Florida Discoveries 4: Springtime on the Panhandle…Part II

11. March 2011 · 2 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , , ,

Part II = The fauna!

Springtime in Florida also means the bugs and animals are all coming out of the woods, the ponds, the ground, etc.  I’ve already seen more than my share of millipedes in the yard and on my porch, plenty of mosquito hawks, and of course the birds are all coming back.  Those that never left are brightening up, the goldfinches are becoming more gold!

I didn’t get pictures of everything I’ve seen, but I figured a blog post was due because I captured pictures of not one, but TWO animals in my yard just today! I was assembling my new 3′ x 6′ raised garden bed and enjoying the lovely afternoon while the kids played outside.

First, here’s a baby Southern ring-necked snake for you to enjoy.  Don’t fret, he was a corpse by the time I discovered him in our driveway. And here’s the Florida Cooperative Extension Service briefing about black-colored snakes in Florida. The Southern ring-necked snake is the 3rd one on the list.

I photographed this one with my hand for scale.

Just before I took off for soccer practice (I’m coaching my youngest son’s team), I dumped some yard waste into my compost bin and discovered this lizard hanging out.

It took some sleuthing on this one, but I’ve got it narrowed down to an “anole” of some sort. The Florida green anole is native to this part of the country and they’re quite nice. Sometimes in late winter, early spring they’re more brown than green. I hope that’s what this is, because if it’s a “brown anole” or “Cuban anole”, they’re invasive and they EAT green anoles!

Finally, earlier this week I was rolling out the garbage can at about 7:30 in the morning and threw away some yard trash. The morning was humid and just under the lid was this cute little frog. I’m pretty sure he’s an American green tree frog, but I’ve been reading about these invasive Cuban tree frogs* and wondering if that’s what I have instead. This frog seemed to big to be “American green” but too small to be “Cuban”.

I worked on coaxing him out from under the lid, but not before he started descending down the trash can…luckily he figured things out and worked his way out of the trash can. Phew!

Lid closed, mission accomplished, congratulations!

*Do you see a trend here? The native species of both of the lizards and frogs mentioned here are cute and green and are called “Florida [frog or lizard]”, while the invasive version is brown, called “Cuban” and eats the Floridian? I’m just sayin’…

Florida Discoveries 4: Springtime on the Panhandle…Part I

11. March 2011 · Comments Off on Florida Discoveries 4: Springtime on the Panhandle…Part I · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , ,

I know, it’s only March 10th, and many of my readers (I get 50 new visitors per day now, by the way!) are still sitting underneath snowpacks. But here on the Florida Panhandle, the brief winter* we had has definitely given way to spring: complete with thunderstorms, tornadoes, allergies and weeds! Things were brown when I left for Nebraska, and were green and pollen-ey when I returned 5 days later!

*YES — we experienced a real winter here! It even snowed a little on Christmas Day in Pensacola!

I thought I’d share some pictures of the flora and fauna that have greeted us in the past couple weeks. Last year in Nebraska was especially fun, and I hope to get around the neighborhood more this weekend and capture some of the local redbuds.

First of all, upon my return from Nebraska on Feb. 27th, these shrubs in the front of the house had just started blooming:

From a distance, they look like azaleas, right? But that’s not what they are. After some seemingly-random Googling of “pink flowers Florida Panhandle” and things like that, the term “Chinese Fringe Flower” appeared and I chose it. And there you go. This is the loropetalum plant, also known as “Chinese witch hazel” or “Chinese fringe flower”.

I have two varieties in my front yard landscaping:

Here’s one with my oldest son next to it for scale. The shrubs aren’t very tall:

I went to my favorite resource for flora information, my friendly neighborhood Cooperative Extension Service! University of Florida’s IFAS briefing on the loropetalum.

I was also curious about how long these plants had been used as landscaping, since I’ve NEVER seen them until now! Here’s some historical information from Mississippi State’s Cooperative Extension Service. Looks like only since the early 1990s.

If only this blog had Scratch-n-Sniff! The flowers are quite fragrant!

I’m particularly intrigued with the way the flower buds open up, reminding me of a butterfly coming out of its chrysalis, with the huge antennae uncoiling.






