A substitute White Christmas!

Snow in central Florida? HA!  Not going to happen, BUT...Mother Nature provided a cold front this week to get us into the Holiday spirit and when I awoke the other morning I was greeted by the frost giving the illusion of the potential for a White Christmas!   As I gathered the firewood and started up the fireplace for the first time this magical season, it really felt like Christmas in the Northeast, except I could wear sandals once the sun came out.  :)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Well, relatively speaking. I personally like spring when the garden is reawakening from winter, the birds start their nest building and everything seems to "green up". But, given that Christmas is a favorite of many, I'll digress and stick with the cliché. I'll also send you to Christmas's past (and present) to reiterate my holiday thoughts in my native plant garden.

At Native Plant and Wildlife Garden Blog:

2012 Revising the 12 Days of Christmas

At the Beautiful Wildlife Garden Blog:

2011 In the Wildlife Garden, Naughty or Nice?

2010 Choose a Gift FOR Nature

My Christmas card choice this year is Dogfennel shown in the photo above. I was taken with just how much it looked like a fir tree.

May 2013 bring us a more environmentally conscious government who will care more about our quality of life over how much money they can gain to "grow" the county. New development with the current excess housing availability makes no sense. Why not work through the current inventory and develop that which has ALREADY been approved. THAT will benefit the EXISTING taxpayers. Don't green flag that which is not needed thus making us pay for infrastructure that is only necessary because our leaders refuse to stop the insanity.

I wish each and every one a blessed and happy holiday.

Profile of Darkness

The young red-shoulder hawk was back again today sitting atop the 4-1/2 foot wooden fence overlooking the terrain. I thought maybe he was scouting for palmetto bugs or perhaps rodent… something I would be happy to see go. I was just about to snap a photo when (s)he swooped down and tried to grab one of two doves milling about some 30-40 feet away. He missed the one, but appeared to have tagged the other who then seemed unable to fly. The poor dove banged into the side wire fence but did make it over and into some vegetative cover. I ran to see if I could help the poor thing, but I merely made it more frantic so I backed off. I walked along the fence line trying to find where the hawk had gone. When I looked up, a the dark shadow was sitting on my neighbor's power line.

The dove must have been hopping along and warning its compadres because all of a sudden a flock of doves quickly dispersed with the flapping of wings, startling me in the process. Hopefully they got themselves into a safe haven. The dark shadow will just have to find something other than squab for dinner.

Army Lives!

FINALLY! Tanner was out before dawn this morning but it was very close to his time so I sent him leash-less off into the yard. After a while I heard a lot of commotion and barking so I went to the door to get him in. He was at the fence, barking into the backyard. Could the deer be there? Or is it just one of the rabbits.

I called him in and got the flashlight and shined it around back. WHOA! It's the Armadillo!!!! HORRAY! I ran to get the camera and crept up and took a few photos while (s)he quickly moved along munching away. One photo with it standing up shows the reason for a common name "Turtle Rabbit". I just wish it was a better shot, but with the flashlight between my knees, it isn't too bad.

I need a lighting director or maybe just a grip to hold the flashlight!

So much for the Professor and Maryann

It's GONE! My island is GONE!

I took a walk back by the pond today and was surprised to see that my tussock had sunk so only the tops of the very tall grasses and sedges are showing.

My island appeared out of nowhere back in September 2011 shortly before Hurricane Irene, which was pretty much a non-event for me. It's now 2012 and shortly after Hurricane Sandy that, with the exception of losing my American flag to wind, was thankfully another non-event here. The island has gone back to where it came from...the bottom of the pond.

Just a month ago the tussock was crowded with lots of natives, perfect shelter for wildlife but I suppose the fish are enjoying it all now.

I'm rather sad to see it go. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.

Caterpillar Tartare?

A young hawk visited this week and sat on the fence rail as he studied various parts of the garden. He suddenly swooped down into one of the overgrown pollinator sections and came away with a prize. At first I couldn't quite figure out what he grabbed, but then I realized he must have gotten one of the large gooey caterpillars that use Ludwigia spp. as a larval host. I had spotted a rather large specimen of a

Banded Sphinx Moth Caterpillar (Eumorpha fasciatus) a few days earlier. He stared at me and didn't even offer to share what he held in his claws.

New Life List Dragonfly

I noticed a dragonfly which appeared to have squared off wings, something I'd never seen before. Reminded me of those planes we watched in old time movies that rapidly crashed after getting about 3 feet airborne. Said dragonfly was quite elusive and me without the zoom camera, only the point and shoot. I followed stealthily and caught a picture or two, enough to identify the Band-winged Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax umbrata). Upon close-up inspection on computer screen, the wings are normal shape, just the outer edges are nearly invisible making the darkness of the bands give an allusion of wing squareness. Thrilled with a new member of my buggy life list, I now will try to get a better photograph, perhaps some early morning when the dragons are a little less lively.