Second Spring

This is the time of year that I like to call Second Spring. While it's fall for most everyone else, it feels much like Spring for us. It's a time when the temperatures finally drop, we can open up the house and enjoy the cool breeze after having been cooped up in the air conditioning all summer.


The butterflies are everywhere. It's been a butterfly orgy.


Many interesting bugs. Here's a whole family, from Big Daddy all the way down to the littlest ones.


We found lots of snake skins in the flower beds. I think this guy lives there.


The hawks are out in numbers calling back and forth.


A pair of butterflies nicely lined up for me.


 We have many less water birds hanging around because now we have much less water. This is a green heron, or maybe it's a bittern.


 The mocking birds are out in force, noisy little fellows.


Still plenty of dragonflies, too.


The rainy season is over, the land has dried up and we are busy doing loads of yard work. That also means new planting. I had to literally tear apart many of our flower beds, weed them out trying to figure out what was weed and what was real plants. I added new flowers here and there, too.


So, we are enjoying much more time outdoors. 
(Where's Waldo? I think I know!)



Dry Land (Do spiders have knees?)


We're back to a bit of dry land, just enough that I've been out with my camera again.

This is a really nice time of year here in SW Florida. The temperatures have dropped, the rains have slacked off and there's a cool breeze making it a wonderful time to sit outdoors and enjoy the sights.

Like this dragon fly...

And a collection of clumpy clouds in the sky...

A butterfly and a leaf...
They're both a little chewed up.

This spider has feathers on his knees. Weird!
(Also, he has lots of knees...)

 The bright green ones are my favorite.

 Big old moon sitting out there in broad daylight.

Busy, busy, busy...

Beautiful eyes...

Anyone know what kind of plant this is? I "acquired" it somewhere, somehow and I've been wondering how it propagates: flowers, seeds, babies? It's a succulent of some sort.

AHA! Small flower like seeds. They look like tiny rosettes.

 Here they are with the frog. (That's how I found them, the frog showed them to me.)

 A little scissor action! Ha!

 Sun rays...

 The duck on the right has no HEAD?!

Glossy...

I think the rainy season is officially over. The only thing to worry about now is if we get hit by the rainy side of a hurricane. One more month.... otherwise we are drying up quite nicely. Mike was able to mow 90% of the yard, the back pond area being still under water. The big pond is all but an 'nth of being back in it's banks and of course it's still muddy, soggy in most places. We're getting there. Now I have to go to work to see what plants and trees are going to make it and discover all the new stuff that's been under water for the last 3 months. 

Have a great day!