Florida Discoveries 3: National Museum of Naval Aviation

27. January 2011 · 7 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , , ,
From 2011 01 23 Naval Aviation Museum Pensacola

This past weekend my parents came to visit, mainly for my youngest’s birthday, but I’m sure that Dad was super-excited to visit the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola.

On Sunday after breakfast, we ventured the 30 miles west and arrived at around 11am.  We left at 3:45pm!  Everyone had a great time!  There was so much to see.

The museum is on the Pensacola Naval Air Station itself, which means you have to pass through a checkpoint.  The guard will check for an ID — such as a drivers’ license — and if you just say “I’m visiting the museum” you’ll be let through with minimal fuss.  You might be subject to a random search.  Don’t say I didn’t tell you!  It’s free of charge, always a bonus!

I had visited the museum with my friend Paul (of CrashPlan fame) in December 1998 when I was TDY* to Hurlburt Field for some training with my AF Reserve job.  There’s a lot of wonderful history in this museum, from the birth of Naval aviation in 1911.  They have several originals of “first” aircraft (like the first seaplane to cross the Atlantic), and they also have a collection of “last” aircraft, such as the last F-14 Tomcat to fly in combat.

In those short two years since I was there last, there were many changes to the museum, all for the better!

First of all, the museum made improvements at the front entryway, adding a nice timeline of all aircraft carriers, and they added a lovely children’s play area.

Also, we were able to take a bus tour of the “flightline” section of the museum, where aircraft were parked awaiting restoration. The bus driver/narrator told some great stories of each of the aircraft!

These aircraft parts were recently retrieved from the Great Lakes!
From 2011 01 23 Naval Aviation Museum Pensacola

Another big change was the addition of the “Hangar One” area.  This opened in mid-January 2011 and nearly doubled the indoor display space for aircraft!

????

Up above is the USS Kitty Hawk’s “Homeward Bound Pennant” which was flown on its way home from Japan for decommissioning in 2008.  

???? I took this picture below of the sign explaining how the “Homeward Bound” pennant works, but my Dad (a 30-year Navy veteran) explains is best:

“The red-and-white portion (the “fly”) of the Homeward Bound pennant is traditionally one foot long for each member of the ship’s crew.  If the air wing is included, this would be over 5000 feet!  The number of stars in the blue field is dependent on the length of the deployment.  The pennant is flown during the return leg of any deployment over a year in length.  Again traditionally, after arriving back in the States, the pennant is cut up and the blue portion is given to the ship’s CO.  The fly is cut into one-foot pieces and a section given to each crew member,

In Kitty Hawk’s case, she was “permanently” forward deployed, essentially home ported, at Yokosuka, Japan, since the decommissioning of USS Constellation.  The USA has maintained a carrier based there since the 1950s.  USS George Washington’s there now, the first nuclear-powered ship allowed by Japan to be based there.”

Florida Discoveries 3: National Museum of Naval Aviation

27. January 2011 · Comments Off on Florida Discoveries 3: National Museum of Naval Aviation · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , , ,
From 2011 01 23 Naval Aviation Museum Pensacola

This past weekend my parents came to visit, mainly for my youngest’s birthday, but I’m sure that Dad was super-excited to visit the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola.

On Sunday after breakfast, we ventured the 30 miles west and arrived at around 11am.  We left at 3:45pm!  Everyone had a great time!  There was so much to see.

The museum is on the Pensacola Naval Air Station itself, which means you have to pass through a checkpoint.  The guard will check for an ID — such as a drivers’ license — and if you just say “I’m visiting the museum” you’ll be let through with minimal fuss.  You might be subject to a random search.  Don’t say I didn’t tell you!  It’s free of charge, always a bonus!

I had visited the museum with my friend Paul (of CrashPlan fame) in December 1998 when I was TDY* to Hurlburt Field for some training with my AF Reserve job.  There’s a lot of wonderful history in this museum, from the birth of Naval aviation in 1911.  They have several originals of “first” aircraft (like the first seaplane to cross the Atlantic), and they also have a collection of “last” aircraft, such as the last F-14 Tomcat to fly in combat.

