La Chua Trail, late August

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I get pretty cranky when I'm stuck inside due to poor weather, or when I have other concerns to deal with. Our weather has been horrendous, I'm back at work and inside all day, and I've been worried about the health of one of my children who had a big doctor's appointment yesterday, so I have not been too much fun to be around. Oh yeah, new baby excitement, too. When this happens the best thing for me is always to get away for awhile with my camera and to enjoy the outdoors.

The weather was most cooperative today and no one was in the middle of a major crisis, though a few minor ones did pop up later, so I planned to run some work errands at the end of my work day to put me not far from Paynes Prairie and the La Chua Trail.

The prairie, which is really a bit of a swamp, is beautiful this time of year because there are many different types of yellow blossoms everywhere you look. Plus, the trail is not too crowded on a weekday.






Note the dragonfly in the lower left hand portion of the next picture.






I love our moss covered live oaks.



















The park service was using this time to replace some of the rotten boards on the raised walkway.




Even here in Florida there is a hint that the days are getting shorter.

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As I got closer I could see there was a prison work crew repairing the boardwalk.







The great herons looked like they'd faded since I saw them in early summer.







Water is flowing under all this vegetation, especially the area that's turned brown. That is were the big sink hole channels water into the aquifer.



No storm clouds today.



But lots of yellow blossoms.





And more oaks laden with moss.

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Some of the vegetation was higher than my head, but at least the paths had been mowed. All the better to see the snakes.













I am very pleased with the clarity of this next picture.




I wish we had the cooler temperatures to go along with this autumn color.










While the butterflies totally ignored me, I swear this moth was posing for pictures.

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Though the butterflies were very fast, I was able to get a few photos.

[bixaorellana]

Stunning, Htmb -- I feel I could step right into the scene, like Mary Poppins. Your love for the area comes through yet again, and I swear your photos just get better & better. The butterfly sequence is wonderful, as are all the landscape pics -- everything, really. I got quite nostalgic looking at the Spanish moss and all the lush vegetation. I believe your first photo is of the "dotted horsemint", more properly known as Monarda punctata. I love the lotus picture. Have you seen it in bloom?

[Deleted]

Really fantastic tiny wildlife. I was trying to chase down a few late summer insects recently and failed every time -- either they suddenly sped away or else all I got was a meaningless photo blur.

I enjoy seeing the Spanish moss. When I returned to the Mississippi coast last year, it was still completely absent from all of the trees after being ripped off by Katrina 8 years earlier. I have no idea how long it takes to return, but it is clearly not a fast plant.

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The wild hogs have been very busy.

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Time to go...

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Aug 28, 2014 6:04:28 GMT bixaorellana said:

Stunning, Htmb -- I feel I could step right into the scene, like Mary Poppins. Your love for the area comes through yet again, and I swear your photos just get better & better. The butterfly sequence is wonderful, as are all the landscape pics -- everything, really. I got quite nostalgic looking at the Spanish moss and all the lush vegetation. I believe your first photo is of the "dotted horsemint", more properly known as Monarda punctata. I love the lotus picture. Have you seen it in bloom?

Thank you, Bixa, and thanks for the plant identification. The dotted horsemint really intrigued me, as I don't think I've ever noticed it before.

I've taken photos of lotus blooming on Paynes Prairie, but found those I saw in France and England to be much more brilliantly colored.

[htmb]

Aug 28, 2014 6:12:02 GMT kerouac2 said:

Really fantastic tiny wildlife. I was trying to chase down a few late summer insects recently and failed every time -- either they suddenly sped away or else all I got was a meaningless photo blur.

I enjoy seeing the Spanish moss. When I returned to the Mississippi coast last year, it was still completely absent from all of the trees after being ripped off by Katrina 8 years earlier. I have no idea how long it takes to return, but it is clearly not a fast plant.

I appreciate that, Kerouac. As you can imagine, I deleted five times as many of the butterfly photos as those I actually kept.

As for the Spanish moss, I have read that even before Katrina the moss was in decline in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. A possible reason was lead in the air from gasoline back in the day. I have no idea if this is true, but lack of moss in previously covered oak trees would indeed look strange to me, like something major was missing.

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Back at my car I spotted this lovely just as I was getting ready to leave.

[mossie]

Some super nature photos again. I particularly like the big spider in the first sequence, but it is difficult to pick a best from so many lovely shots.

[htmb]

Thank you very much, Mossie.

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It's funny how spiders can spin such perfect webs which makes you wonder what happened when there are flaws in the master plan. I imagine in most cases it is due to wind or rain at the wrong time.

I remember seeing photos once of the webs of spiders that had been given LSD, and they totally lost all sense of web fabrication. So I can certify that the spider in the photographs is drug free.

[htmb]

Oh, I don't know. Being a college town, we have some highly intelligent spiders that have totally adapted to the drugs, and have learned to mask the fact they are using.

[bixaorellana]

I suppose they have a source for buying pee if they're in danger of being tested.

I have to tell you how knocked out I am by your second wave of pics in this thread. I love the close-up alligator portrait, adore the lotus photos, the oaks with Spanish moss are beyond lovely, and that first web shot in #12 is outstanding. Those are my top favorites, but the whole thread is superb.

[htmb]

Thank you, Bixa. I know how much time, effort and pride you put into your own photos, so your encouraging comments mean a lot to me.