There are small rays of hope that the end of summer is coming. We had our first hummingbird, first painted bunting, and first warbler within the last couple of weeks.





Early morning views





Lots of toads







This Cuban tree frog expressing himself



Lots of bees and flowers







Fun with photoshop. The scene was real, but I gave it an old timey look



Lots of saturation

Southern Toad, our native toad. Not to be confused with the Marine toad, which is a toxic invader.



The imaginatively named Ringneck snake





Black swallowtail



Black-bellied whistling ducks often fly overhead and sometimes stop to say hello. It was a steamy morning and my camera fogged up immediately, so I was basically shooting blind to get a picture. Pretty happy with how they turned out!





After the storm

I've seen the little female several times and recently also found a larger male in the garden. His shell is a little deformed but otherwise he looks OK. Maybe they will meet up :)





Abundant baby rabbits



A pair of wrens seem to be investigating nesting locations



Baby cardinals growing up fast







The orchids are enjoying the hot and humid weather.

We had a late warbler, a Northern Parula, hanging out in the garden for a while. It would "leaf bathe" while we watered the plants.







Baby bluejays and cardinals growing up fast:







Meat's on the menu for the baby cardinals:



Last month we went to see a flyover salute to medical personnel performed by the US Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon jets from the 482nd Fighter Wing, The Mako’s, Air Force Reserve Command in Homestead.



Now the summer rains have started and the garden is loving it. Very prehistoric.







The box turtle made another appearance this morning, chomping on earthworms in the soggy soil. Hopefully it sticks around!

Most of the seasonal birds have gone north. We still get the occasional warbler.

Common Yellowthroat


Reggie redstart




The year round residents like cardinals and bluejays are nesting and wrangling fledglings.



Another interesting visitor was a Florida box turtle. They are surprisingly cryptic in the undergrowth.



A less welcome visitor, the Knight Anole. They are aggresive non-natives that might eat baby birds.



It has been nice having more time at home to enjoy the garden.





This orchid looks savage!



Speaking of savage plants, Rich's carnivorous collection is doing well.







I watched a dragonfly lay eggs. Never seen that before.



Lots of butterfly action! Guess there will be loads of hungry caterpillars soon!

It has been interesting being home and seeing all the changes in the garden. Watching spring migration from home has been nice because we have documented a few new species for the yard, and a couple of lifers!

The ruby-throated hummingbirds were abundant up until a couple of weeks ago.





As they left, we noticed an unusual visitor, a buff-bellied hummingbird. They are rare in Florida and not much is known about them. We have been seeing this one for about two weeks. This was a lifer for both of us!









Painted buntings are still here, although there are less of them than before. They have been joined by a small flock of indigo buntings.







Baby rabbits are abundant



Mockingbird enjoying some old blueberries



The second life bird was a black-whiskered vireo. Did not get great pics, it didn't stay long.



Lots of different warblers passing though too.

Worm-eating



American redstart







Brightest Cape May warbler I have seen in FL

One of the displays in the "Ribbit Exhibit" at Mounts Botanical Garden



Desert Botanical Garden, Tempe, AZ.

Curve-billed thrasher



Black-capped gnatcatcher



Costa's Hummingbird





Local park

Shots from our last sunrise outing before everything got locked down























At home, we still have painted buntings and hummingbirds. Less every day as they move north.

Still have the usual brown thrashers, cardinals, and mockingbirds. Catbirds also becoming fewer in number, and a few warblers passing through.

Been an odd mix of travel and home time for the past few weeks. Looks like I will be home for a while due to travel restrictions, so I am looking forward to catching up with my photos!

Some nice rainbows from cooler weather a few weeks ago







Snapping Turtles









Neighborhood birds









Wild Sundew, a carnivorous plant



Birds in the garden













Tommy Emmanuel. Great shows in Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale. Amazing guitarist and such a sweet and lovely person.





Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during these crazy times.

The usual characters are plentiful in the garden:











Recently came back from a work trip to NY. It was a little chillier up there!











We ended 2019 with an enjoyable evening with Mr. Malmsteen. Hope that 2020 rocks just as hard as 2019!