In those short two years since I was there last, there were many changes to the museum, all for the better!

First of all, the museum made improvements at the front entryway, adding a nice timeline of all aircraft carriers, and they added a lovely children’s play area.

Also, we were able to take a bus tour of the “flightline” section of the museum, where aircraft were parked awaiting restoration. The bus driver/narrator told some great stories of each of the aircraft!

These aircraft parts were recently retrieved from the Great Lakes!
From 2011 01 23 Naval Aviation Museum Pensacola

Another big change was the addition of the “Hangar One” area.  This opened in mid-January 2011 and nearly doubled the indoor display space for aircraft!

????

Up above is the USS Kitty Hawk’s “Homeward Bound Pennant” which was flown on its way home from Japan for decommissioning in 2008.  

???? I took this picture below of the sign explaining how the “Homeward Bound” pennant works, but my Dad (a 30-year Navy veteran) explains is best:

“The red-and-white portion (the “fly”) of the Homeward Bound pennant is traditionally one foot long for each member of the ship’s crew.  If the air wing is included, this would be over 5000 feet!  The number of stars in the blue field is dependent on the length of the deployment.  The pennant is flown during the return leg of any deployment over a year in length.  Again traditionally, after arriving back in the States, the pennant is cut up and the blue portion is given to the ship’s CO.  The fly is cut into one-foot pieces and a section given to each crew member,

In Kitty Hawk’s case, she was “permanently” forward deployed, essentially home ported, at Yokosuka, Japan, since the decommissioning of USS Constellation.  The USA has maintained a carrier based there since the 1950s.  USS George Washington’s there now, the first nuclear-powered ship allowed by Japan to be based there.”

Florida Discoveries 2: Backyard Birding

07. January 2011 · Comments Off on Florida Discoveries 2: Backyard Birding · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

New state, new house, new batch of birds to look for! I’ve posted on and off about the birds that have come to visit our houses in both North Carolina and Nebraska (ironically, I got woodpecker pictures in both places). Now it’s time to see what Northwest Florida brings to our backyard!

First of all, here’s a picture of our backyard. Don’t laugh too hard at my photo-merging abilities, the point I’m trying to make here is that our backyard is absolutely DEVOID of trees, bushes, shrubs, etc.  Google maps shows several tall trees in the center of the backyard, but those must have been taken out.  Nothing here now.

From 2010 01 07 More Backyard Birding

But check out all the trees and brush right on the periphery of our fenceline. Oleander, live oak, pine, magnolia.  I figured I could work with that.

My thoughtful dear husband got me a multi-hook birdfeeder/birdbath center for Christmas. A great gift, I might add! I invested about $30 in 3 birdfeeders for the hooks.  And made a point to place it close to that oleander bush along the fence line.  The birds are more likely to visit if they have a hiding place when Howie or the boys come out.

From 2011 01 03 Backyard Birding

I figured it’d take about a week or so before birds would catch on that a new feeding station is here, but it didn’t take that long at all! I assembled this on New Year’s Day, and by the morning of the 3rd, there were numerous goldfinches having a grand old time eating, chatting it up and splashing in the birdbath!

From 2011 01 03 Backyard Birding

Over the past week, I’ve been seeing more and more types of birds visiting our feeder, most recently (this morning) I came across my first chickadee!

I’m also getting some pictures of other birds that are visiting not just our property, but also the trees and shrubs at our neighbors’ properties. There are numerous pine-tree wooded lots scattered about our neighborhood.  Bald eagles live at the tops of the tallest pines and sometimes we’ll see them gliding between one set of treetops to another.  At about 25-35 feet.  They glide so gracefully — I hope to get a picture of one of them soon as they fly over our house.

This is definitely some of the widest variety of birds I’ve experienced. Enjoy some pictures! Pardon some of the poorer quality shots, I’m standing pretty far back, zooming in as much as possible.

