Color around the yard

On July 27, 2026July 27, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, flowers and plantsLeave a comment

There were so many things blooming in the yard by mid-March. The gardenia bush blooms only for a few weeks here. I wish it continued through the summer since it smells so good by the front door.

The bluebirds were still working on a nest. That silly lady couldn’t understand why she couldn’t get those long sticks through the holes.

Mr Bluebird was nearby, shaking his head and probably laughing.

Northern parulas were always in the backyard. They have such a distinct sound and that bright yellow chest is easy to spot.

I was outside in the back and saw an osprey fly by and land on a tree across the fairway. I grabbed my camera and walked a little closer and he took off. I think he was looking to catch some fish in the tiny pond nearby.

A swallowtail kite flew by as well.

White ibis come through the yard often. They are always pecking around in people’s yard and many locals call them “Florida chickens”. Someone is feeding them nearby because they will come up to the back door if they see me in the window. They are always looking for a handout.

Beneficial little green critters in the backyard. Both the Mabel’s Orchard Orb Weaver (in the first two shots) and the long legged fly are good at keeping tiny pest at bay.

We don’t often get cloudscape sunsets in late March since there isn’t a lot of rain but this night was perfect.

A short walk among the blooming

On June 29, 2026July 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants1 Comment

The butterfly garden at Folly Farms in Safety Harbor was exploding with color when I visited in early March. The big freeze a month earlier didn’t seem to harm most of these plants.

Cool artwork in the garden.

The garden is full of whimsical things including the bee house in the 2nd shot above.

A butterfly sitting still as I took the above with my phone. I think he was warming up in the sun.

There’s a short trail along the back area of the gardens and I took a quick lap before heading home.

Camellias blooming in January

On June 1, 2026July 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants, Vacation2 Comments

While Brett and I were in Orlando for a long weekend to visit with friends we went for a quick walk at Mead Gardens. We had not been before and the first thing we noticed was all of the camellia bushes were blooming. There were a lot of them around the nature center.

There were so many new buds coming out.

The parking areas were pretty full and we realized there was a camellia flower show and contest going on inside. There were so many beautiful colors and patterns. How could you judge them? You would really have to have an eye for details in them. I wouldn’t be able to pick a winner. They would all be winners.

There were a few rose bushes as well.

We spent an hour walking the trails and looking for critters which were scarce. It was chilly this morning. On the trails it felt more like a park than actual gardens but it was still beautiful.

I did see several gopher tortoises along the trail. I was able to zoom in with my phone and catch the above while hiding behind a bush.

A road trip across the state.

On May 25, 2026June 8, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, flowers and plants, Vacation3 Comments

In mid-January Brett and I had a long weekend in Orlando. We were meeting up with some friends on Saturday night but came over early Friday afternoon and went to Disney Springs for a walk and had an early dinner there. We didn’t go to a theme park since we’ve done them so many times over the years. Disney Springs is free and a fun place to walk around and have dinner.

So many beautiful colors in January. This was before the big freeze in early February. We spent the morning at Leu Gardens. We have never been here before and it was a nice place to walk around and luckily a lot was still blooming.

This butterfly posed for me while I took this with my phone since I didn’t bring my camera on this trip.

The historic home at the gardens was built in 1888 and had 4 different owners. The last was Harry P Leu who gifted the house and gardens in 1960.

The statue shows a worker picking citrus. The 2nd owners grew citrus trees on the property after the land had been farmed for many years.

You can tour the house and it was cool to see the historic furniture. The bathrooms and kitchen had been somewhat updated and that yellow bathroom looked like it was stuck in the 60’s.

Fall and spring at the same time

On March 23, 2026April 10, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants2 Comments

Thanksgiving weekend was a perfect time to go for a walk in my neighborhood. It had finally cooled off and the leaves were turning those fun fall colors.

There was still a lot of things blooming in the ground and bushes along the utility field and it looked like spring in some spots.

The yellow flowers had turned to seed pods.

The invasive brazilian peppertree bushes were covered in berries. I can usually find a few bugs on them including what I think are leaf footed bugs above.

I could hear a peeping noise deep in the reeds and keep looking for what was making that noise. Finally a sedge wren popped out. I don’t see them often.

Plants along my walk.

A 3 park walk and a little bit of history

On March 2, 2026April 10, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants, Tampa bay sights4 Comments

It was mid-November but you would think it was spring at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. It was still warm and butterflies were all over the butterfly garden. Brett and I were out for a walk through the gardens and then to Heritage Village next door.

