All creatures great and small

There is, on occasion, a day when I find myself awestruck by the glories of this Creation, Earth.  How blessed I am to be surrounded by this vibrant, living garden!  Yes, today, I was inundated by gobs of natural beauty and lots of life flitting about.  At times, this garden and all my unrequited plans frustrate me and leave me with feelings of despair.  Oh, not so today!  I am in love with this garden today!  A turn of the doorknob, a few steps, and it seems I have been transported into a natural paradise.  Yes, I feel so blessed.

Another Reason to Grow Bottlebrush

I have often spoken of what great nectar plants Callistemon species are for the hummingbirds.  Indeed, without the blooms on my bottlebrushes every winter, I'm not sure I'd even have hummingbirds year-round here in my garden.  Lately, I've been sitting on a chair underneath one of the bottlebrushes in hopes of catching one of the shy, quick-flitting creatures.  Wow, I really don't ever seem to have luck catching a hummer with my camera.  One day recently, I actually caught a Palm Warbler sipping nectar from them, though.  And guess what?  Today, I caught yet another warbler with a sweet tooth!

Wonders of Winter

On this beautiful Saturday morning, my camera's attention was drawn toward some winter wonders that I have in my garden.  Fortunately, while the perennials and tropicals sleep in the ground, a few beauties utilize this season of the year to do their thing.

Basking in the Sun

Sunny and Seventy Seven!  Woohoo!  It's about time!  After being holed up indoors hiding from miserable cold this past two weeks, I couldn't wait to get outdoors and feel the sunshine on my skin and in my soul!

Afternoon Amble

I don't know about you, but I am a lover of Nature and the Great Outdoors.  There was a time, not so many years ago, when a two- or three-hour trek into the woods was a weekly event for me.  Not so much these days.  I make many excuses to myself why I don't get out there anymore...the health is not what it used to be...can't find a hiking companion...don't have time...gas is too pricy...the reasons go on and on. 

The Fisherbirds

Today, I took a little walk in the local park.  I do love spending time in my garden, but sometimes I feel I must get a little more "elbow room," if you know what I mean.  I've been feeling that way for a couple weeks now, but just haven't had the gumption to get out for a hike in the woods (it's too hot!).  Then it occurred to me that I haven't walked in the park for the longest time.  And the park has something my garden doesn't have...water!  Lots and lots of water.  Which means lots of wading birds.  You are virtually guaranteed to get your birdwatching fix after an hour in this park. 

The Island Life

Thankfully, living here in Central Florida, we don't have to travel to the Caribbean to get a taste of island life.  We just hop over to one of the barrier islands off of Florida's west coast.   That's just what the kids and I did yesterday.   What glorious sights we beheld!

Wet Weekend at Six Acres

This past weekend, the family made a mad push to finish the work at son's house/property, which I call Six Acres.  We worked pretty much nonstop through daylight hours from Friday to Monday.   Of course, there's still much to be done.  As my husband always wisely puts it, "It is what it is."    

Peace at the River

It seems forever since I walked down to the river.  Life has been a bit hectic lately, with graduation, wedding plans and its related events, and a mad rush to complete my son's house remodel before the big day.  Don't get me wrong.  I've been in the great outdoors a lot, on my son's property.  But it's a little hard to really enjoy nature when you're wielding shovels, wheelbarrows, and loppers or sitting atop a lawn tractor.

Of Saturdays, Sun, and Sweetbays

Spent all day Saturday at Six Acres (Son #1's property).   Please excuse me if I speak of this land as though it's my own.  I do know it belongs to my son, but I've always wanted land, so I'm living vicariously through him right now.  It's okay, 'cause he's getting free labor.

Fledglings, Flowers, and Foliage

Fledglings!

Last week, I wrote about the baby cardinals that came into this world on my front porch...in the light fixture to be exact.  And last week, those babies were so tiny, naked, and helpless.  You can see the newborn photos at Life on a Front Porch.  Imagine my surprise when I stepped on the front porch just seven days later, and the three babies were perched on various spots around the fixture.  

Life on a Front Porch

If you were to step onto my front porch right now, you would likely be greeted with a cheery song (or a shrill warning) by the latest tenants to take up residence.  About a week and a half ago, I discovered a cardinal pair had built a nest in the lighting fixture hanging just outside my front door.  The light hangs far too high for me to see inside the nest.  Faced with a quandary whether or not to remove it, I wrote a post about the situation last Friday.  In the end, I did leave the nest alone, for I noticed that Mama Cardinal was already roosting quietly and seriously on that nest.   When I awoke this morning, Mama was up and about and flitting around busily collecting grubs and worms.  Then I saw her fly to the nest, and though I didn't have a great view, she appeared to be feeding babies!

Scenes from Six Acres

Spent another Saturday working at Son #1's property, aka Six Acres.  Things are pretty much the same there.  House is progressing very quickly, property a little slower.  About three acres has been cleared for horse pasture to date. 

What's Going on in the Garden?

