How Dare Plants Vary!
I suspect we as humans want all plants and animals of a particular kind to always look the way we think they should. After learning to recognize a plant, it … Continue reading
Friday Night’s Photo Adventure—Cactus
It’s Sunday afternoon now. Friday night, you feel like forever ago, but that’s when I got the call. My father-in-law called to let me know his night-blooming cactus was about … Continue reading
Star Wars Knockoffs Provide Comic Relief
Well I usually write about plants and bugs here, but really my blog is a creative outlet to write and present things not suitable for anywhere else, because, well, because … Continue reading
Florida’s Paw Paw Refugium
A concept on my mind for a few years now is the intriguing idea of refugia—places less affected by glaciation (or other difficult situations) during ice ages to where plants … Continue reading
Books about unusual places, landforms, human artifacts & etc.
I’m trying to compile a list of books that talk about the feeling of “place,” and/or delve into unusual places, or features of the land, both natural and manmade.
Lost & Found Creatures—The Lazarus Species
So-called “Lazarus species” are living things declared extinct, only to be rediscovered alive at a later date; sometimes much later.
Moth Week without even trying
Every week is moth week! Or should be anyway. These underappreciated cousins of butterflies are just as important and beautiful as butterflies. Many of them are quite stunning. My friends … Continue reading
Time Travel by Means of Camera
Remember the 1960 flick “The Time Machine”? I loved the scene when the machine traveled through time, unchanged, while all around it changed dramatically; civilizations rising and collapsing, even mountains … Continue reading
The Lazy Birdwatcher
I despise getting up early. It is painful for me. Unfortunately, though I don’t consider myself a birder, most birdwatching requires early-hour traipses through all sorts of natural and manmade … Continue reading
Anna Atkins, Cyanotypes and British Botany
Anna Atkins was a British botanist of the 19th century. She was born on this day, March 16, in 1799. Her notability is due to her novel use of the … Continue reading
A Year+ as a Professional Writer
Wow, I can hardly believe I’m writing these words, particularly the title of this post. In May 2013, I happily accepted the position as a full-time writer/editor/photographer, etc., at Fairchild … Continue reading
177 Years Ago Today . . . The Seminole Wars
Key Biscayne sits off the east coast of South Florida, just south of Miami Beach, and north of the beginning of the Florida Keys archipelago. It faces out to the … Continue reading
Still Plays with Toys in the Tub
One of my earliest memories is refusing to leave the tub until all the water drained out, so that I could stay in as long as possible. My mother would … Continue reading
Spring Treats
Spring is different in South Florida than in most parts of the country. Though we do have seasons, their transitions are more recognizable due to changes in humidity and the … Continue reading
The Silver Green Forgotten Cemetery
Welcome to the second of my posts on interesting cemeteries. Last time I wrote about how wonderful cemeteries are for exploring. They contain great artwork and history in stone, interesting … Continue reading
Mangrove Finds — A Quick Follow Up
I can’t believe it. In my last post on finding cool stuff at the beach and in the mangroves, I failed to include one of the strangest things I’ve found.
Beachcombing for Things You Cannot Buy
Beachcombing ‘for’ isn’t even accurate. You can’t beachcomb for anything. You get what King Neptune thinks you need, and maybe you need nothing. And in the spirit of full disclosure, … Continue reading
Old Bones and (Nearly) Forgotten Cemeteries
Do you ever explore cemeteries? I’m one of those people who likes to walk around old graveyards. A taphophile is one who digs (Ha ha, get it? Sorry) graves, cemeteries, … Continue reading
The Island Can Only Be Found by Those Not Seeking It
While perusing CNN for anything of interest this headline grabbed my attention: “An ‘Undiscovered’ South Pacific Island”
The Mushrooms Have Arrived!
Back here, I mentioned sending away for a kit to grow my own luminescent mushrooms. I’d like to follow up as I promised myself I would, and let you know … Continue reading
Vestiges — Ancient and Otherwise — in New York City
I recently returned from a long weekend in NYC. I hadn’t been back since 2008, and as always it has changed a lot. A bit cleaner and seemingly safer; consequently … Continue reading
The Mushrooms are Coming!
Or the mycelial fruit bodies are, via the USPS or UPS, not sure which. On my life’s list of goals has been to find and photograph bioluminescent mushrooms in the … Continue reading
Miami Love Motels along the Tamiami Trail of Tears
I would like to thank my fellow blogger at http://forkinmyeye.com/ for inspiring this post. Check out this one in particular for some better photos of old signs. I’ve long been fascinated by … Continue reading
Tropical Storm Brings Most Welcome Visitors
Is it because I drew them to me emotionally/spiritually/attitudinally, or did the change in barometric pressure due to T.S. Debbie Debby cause a change in behavior in these two beautiful … Continue reading
Further Fungi Following me Home, et al.
