Author Archives: makielb

Another day in Florida, another site with great birds. Two common birds here are Pied Billed Grebe and Common Gallinule. Although the most common birds were American Coots. Getting close to birds is incredibly easy here. This is a head shot of a Great Egret. White Ibis were as common as Glossy Ibis. The WildlifeContinue reading “Lake Apopka”

Made it to Florida! High around 84F today. Headed out to Merritt Island with Don. Our first stop was to find Florida Scrub Jays. Of course we were distracted along the walk. This Little Yellow was the first of many interesting butterflies today. Gulf Fritillary was butterfly number two for the day. One of theContinue reading “Merritt Island”

We spent two days exploring this site in South Carolina. We could have easily spent a lot more time here, but it’s time to head off to Florida. There were a lot of little birds all over the place. White-throated Sparrows and Chipping Sparrows were especially abundant. So were Pine Warblers, even in the parkingContinue reading “Santee National Wildlife Refuge”

The boardwalk at the Harry Hampton Visitor Center of the Congaree National Park is an amazing place. The boardwalk is over 2 miles long and allows excellent views of many plants and animals. Our visit this year started with a great array of moths, many more than we had last year. When we were doneContinue reading “Congaree National Park”

We crossed into Tennessee on I-75 on a foggy, rainy morning. It wasn’t especially good for looking for plants. But heck, we need to get out of the car and walk a little. This rest area has some great plants, but not an especially good day to find them, as our glasses, footwear and coatsContinue reading “Tennessee”

We found Ohio on our way south yesterday. We were headed to Corinth, Kentucky. Susan caught a quick picture of the sign as we entered Kentucky. Not far to go at this point. Our target for the night was The North Star Inn and Cafe a nice little independent motel. And, they had a FridayContinue reading “Corinth, Kentucky”

We usually start our year finding Puttyroot leaves in January at Nan Weston in western Washtenaw County. Arethusa on the left, Grass-pink on the right. We find these at several sites, but one that is easily accessed is th Eddy Discovery Center in Western Washtenaw County, Michigan. Arethusa are most dependably in bloom in earlyContinue reading “Where and when to find orchids in Michigan”

The rain started yesterday afternoon and quickly turned to ice. It didn’t take long for all of the trees to be coated with ice, and starting last night you could hear branches falling. Out white pine lost several large branches and numerous smaller ones. Serviceberry branches heavy with ice bent way over, but not broke.Continue reading “A day, and night filled with ice”

There is currently an outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease (a hemorrhagic viral disease caused by Marburg Virus) in Equatorial Guinea, Africa. There is no vaccine for this virus, and it has a close to 90% death rate. Currently there have been nine deaths and eight suspected deaths. There are also 16 cases and 21 peopleContinue reading “Another day, another epidemic”

Darn pollution is everywhere. Sounds like he’s taking some White Rabbit. Oops. He should have checked the genitals first. My favorite piece by Bach. Staying with music – how about some sax and violins! I’d rather be in the test group. Oh-oh. I guess that they were caught in the act. I want my ownContinue reading “Some late February humor”