Thought we'd share some little snippets of things we see here or there.
Not too much else going on right now. Weather has been wonderful lately (still an unexpected touch of cool) and the water at the ocean is starting to warm up a bit. YEAH!
Back in January Nicole took a walk to find the nesting Eagles she had heard were close by. Of course, she saw many other things.
This Bella Moth was a bit camera shy. Didn't get a shot of its beautiful pink undercoat.
The Mallows had bloomed and were enjoying the sun
and the attention of the local buzzers.
Pretty sure this is an American Bird Grasshopper.
This little one was only thirty or forty grains of sand long.
It did not feel like a January day that is for sure. Soon, the star of the show was spotted.
Adult keeping watch. Baby is in there somewhere but didn't make an appearance.
Just look at the size of that nest!
Majesty in our back yard.
On the walk out, a few other critters were spotted.
This Daggerwing Butterfly's wings had seen better days. Still, it flittered along happily.
This Barred Yellow Sulphur Butterfly was not in the mood to show its colors.
Nicole was super excited to see this Tersa Sphinx Moth.
In a fine end to the walk these three Wood Storks flew over.
More recently, a walk around our complex revealed a few more blooms and critter'ish things.
Callistemon citrinus - Bottle Brush Tree
Milletia pinnata - You may have noticed the distinct pea family shape of the flower.
Gardenia
Beautiful
Orchids
Happy
Display
This Banyan Tree hides a friend.
He greets us as we enter and exit the back path to our property.
Speaking of the back path on and off of our property, it is the reason Nicole took this walk in the first place. The other day she had noticed that a bleeding heart unlike any she had seen was blooming. It was time to document it.
As luck would have it, everything BUT this Tropical Bleeding Heart Vine was in good light.
Nonetheless, a few shots of these pretty flowers were obtained.
Growing up in Florida Nicole had a lot of lizard friends. Back in the day, they were all the size of this guy. She would catch them and put them on her thumb and they would fall asleep to the pulse of her heartbeat.
The lizards of todays Florida, however, are a completely different story. These new residents would barely fit on her whole arm.
We've spotted the Cuban Knight Anole down at her folk's place.
Up in Stuart, we are seeing a whole different line of non-native large lizard.
The African Redheaded Agama has been thriving in this area.
These larger lizards can be a bit more aggressive than their smaller counterparts. Usually as we motor along on our bikes the small lizards scatter like leaves in the wind. These larger ones though are not so easily deterred. One day, on her way to work, Nicole was watching the smaller lizards scatter when up ahead a larger one turned to face her. Of course now that he has seen me he will run like the others, she thought. Oh, he ran alright. Straight at her! And he wasn't stopping. So, just before sudden death, Nicole slammed on her brakes and he darted off to one side. As she rode on, Nicole chuckled at the thought... "I just played chicken with a lizard!"
Continuing on the walk... new (to us) mushrooms were spotted on property.
Lentinus
Crinitis
Otherwise called Hairy Funnel Mushroom
An unexpected and pretty cool find.
Spotted these pretties.
They may be in the Mexican Coral Vine family although that is not confirmed at this time.
If they were then that would make them a Cat II invasive in Florida.
For now, we'll just call it pretty.
Here's some more pretty things...
Monarch Butterfly
Iridescence on a Mourning Dove
Cone Flowers
A taste of the pretty colors on the Orchard Weaver Spider.
These were probably pretty when they were in bloom. Just missed them.
Pretty is a matter of perspective.
This walk also ended with an American Woodstork flyover.
Until we meet again...