Ok, what the hell is this? I love mushrooms. I still think they may have an extraterrestrial origin. But these recent visitors to my front yard are just so weird. … Continue reading
Moonlore: Our Verdant Satellite that Never Was
One August morning in 1835, New Yorkers awoke to the increasing heat and humidity of a typical northeast summer. Any one of them wanting to read about the events going … Continue reading
Bioluminescence Comes in Many Forms
It seems as though it is that time of year again, when I become intrigued and enchanted by fungi. I always am, of course, but now in warmer weather I … Continue reading
Photographers: Lyrid Meteor Shower to Peak This Weekend; May Be Best in Years
If you dig sky photos, look up this weekend: Lyrid Meteor Shower to Peak This Weekend; May Be Best in Years.
Free White Noise Generator on the Internet
Quick post to let you know about a cool discovery I made today. It’s a free, online white noise generator to block out extraneous noises like annoying coworkers (not that … Continue reading
Sun Dogs, Moon Dogs, and Halos
I saw the coolest thing on April 1, and this is not a belated April Fool’s prank. The midday sun was encircled by an enormous bright & beautiful halo. It … Continue reading
Things I’ve been bitten by
I got to thinking about all the animals we get stung or bitten by in our lifetimes. I’m sure there are so many we don’t ever even become aware of, … Continue reading
I Met a Scrimshander
I was lucky enough to meet a very talented man many years back, with interests similar to mine (nautical art & oddities being one of them). He, however, didn’t just … Continue reading
Planet Mold
Look at this amazing Earth-like planet recently discovered and photographed! Na, It’s just my wife’s lunch. She left the vestiges of it sitting for days in a round glass container. … Continue reading
Combing Through Castellow Hardwood Hammock
A couple weeks back I woke up with the usual sore back, only to bend down to feed our rabbit at the worst angle possible. I could not stand up … Continue reading
Hey, Look at This Weird Thing I Found!
I’d like to write a couple posts about finding things. Coming across a lost or discarded item might not seem to have much to do with photography and nature, but … Continue reading
Green Animals are Cool
Now that Nome’s fueled up, I can get back to nature. Thanks to my neighbor across the street, who knows I like “weird things,” I’ve recently become acquainted with this … Continue reading
Nome Fuel Crisis Update: View the Activity on the Ice
After some difficulties approaching Nome, it looks like fuel will be delivered to the city today from the tanker via hoses along the ice. The U.S. Coast Guard is keeping … Continue reading
Nome’s (not) Burning.
Because apparently it’s running out of gas and oil. I’m lucky to have been to the great state of Alaska twice, and both times have been to the city of … Continue reading
Reindeer and Caribou and Christmastime
This day has got me thinking about reindeer and caribou, and which is which. While toads and frogs have differentiating characteristics and behaviors, and are definitely quite different animals in … Continue reading
Castellow Hammock Continued
Way back in October, I posted about a great walk I took through the Miami-Dade County Park of Castellow Hammock. It was great in no small part due to the … Continue reading
Octopus Picture – Underwater Photo – National Geographic Photo of the Day
I WISH this was my photo. It’s just such a perfect image of one of my favorite animals, I had to share it. A octopus in its octopus’s garden. … Continue reading
Camera as Telescope — Jupiter’s Moons!
Just a quick post today. I’ve been into photographing the moon for a few years when it appears in an interesting way, like as a blue moon (the 2nd full … Continue reading
My Further Photographic & Anthropological Adventures in the Field
I usually prefer finding photo opps rather than setting them up. It just seems more interesting to me to find the unexpected. I visited a nature preserve last Saturday, hoping … Continue reading
The Forest Provides — Orange Marmalade?
I found this beautiful orange jelly fungus in the shade under some Silk Floss trees. There were about five “piles” of them. It’s hard to capture them in a photo; … Continue reading
Found: The Big, Bad Manchineel Tree
I found it! In my earlier Post on the poisonous Manchineel tree, I had yet to find the specimen supposedly growing at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. I returned on October … Continue reading
Ah the Fecundity! A Fungus Walk through Castellow Hammock
This post has been long in the making. Not the text, which isn’t very involved, but the photos. Saturday, October 15, 2011 was an overcast day after many days of … Continue reading
And with that, I leave you with a Cuban Tree Frog
I couldn’t resist posting today, even briefly, and especially to show this cute little Cuban Tree Frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) I discovered sleeping between the water-filled leaves of a bromeliad. It … Continue reading
Digger Bee Squatters’ Rights
You know the nozzle sprayers that go on the end of your garden hose? I have one unused in my yard, just sitting on a shelf between some plants. I … Continue reading
The Greenhouse Frog
Frogs and amphibians in general are our environmental “canary in a coal mine.” Because they have porous skin, and need to return eventually to water to avoid dessication, they absorb … Continue reading
Kenneth Setzer 