Mr. Cardinal’s lady friend is in the brush just above him.  They’re so incredibly shy, I’m really proud of this shot.
From 2011 01 03 Backyard Birding
This is a “brown-headed nuthatch”, I mainly see groups of these birds hanging out on the palmetto palm trees in the front of our house.  They’re distinctive in that they walk along the trunks of trees.  I have a suet feeder out front for them, too.
From 2011 01 03 Backyard Birding
One of the dozens of “winterized” goldfinches that hang out there.  I also see plenty of house finches, but haven’t photographed any yet.  Note the tinfoil at the top of the hooks…I’d read that those will attract the birds.  I’d say that whoever wrote that was right!
From 2011 01 03 Backyard Birding
This is a “palm warbler” and he’s spending the winter down here.  This guy wasn’t shy at all and let me get pretty close to take his picture.  Jacob found him foraging under our shed.
From 2010 12 29 Palm Warbler
There are 3 birds in this picture, I think it’s a type of warbler at the top, but I’m not sure what kind of birds those are in the middle and bottom.
From 2010 01 07 More Backyard Birding
A male hairy woodpecker.  This is one of the kinds of birds I’ve seen in NC, NE and now here in FL.  They eat at the suet feeder in front of our house along with the nuthatches.  His lady friend (who doesn’t have a red head) is perched on this tree also, but lower down.  I had a hard time photographing her because of all the brush.  He’s about 20′ up at the very top of this tree.
From 2010 01 07 More Backyard Birding
The best bluebird picture I’ve captured so far.  These folks are also pretty shy.  Most of the bluebirds hang out on the RIGHT HAND side of the backyard, not sure why.  Maybe because all the feeders are on the left (our neighbors on the left have feeders too) — and there’s more room/quietness for foraging for berries and bugs on the right side?  Considering a bluebird box for the right side of the backyard.
From 2010 01 07 More Backyard Birding
Female bluebird.  I waited and waited for her to turn sideways so I could get a better shot.  Oh well.
From 2010 01 07 More Backyard Birding
Here’s my chickadee, this morning is the first time I’ve seen him at our feeder.  I’m guessing it’s a Carolina chickadee, since we’re at the furthest southern extent of the chickadee range.  They’ll winter over along the Gulf Coast.
From 2010 01 07 More Backyard Birding

Florida Discoveries 1: Where are the Reindeer? Reindeer Lichen

17. December 2010 · 4 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,

Prepare yourselves, this is going to be one of my most bewildering blog posts yet.  More so than vermicomposting, toilet odors and pumpkin reproduction.

This morning I enjoyed another run through my new neighborhood.  I’ve been mapping out my runs on this website (so I know the distances I’m covering) and this is the one I did today.  It takes me though this lovely golf course neighborhood northwest of my house.  Needless to say, the golf course is near the streets titled “PGA Blvd.” and “Masters Blvd.”.  I don’t live there, but it’s pretty to visit, especially with some of the houses’ holiday decorations.

So…today I was running along a backstretch of Cove Rd., which is on the southwest part of the loop, and the houses ended and I had hammocks on both sides of me for several hundred feet.  No, not the kind I wished I had in my backyard, but the ecological kind.

And down on the ground were not the low-lying palm fronds that are elsewhere in the neighborhood, but lichen fields!

When I think of lichen, I don’t think of Florida. I think of 10,000′ alpine tundra, with reindeer eating the stuff. In fact, the kind of lichen I found is nicknamed “Reindeer Lichen”.  I had visions in my head for the rest of the run of reindeer licking rocks with lichen.  We saw lichen on an alpine tundra in Colorado in August, in fact.  This website answered my questions about lichen in Florida.

Lichen I had photographed on a rock in Colorado this past August, we were at about 10,500′ elevation here.  I never imagined seeing lichen in Florida!
From 2010 08 09 Rocky Mtn Natl Park Day 1

I was so intrigued by this field in my neighborhood, I stopped to check it out.  Took a few pictures with my phone camera:

You can use lichen on model railroads.  The greener lichen makes nice shrubbery.
From 2010 12 17 Lichen
The red stuff on the ends of the lichen on the right was interesting to me, but I didn’t want to touch it.  This website discusses the “matchstick” lichen a little more.
From 2010 12 17 Lichen
The area was covered in it!
From 2010 12 17 Lichen
Just doesn’t seem very Floridian, does it?
From 2010 12 17 Lichen
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