Tag: writing about nature

The Nature Walk Project – Month 6: March

Location: Orlando, Florida, United States from 5:00pm-6:00pm    Weather: Sunny and windy, 84°F – High: 85°F  Low: 68°F
Catch up on The Nature Walk Project: Month 1: October, Month 2: November, Month 3: December, Month 4: January, Month 5: February

I spent last month looking down, taking photos of the water’s edge and all of the tiny bits of nature that live along it.  Today, I looked up…

Seasons By The Bird
Every month when I visit and write about this lake and my walk along the crushed shell trail, I almost always mention the unbelievable amount of bird song that you can hear.  It comes from every direction, birds of every size are tucked and nestled among the branches, completely unseen as they call and sing to each other.  As winter continues to thin the branches of some trees, I can catch glimpses of these birds and get a sense of the vast variety of birds that call this little bit of nature, home.

It was this sense of home that got me thinking about these birds and the seasons.  I was born up north in Pennsylvania.  We got “real” winters up there, with lots of snow and ice.  It was toward the end of winter, when you had just about had your fill of cold weather and runny noses, that a sign of spring would appear.  The first birds of the new season, the robins, would return to our woods and you knew that spring wasn’t far behind.  Next we’d start to see the blue jays coming back, followed by the cardinals that would streak across the landscape in brilliant blazes of red.

Now that I live down south in Florida, the arrival of blue jays and cardinals mean something different here, they mean winter is on its way.  This is the place the birds would come to when they disappeared from our wintery Pennsylvania woods.  As I sit here listening to the birds, I catch glimpses of blue jays flying between the trees and I realize that it’s when the blue jays leave, that I now know spring is on its way.  So this month I pay tribute to the original “snow birds” and I’ve created a slide show full of the tree tops and the many birds that live above and below them, even if only for a short season.

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[slideshow]

The Nature Walk Project – Month 5: February

Location: Orlando, Florida from 2:00pm-3:00pm    Weather: Sunny, 72°F – High: 82°F  Low: 60°F

Catch up on The Nature Walk Project: Month 1: October, Month 2: November, Month 3: December, Month 4: January

As I walk along the lakeside path, the now familiar crunch of crushed shell and sand beneath my feet, feels welcoming.  Shortly after arriving at the lake, I stop and take the time to admire this little patch of nature that I have been exploring and documenting for the last five months.  Every time I arrive, I’m worried that I’ve run out of things to discover here…maybe I won’t have anything to photograph…and every time nature proves me wrong.  This time was no different and as I stood worrying, I looked around and an empty shell along the lake edge caught my eye.  It was then that I realized, for five months now I’ve stuck to the path and never explored more of the lake that I circle every month.  I’ve missed an entire element of this lovely area.  Today, I stepped off of the path and walked along the water’s edge.

It’s winter (yes, even a high of 82°F is still winter) and there is so much new life to discover here.  Tiny fish, delicate little lily pads and bright green shoots of the new water grasses and reeds peeking out of the sand.  I wish that my camera could capture the sparkles that dazzle and twinkle off of the water top as sunlight catches the small ripples moving along the water’s surface.

Some of you may remember my encounter with a snake back in October and it turns out that February offered another snake experience.  You can see (in the slideshow below) the tiny little guy tucked between the moss and grasses as he floats, patiently waiting for me to pass by before darting out of the lake and into the nearby grasses.

The snake wasn’t the only “wild life” that I encountered on this trip.  I caught a cat slinking along the lake edge, chasing butterflies and stalking small bugs.  He visited with me for a few minutes before walking to the path and going on his way.  I stayed by the water, where I continued to explore and find more shells, a feather floating in the water and bits of flora and fauna that I’d never noticed before.

Standing at the water’s edge, listening to the sounds of fish flopping in and out of the water, a bright sun overhead and a delicate breeze blowing through my hair…this is February.

[slideshow]