the climate is […]
If Indian Summer is a warm period during fall season, what should we call a warm period during winter time- Indian Winter? Here in SW Florida it is so unseasonably warm that the willow and mango trees are starting to […]
Winter in SW Florida means sunny warm days with almost weekly cold fronts that deliver chilly nights and strong NE winds. Now flowers are a bit constrained this time of year, especially our beloved native species. Thus I enjoy […]