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El Jalisco is a fantastic restaurant at exit 155 (Owenton/Williamstown) just off of I-75 in Kentucky. We found this place 8-10 years ago and immediately fell in love with the food here. As you enter the restaurant there is an almost life-sized Aztec jaguar knight, obviously making it a safe place to eat. And –Continue reading “El Jalisco, a great Mexican restaurant in Kentucky”

We spent the first five hours of the day at the Audubon Bird Sanctuary. i wanted to get there ASAP since Worm-eating Warbler had been reported there. Our first bird in the park was “an old friend.” This is a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I photographed this as we were listening to a Worm-eating Warbler sing. WhileContinue reading “Spectacular migrants on Dauphin Island”

Our day started our photographing roadside plants like this atamasco lily. Then got better. At the Ecopassage Boardwalk on the south side of Gainesville we had eight Snail Kites. Unfortunately none we perched close enough for a photo, but several flew close enough for a decent shot. The next “good bird” I should have hadContinue reading “Two photos and a miss”

Our day started with us searching for Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, which we did not find, and settling for a delightful puffer fish. Carolina Saddlebags were our most numerous dragonflies today. The Little Yellow was one of many butterflies that we found today. Finding a perched Barred Owl next to the road that we were on wasContinue reading “A day full of predators”

Our first morning with Roger and Dawn started with seeing Painted Buntings. Both the male and female were quite cooperative. Susan, Roger and Dawn bunting watching. Two spider species in the genus Leucauge. L. argerobapta on the left and L. venusta on the right. Trichonephila clavipes, a large orb-weaver that had many insects trapped inContinue reading “A day with birds, spiders and more”

Heading out to find a rare bird we saw a ring-necked snake some twenty feet from Don and Loree’s where we’re staying. This cute little snake was some ten inches long. The we headed off in search of birds. Our first target was at Jetty Park. And we found it! The park has some interestingContinue reading “Searching for a rare bird”

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”

A beautiful Moon before sunrise. Then in the late morning it was time to head off and look for plants and insects Hepatica, still a month away from budding and blooming. So there’s still a lot of time to get out and see these. Blue ash, now a fairly rare tree in Michigan. Skunk cabbageContinue reading “Nan Weston in February”

Charles Darwin was born on February 12 1809. He collected finch specimens in the 1830s on the Galapagos Islands. They were one of the critical species involved with his describing the process of evolution. The finches were first called Darwin’s finches in 1936 by Percy Lowe. One of the highlights of my teaching career atContinue reading “Charles Darwin”

Under our feeders we had a large flock of Pine Grosbeaks – here are 7 of the 17 that were here. Here’s a male Pine Grosbeak at a feeder. A clear warm morning meant that there were good views of the Moon. These photos were taken two hours apart. A poor photo of a SpruceContinue reading “A February morning in Paradise”