Join me on a walkthrough in my garden today, where springy thoughts abound!

I love birds.  I love cardinals.  Aren't they just the quintessential songbird?  They delight us year-round with their delightful chirps, and the garden just wouldn't be the same without them.  But, tell me, what would you do if a cardinal pair decided to build a nest in your entry portico? 

Six Acres

Six Acres and a Dream...

Peace in the Park

On this first of March, in spring's ushering month, nature has brought us a most perfect day.  With the sun shining and a warm breeze blowing, today was a wonderful respite from this long winter!  I knew the next few days had a more gloomy forecast, so I just had to get out in the open today.  My goal was a mid-day walk through a peaceful park just down the road.  It turned out to be a gorgeous experience...how glad I am that I made this journey.  Come walk with me through this peaceful park.

Winter Wings

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New Wings...

Today, I was staring out the window and saw a giant yellow leaf float down into the viburnums.  Then it dawned on me that it must be a butterfly, since we have no giant yellow leaves.  Paparazzi that I am, I grabbed my camera and ran out.  Turned out that the fluttering leaf was a Giant Swallowtail butterfly!   My garden has not seen many butterflies since the Great Florida Freeze of 2010, so I was pleasantly surprised.  As I gazed on it, I realized that this was probably a newly emerged butterfly.  Its coloring was bright and vivid.  Its wings were so perfect...not frayed, tattered, or bitten like older swallowtail butterflies.  A beautiful example of this creature.  True to the name, his wingspan was easily six inches.  I was a little sad for the little guy because, today, my garden didn't offer the usual feast of colorful nectar flowers.  There are so few flowers left right now.  Fortunately, the viburnums were in full bloom, and he found them palatable enough.  I wonder if he knew what he was missing, for I have done a great deal of butterfly watching, and I know the giants prefer to feed on luscious pentas and powderpuffs and dewdrops in my garden.

A Day at the Beach

I'm off to the beach! Not literally. Just in my head. Thoughts of this dreary month have caused my mind to wander over to the oceanside. I popped over to my photo archives and pulled out some memories from a beach trip last summer. Peaceful, warm, pleasant memories...

I love the sea oats that arch gracefully along the beach edge.

The most wonderful memory of this particular trip was a first-time-ever sighting of the Reddish Egret. Another bird checked off my list! The Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) is a medium-sized heron that inhabits coastal beaches of the tropics and subtropics of the Americas. I watched this bird for quite a long time. Like many coastal-wading birds, he was not people-shy. Isn't he beautiful?!!!

A Reddish Egret (Egretta rufrescens)

"The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man."
-Author Unknown

Now I have been known to do the touristy thing and visit public beaches and resorts here in Florida. But...sometimes it is nice to visit a beach that has been "little touched" by the hand of man. This particular beach I visited was on an island in the Gulf of Mexico that was almost completely absent of manmade structures. The city high-rises were a distant blur in the horizon. While the kids splashed in the water, I roamed the sands looking for shells, birds, and flowers. Such a breath of fresh air!

A white peacock butterfly on a sunny beach sunflower.

Beach morning glories!

Meet "My Florida"

"Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain." - Henry David Thoreau

I'd like to introduce everyone to my little piece of Florida. Ours is not the Florida promoted by tourism departments. From where I live, you'd have to drive a long way to find a theme park, a beach, an airport, or even a mall. We live here in a lonely stretch of earth hugging the Peace River and lined with scattered small towns, mobile home parks, swampland, cow pastures, and orange groves. The land here is rich in phosphates, and phosphate mining is another big industry here. This area produces 75% of the nation's phosphates used for farming. At first glance, it appears that these mines are destroying the landscape. But I have walked through a few of our state and county parks that are built on reclaimed land from the mining companies. (See this link for more info: Phosphate Primer.) These parks have become beautiful natural areas and wildlife habitats. Our area is also sometimes referred to as Bone Valley, because it is rich in fossil remains. Fossil hunts via canoe trips on the river are an offbeat choice for tourists looking for something besides beaches and theme parks. My house is just a skip-and-a-holler from the Peace River itself: a short walk across a neighbor's grassy lot and a muddy, five-minute trek into the woods. Even though my garden sits on a tiny half-acre, I feel very fortunate that it is so close to a woodland and a river. There is no shortage of wildlife here! Here are a few photographs of "My Florida":

This limpkin is tiptoeing though the shallows of the river in search of snails. Limpkins are a common sight on our river, as are Florida alligators.

This Queen butterfly is nectaring from a beggartick bloom, a wildflower in this natural setting, but a weed in the garden.



New leaves on a Red Maple, one of the native trees that grow in Florida swamps.



I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky, and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.

~e e cumming

These shots--through towering cypress trees--were taken in a park that is situated on a reclaimed phosphate mine. We love the boardwalk that keeps your feet high and dry (and safe from gators).


(Note: The Peace River scene, the butterfly, the maple, and the sky-thru-the-trees photographs were all taken by my son.)