Red things were still blooming.

The sun was coming through the holly tree.

The banana trees were loaded. I wonder if the squirrels eat them.

A soft shell turtle hiding under the duckweed.

A moorhen and turtles in one of the ponds. I’m sure there’s an alligator hiding underneath there.

Brett had never walked through Heritage Village which is a part of the botanical gardens here. The village is full of old historic homes from the Pinellas county area that were moved here to be preserved. You can read about the homes here.

The historic village had recently been donated a relic from the old Tiki Gardens theme park/restaurant on Indian Shores Beach back in the 60’s. Seeing the big statue brought back many memories of going there with my family when I was growing up. You can read more about the history of this restaurant here.

Our last walk of the morning was at nearby McGough Park to see the turtle pond. There are so many turtles that live here and you can feed them. On the this morning kids were already throwing in the pellets for them to eat.

A stroll down my street.

On February 25, 2026March 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, flowers and plants5 Comments

In late October I was out for a walk in my neighborhood. The sun was just coming up over the trees. I had walked to the utility field hoping to see some critters hanging around.

Taken with my phone, I could see a bald eagle sitting high up on the tower.

Native bladderpod was going dormant for the winter but there was still a few green pods on the plant.

Rattlebox starts out with beautiful yellow flowers, then turns in bean pods that are highly toxic. Originally they were planted to help with erosion and they grow like crazy but were later found out that the beans were bad for critters to eat.

I’m not sure what these are but they were in the same area.

A red shoulder hawk was sitting on a light post, looking around for a snack.

A crawly critter on the sidewalk.

There are several bird of paradise plants along my walk.

When I got back home I could see a tiny alligator out in the middle of the pond across the street.

Hibiscus blooming in my front yard.

Lots of color in the gardens

On December 29, 2025January 3, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants2 Comments

In early September I went for a walk at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. It was still pretty hot and I left my camera in the car and just walked with my phone. My first stop was the butterfly garden and it was pretty quiet there. I was hoping for some hummingbirds but I didn’t see any this morning.

Color along the path.

The spatterdock made pretty patterns in the water.

A few of the critters I saw.

Pretty fungus growing from the summer rains but the above in red is a stinkhorn mushroom and has a foul smell if it breaks apart.

The banana plants were blooming.

I grabbed my camera out of the car to catch this green heron catching a bug. He was feeding in a small pond next to the parking lot.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.

A morning walk along the trail

On October 20, 2025November 9, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, flowers and plants4 Comments

It was mid-June and hot on the morning I went for a walk at Chesnut Park. I didn’t take my camera thinking there wouldn’t be too many birds around and the baby deer hadn’t been born yet. I was playing around with some of the settings on my phone to capture the above along the trail.

Some type of mushroom growing on a dead tree. It was huge.

More shots along the trail.

This squirrel came too close. People have been feeding them and the squirrels are aggressive here.

Views of the lake.

The buttonbush was blooming.

This looks like a good place to take a break.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.

Sunflowers on a cloudy day

On October 13, 2025November 9, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, flowers and plants4 Comments

I made another trip to a sunflower farm at the beginning of June. Jimmy Mc’s farm is closer to home and was a quick trip. They only have a small sunflower field and a few cows. Brett came as well since he had not been to this farm before. It had rained most of the night and I wasn’t sure if we would get rained out but at least it was cool.

One of the cows came over to the fence to see if we had sunflowers to feed him but it looked like he already had plenty to choose from on the ground. Maybe he remembered me from last year when I fed him some sunflowers and came over to say hello?

Just past the sunflower field I could see turkeys running for the woods.

This was the last day of picking season and many of the flowers were getting old but I still managed to find several handfuls to take home.

Some of the little critters out in the field.

As usual I try and check the ones I take home for hitchhikers but I had so many that I barely looked. When I got home and was getting them in vases I found one that had to go outside but not before taking a quick shot. The green lynx spider is good to have in the garden since they eat a lot of moth larvae that are pests.

Playing around with my phone camera. I used stage lighting on portrait mode to take the above.

As we walked to the car I noticed the great blue heron sitting along the edge of a small pond. It looked very peaceful.

Then I noticed these guys strolling around to my side of the pond. Sandhill cranes with 2 almost grown juveniles (with the orange beaks). They were just cruising around out on the farm. Two years ago I saw them here as well so I’m wondering if it’s the same parents.

A quick video of them yelling as they walked by.