Gary
Black Vultures on New Year’s Eve
Revelers will be celebrating a new year in urban jungles around the world. In various venues in Orlando, Florida, confetti will fly, fireworks will explode and people will cheer. On New Year Eve’s morning in a central Florida wetland, I find several black vultures sitting on a railing oblivious to our traditions, look them in […]
Florida Rebuffs Winter
It is mid-December with blizzard conditions in the mid-west, lake effect snows in the Great Lakes and a six-inch blanket of snow on the suburban lawns of Long Island, New York. A polar vortex powers its way south into the U.S causing temperatures in the teens with highs in the 20s. Many birds have fled […]
A Breather from the Holiday Rush
Anne and I decided to take a break from holiday shopping and preparations by riding into the central Florida countryside. We drove past cattle ranches, long leaf pine farms, orange groves and a vineyard. When we reached Clermont, we discovered a U-Pick Orange Grove and decided to check it out. A short walk from the […]
The Butterfly That Migrates to Florida
It is early November in central Florida and although the evenings are cool, the days warm quickly with the rising sun. By mid-morning Gulf fritillaries, orange brown butterflies, visit Firebush shrubs in our backyard. These butterflies pour into the Florida peninsula for the winter retreating to frost free areas in the southern part of the […]
Wild Morning Glory
Deep violet blossoms pepper a dark Cypress forest giving the shady woodland some pleasing color. Each flower’s dark violet center guides bumblebees to the flower’s nectar. As it leans in for the nectar, the bee’s legs rub against pollen and by default, pollinates the plants when it flies from flower to flower. By noon, the flowers […]
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