Lending a helping hand

Sometimes the Florida pine forests need a little help with "spring cleaning."  The photo above is of a controlled burn at Payne's Prairie.  In no time the forest will be a vivid green with new life.

Macro Monday

Friends I met along the way

I had the pleasure of stumbling across a variety of wildlife at Paynes Prairie.  I saw the young buck on my way out and was able to get a couple of shots through the window of my car.  He couldn't have cared less that I was interrupting his lunch.  The raccoon on the other hand took one look at me and did not like what he saw.  I got another blurry shot of his rear end as he scurried away.  The cardinal was as curious about me as I was about him.   All in all it was a pleasant day "alone" in the woods.

A Florida Native

The green anole is the only anole native to the US.  The brown ones more commonly seen are illegal aliens.  I was tickled to see two greens today.  The second was obviously a male showing off.  I hope the other one was a female and she liked what she saw.

Because I value my life... I dedicate this to Belly.

I wanted to post something of Belly.  Since I joined Dogs on Thursday, the canine members of the family have gotten quite a bit of attention.  I've learned the hard way Belly doesn't like to be slighted.  It's not that he needs constant attention and adoration, but he does like having it there to ignore if he so chooses.   So this post is for Belly and for my general safety.  I mean he knows where I sleep.

Meet Ginger

She's an adorable 8wks old beagle puppy.  Not my adorable 8wks old beagle puppy (my husband would have a stroke if I brought home a puppy).  She's my friend's new baby.  Her first baby in fact.  I think it's a match made in heaven though.  They have a lot in common. They both have lovely brown eyes, they both enjoy sleeping, and they both love shoes!

A tangled web we weave...

The meticulous beauty of a spiderweb in the morning.

Macro Monday

Birds on the La Chua

Red wing blackbird.

Red billed ibis.

Heron.

Wild (female?) turkey.

Synopsis of La Chua

The beginning of the boardwalk portion of the trail.

This is actually the view on the way back towards the boardwalk.

Baby gator.  We looked for mom first, promise.

View of the marsh from an observation deck.

An ant's view.

I am quite jealous of the view the fire ants I "shared" the hill with get to enjoy every day.

Dogs on Thursday

Willow took off without warning.

She kept going.

Then she stopped to do the "bassett hound" sniff.

I guess she found what she was looking for... Ludo's rope.

Wordless Wednesday

Do you see what I see?

I walked pass this "leaf" once without a second glance.  It was chance that I noticed the "leaf" move in a very unleaf like way.  How awesome is nature?  It amazes me every day.  We are so lucky to be a piece of this intricate puzzle.

Macro Monday

I spent a hot, humid day walking through a wonderful exhibit at the Natural History Museum, the Butterfly Rainforest.  I swear the air was dancing with butterflies and finches.  I may have been melting in my flip-flops, but the heat seemed to invigorate the inhabitants.  Good for them.  The sweat and dehydration was well worth it though.  

Monochrome Monday

"Here's looking at you, kid."

Hello.

  Cute little fella I met along the way.

Dogs on Thursday

Found one......

buried it.

Found another. Begin again.

Creatures from the Black Lagoon...

Well, maybe not "creatures from the Black Lagoon."  Just a yellow belly slider and a soft shell turtle spending the day at Lake Alice.  Turtles are great.  They're always smilin'.

monochrome Monday

Lunchtime

The hunter became the hunted today.  Yet, the bird was godlike in its audacity regarding my persistent presence.  I felt humbled by it.