What happened to spring? It seems the robins were just passing through and the wild azalea tree was blooming. Now it’s hot, most of the visiting birds around the lakes at the St Augustine Road Fish Management Area are gone, and by afternoon we’re having to close up the house and turn the air con…
Blossoms & Bugs: April Edition
The yard is in bloom and the bugs are out. There are so many nasturtiums that we decided to sugar some of them and decorate a cake. This peachy color was new this year and ended up being my favorite. We ate some of the leaves in our salad. The caterpillar wasn’t eating the banana…
Burrowing Owls!
March, 2015 ~ No, these little burrowing owls aren’t from Jacksonville, but it should be obvious from the grass, that I’m not not out in the wilds, stalking elusive beasties. These were in a park – a very suburban, landfill-turned-city-park – in South Florida. A couple of weeks ago, when our friends Ken and Tammy…
Photo Friday – Leaves
Here is my entry to the latest Photo Friday challenge: Leaves. A few years ago, we visited Papua New Guinea to scuba dive. Between dives, our guides showed us these amazing insects that have evolved to mimic leaves.
February at the St Augustine Road Fish Management Area
February is only half over and has been pretty warm, prompting lots of blooming berries at the St Augustine Road Fish Management Area. Hope the forecasted cold snap doesn’t do everything in. Not that we ever get any of the berries – the animals know exactly when to eat them – always the day before we get there. We had…
January at the St. Augustine Road Fish Management Area
This cool (and rainy) January made for pleasant walks through Earl Johnson Park, a.k.a., the St. Augustine Road Fish Management Area. The usual coots and gallinules were there and last week, we saw one of my favorites, a Wood Stork! We see them in other ponds in the area but rarely around these lakes. There is always…
A Visit to Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens
January 2015 – Lichen fruiting bodies! That’s what we found a couple of weeks ago on our visit to the Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens. Pursuing our need to counteract the excesses of holiday food and football, my friend Jessica, her family and I visited this 120-acre urban woodland park at the suggestion of our friend Joanne…