We had a warm morning in early January so I headed out for a quick trip to nearby Folly Farms in Safety Harbor. The neighborhood community garden has a small butterfly garden and if there isn’t any birds around I can usually find some tiny critters. There was still enough blooming to keep the garden full of bees and butterflies. The fun catch was the ladybug. I don’t see them very often.
It was early August when I visited Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales. I knew there wouldn’t be a lot of birds there since fall migration hadn’t started yet but I was ready for a road trip. There were a lot of other flying critters though so I had a fun morning torturing myself trying to get pictures of little things buzzing around.
I found this spiny orb weaver with a bee in his web.
Since I missed the Sunflower festival at Sweetfield Farms last year, I had to go this year. In late May the zinnias at the farm were in full bloom. While the farm is mostly sunflowers (all boring yellow), I think my favorite part is the zinnia field. So many colors growing in one place. After taking tons of pictures, I went to the “You pick” booth and got some clippers. They were $1 per flower and I got as many as I could carry. One in each color.
The butterflies love the zinnias as well. My favorite part was all of the little flying critters that were landing on the flowers. I could have spent all day here but it was getting hot and I was getting hungry so it was time to pack up.
Teeny critters at Kapok Park.
There’s always a lot of turtles under the boardwalk.
Great trees at the park including the first one with the roots half exposed. It’s been living that way for years.
Another “just being outside” shot at Kapok Park in mid-April.
Lots of little critters at Bok Tower Gardens in late September. Very few birds. The best one was the white eyed vireo. It was a good morning to work on my butterfly shots.
I found this butterfly couple flying around. Only the top butterfly was flapping. Assuming they are mating?
I was looking for bugs and saw this big eye staring at me from behind a leaf. After climbing around under the leaves for a few minutes he stopped and took a nap on a stalk. He was not much bigger than my thumb.
Little titmouse looking for snacks. I get there at 8am and someone has already been there and left birdseed on the boardwalk. These guys are not shy.
I’ve never seen a prothonotary warbler at Chesnut park. Both were very skittish.
Other usual birds were parulas and cardinals. The cardinal was a juvenile that was just getting his red feathers. He looked rough.
It was very quiet at Chesnut Park so I left and stopped by Possum Branch Preserve before heading home. It was even more quiet at the preserve. I couldn’t even find a gator in all that muck.
I realized why there wasn’t any little birds around the firebushes early one Saturday morning at Crescent Lake park. A hawk was keeping watch.
You can usually see monk parakeets hanging around the ball park there.
No birds but plenty of moths.
This dog looked bored when I was taking his picture. He was standing guard while his human was fishing.
Starlings are everywhere.
I got all the way across the lake from my car and it started raining. Luckily I had thrown my tiny umbrella in my backpack so I stood under a tree for a few minutes hoping it stop quickly. It was raining on one side of the park and the sun was on the other side. After 15 minutes I just walked back to my car and was soaked from the waist down.Typical Florida weather. By the time I got to my car the rain had stopped so I decided to head over to the North Shore beach park in nearby downtown St. Pete before heading home.
When I got out of the the car there were a few parakeets eating on the ground in front of me. They were chomping on the ground covering.
Meanwhile, this squirrel had found a piece of pizza in the garbage can, probably left over from last night’s picnic. He seemed pleased with himself.
There were still storms out in the bay so I headed home for lunch.
Little critters at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo.
Not many birds in early July. A cardinal with a snack and a Loggerhead Shrike
As I was leaving the gardens, I saw this hawk up on a light post. I think this is juvenile Cooper’s Hawk.
I stopped for a quick walk around the boardwalk at Largo Nature Preserve but there wasn’t much there either. I think the smart birds went north for the summer. I found this green heron creeping around the boardwalk.
Little critters at the Largo Nature Preserve.
Lots of turtles around the lake.
I stopped by Safety Harbor fishing pier on the way home and saw a kiteboarder across the bay.
A quick walk around Largo Nature Preserve in September.
A very hot morning at North Shore Park in downtown St. Petersburg. The beach was busy with volleyball players. On a Saturday morning you can find a lot of joggers and dog walkers on the sidewalk but not many people in the water. Since this is the bay, the water here is not nice but you can usually get a breeze.
Across the bay, you can just make out the energy plant with steam coming out.
After walking around at North Shore Park, I stopped by the Safety Harbor fishing pier before heading home. They have a new boardwalk that goes along the mangroves next to the pier. This small area is a little piece of Florida that hasn’t changed much over the years (with the exception of that big condo building going up next to the old Safety Harbor Hotel in that first shot).
