Well after two months the DMV is finally open (by appointment only), so I got to do all the paperwork for my van and my mobile home. So now I am nice and legal again, and am officially a Floridian. Again. Woo-hoo! Go Gators !! 🙂 The plan is to use the mobile home as … More I’m Officially A Florida Resident

Some plants I saw during an afternoon walk in Sawgrass Lake Park. ​This pond is almost completely covered by Water Hyacinth. The city comes by every so often and cleans it all out, but in a couple weeks it’s always back. Damn invasive. ​Water Lettuce. Another invasive, it dukes it out with the Water Hyacinth … More Some Plants at Sawgrass Lake Park

In the Covid-19 era, visiting the local zoo is more complicated than it used to be. Zoo Tampa is now limiting the number of visitors per day, and you need to make reservations to enter on the day you want in order to be guaranteed to get in. Priority goes to those who have a … More Zoo Tampa

This is a nice place to walk around,  Some photos from an afternoon at the park. ​Crescent Lake, with downtown St Pete in the background ​A Tai Chi class ​A Mallard preens ​Red-Winged Blackbird fights with his reflection. It’s a fight he is not gonna win. ​Red Bellied Woodpecker ​A pair of domestic ducks ​A … More Crescent Lake Park

Some random critters, plant and birdies seen during the past few days in St Pete FL. ​Some bug porn ​Two Moorhens having a dispute ​Yellow-Crowned Night Heron scratches an itch ​Bunny rabbit ​Black Vulture snacking on a dead cat. When the light turned red, he hopped out and grabbed a few bites. When the trafic … More Some More Critters

While we are all familiar with the Cavendish banana that we get in the grocery store, there are actually many varieties of banana that are grown around the world. Some of these are on display at the Tropical Fruits section of the Florida Botanical Gardens in St Pete FL. Some photos. ​Banana trees in the garden … More Bananas at Florida Botanical Garden

Part of the Pinellas County parks system, the Botanical Garden has displays of plants from all over the world. It’s a great place to spend a day. Some photos. ​In the garden ​Gold Finger, from Mexico ​Grapette Ground Orchid, from Asia ​Queen’s Crepe Myrtle, from southern Asia ​Dwarf Yellow Mussaenda, from the Philippines ​Frangipani, from … More Florida Botanical Garden

There are three types of traditional baskets made by native peoples. One of them is the twined or wicker basket, usually made from pliable shoots like willow or from long roots like spruce. Another is the coiled basket, made from grass or pine needles and bark. The third is the woven basket, which is made … More Hippie Life Skills 101: How to Make a Woven Basket

Since Sunken Gardens in St Pete FL is all outdoors, it’s a pretty corona-safe place to spend an afternoon. Some photos. ​Lovely landscaping ​The garden is mostly shaded, which is nice on a hit Florida day ​Floating Water Heart ​Chenille ​Periwinkle Bush ​Golden Plume ​Kings Mantle ​Bottle Palm ​Blue Ginger ​Rangoon Creeper ​Passion Flower ​Fishtail … More Sunken Gardens

Some Florida butterflies I have seen during recent walks. ​Black Swallowtail ​Orange Barred Sulphur ​Cloudless Sulphur ​Zebrawing ​Monarch ​Viceroy Butterfly—a Monarch mimic. You can tell them apart by the black bar across the wings. ​Cabbage White  ​White Peacock ​I think this is a Skipper ​Gulf Fritillary ​Giant Swallowtail