Month: January 2013

First Light

First Light

Jan 24, 2013 | |

Sunsets tend to draw the most attention of tourists and locals alike, especially here on the west coast of Florida. Its fame is well deserved and does not disappoint us very often. But sunrise offers much to those few who rise early. The beach at dawn has its own magic. While most people are still cozy in bed, as the light starts to get brighter, beautiful colors emerge. The hues of sunrise tend to be softer and muted compared to those at the end of the day. Birds seem to appear out of nowhere, as they fly into view...

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Hoverfly

Hoverfly

Jan 21, 2013 | |

While standing in the woods trying to photograph some birds, this large fly kept hovering around me. It was fairly easy to photograph, it actually stayed in one position for a good while. The fly didn’t get too close; perhaps 3 to 4 feet away. It kept watching me for at least 20 minutes. I have no idea what kind of fly this may be. When I searched on Google, there were so many entries for “green-eyed flies” and “hovering flies”, I could not tell exactly what this fly was. If anyone can identify this bug, please let me...

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Honey Bee

Honey Bee

Jan 21, 2013 | |

Busy bee making sure I have limes on my tree. This bee is pollinating my lime tree as he collects nectar. Florida does have an issue, as do other warm states, with the African Honey Bee invasion. The Florida Department of Agricultural has information on their website about the unwanted bees. It seems that the new bees have not had a large impact on Florida bees. The bees that visit our yard are very polite and not at all aggressive. I have been trimming a bush where the bees are working and they have not bothered me at all....

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Fox

Fox

Jan 21, 2013 | , |

Friendly Fox Not long after we moved in to our Florida house, we saw a fox go through the yard. We were shocked. If you didn’t know, we moved here from a house in a city neighborhood in Pennsylvania. The most wildlife we saw there was an occasional cardinal. As you might tell from the photo, this image was from the “old days”, before digital cameras. We had to put in this stuff called film into the camera in order to take pictures. I really don’t miss those times. Back to our fox. This fox would come to our...

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Rabbit

Rabbit

Jan 20, 2013 | , |

Who doesn’t love a bunny rabbit? Well, some gardeners are not especially fond of the little furry creatures. The first year we moved to Florida, we planted asters in the flower bed. We found out that bunny rabbits LOVE asters; they ate them right down to the ground. Needless to say, we did not replant the asters. Poor bunnies happen to be the number one food choice for bobcats. Great Horned Owls, foxes, coyotes and large hawks also love rabbit. We don’t see rabbits around for long. Rabbits, squirrels, raccoons and other small mammals in Florida are noticeably thinner...

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