

“We are all butterflies. Earth is our chrysalis.”- LeeAnn Taylor
Quote found at https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/butterflies


“We are all butterflies. Earth is our chrysalis.”- LeeAnn Taylor
Quote found at https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/butterflies

This coming weekend I’ve found several new spots to explore. Spring Hammock Park and Black Hammock Park in Seminole county both look promising. One on the west side of Lake Jessup, the other on the east. And there’s always the Black Hammock restaurant for some lakeside lunching.


“What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”- Henry David Thoreau
The more I read in Florida’s American Heritage River by Mallory M. O’Connor and Gary Monroe the greater appreciation I have for the lands along the St Johns River. I need to schedule a trip north a bit to explore Payne’s Prairie and the Oklawaha River – a tributary of the St Johns. It may have to wait until fall, dawn is getting to be too early for long range exploring, unless I leave at 4 AM – early even for me.
Quote found at https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/earth

I have been inspired by the Heritage Rivers book about the St Johns. So as the spring turns into summer here I’m going to focus more on landscapes. Here in Florida we are challenged by the terrain – there are vast expanses of flatness and this does not lend it self to traditional landscape photography. So please bear with me on my journey and perhaps we can discover something! But don’t worry there will still be ample birds, bugs, and flowers.


“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are” – Theodore Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt was an avid sportsman who was a strong supporter of national parks in the US – particularly the western US.
Quote found at https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/inspirational


As I walked around on Saturday morning I realized that indeed I am a dawn junkie. I need a “fix” on a periodic basis to keep my mind on an even keel. Despite having a camera and binoculars this is my walking meditation.


“Reflected in the dragonflies eye — mountains” – Kobayashi Issa
Dragonflies live 2 different lives. In the east they are majestic signs of strength, in the west objects of superstition. Some translations of European names for dragonflies – devils needle (French and German), water witch, blind stinger. See this blurb for more info http://www.petzon.se/dragonfly/main/just_for_fun/folklore.html. I’ll be adding this to my wetlands tour talks.
To me the fact that hexagons appear again – in the light reflected from the dragonflies eyes is a tribute to that universal shape.
Thanks to http://justkeepbrains.com/ for leading me on this path of investigation.


“Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings” – Salvador Dali
Whistling ducks are really pretty, their feathers appear like they are painted. It’s black belly whistling duck season – so these are probably not the last ones you’ll see.
As for the owls – not a great picture, just proud if myself for spotting them. So I wanted to share. And yes, screech owls really do screech, I heard them for quite some time after they left their roost.
Quote found at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/bird.html


“It’s a fine line between Saturday night and Sunday morning” – Jimmy Buffett
Something light this AM. Have a great day.
Quote found at http://www.searchquotes.com/search/Sunday_Morning/


Named turnstone because of it’s habit of turning over stones to look for food. As you may guess he’s not doing that in Florida since we have very few stones. Shells maybe?
I do believe he has a small crab in that first pic.