My parents down for a visit

March was a busy month for Sarah and I, with a visit from our friends Kate and Nate, a brief but enjoyable trip to TX, and ending with my parents coming down from MN. We had pretty nice weather while my parents were down, in contrast to the messy late winter weather that makes Minnesotans long for Spring.

Visits to the beach were key.



A Portuguese Man O' War washed up on the beach was an unexpected find. The color makes them quite beautiful.



My dad and I got out to do some poking around, and he spotted this Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake...


...as well as these two male Longnose Gar competing for good spawning position alongside the big female.



We hit some of the local restaurants that we like, including McGuire's Irish pub and restaurant. The money stapled all over the ceiling is somewhat tacky, but they really do have great food and at least one good beer that they make on site. We also enjoy the live Irish music they have there.



We kept busy, but some good rest is always key.



No photos to show for this, but we had bottlenose dolphins right outside our apartment just about every day my parents were here. One day, they put on a real show, with lots of fish-catching, jumping way out of the water, and playing with each other. Until a hurricane knocks our place down, I can say 'I'm glad we live next to the water.'

Flatwoods Salamander larvae

I recently had the opportunity to do some dip-netting for larval Flatwoods Salamanders (Ambystoma bishopi) with amphibian folks that I work with. I didn't catch any, but they caught a total of four. This species appears to have a precarious existance with only a relatively few small populations still in existance. If I'm really lucky, maybe some day I'll get to see an adult.



This salamander was also caught. I believe it is a larval Dwarf Salamander (Eurycea quadradigitata).

Some other things I've gotten to see in the past few days include this Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)...

a few Southeastern Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon grobmani)
adult:

another adult secreting "slime" that can be seen especially on tail when photo is blown up

juvenile with more densely marked gold flecking than older individuals

...and many Southern Toads (Bufo terrestris), which I like even if they're common.

The dark side of the moon.

These pictures are from the lunar eclipse we watched about a week ago. We had lots of patches of crystal clear skies, so it was a great night for viewing.



The bright spot down and to the left of the moon is Saturn. We were able to see the rings through our spotting scope. According to Kelly, the bright spot directly above the moon is Regulus from the constellation Leo.

Ben Stein

I recently had the pleasure (and luxury of time) of hearing a talk that Ben Stein (famous as boring teacher from Ferris Bueller's Day Off) gave to the California Commonwealth Club (I know nothing about that club beyond the assumption that it's strongly affiliated with the state of California). I usually like or dislike what I hear on NPR to varying degrees. However, in this case, I felt strongly positive enough about what Mr. Stein had to say that I want to give you a chance to hear it too. The link below should allow you to watch and hear his talk. I thought it was insightful, optimistic, and at times profound. The only downside is that it's an hour long. I found it to be well worth the time. If you spend the time and find it to be a waste of an hour, I guess I owe you a beer (maybe two if you're really bitter).

Ben Stein on How Not to Ruin Your Life at the California Commonwealth Club.

Once

This movie isn't exciting or suspenseful. It isn't manufactured or slick. It isn't formulaic or predictable.

It's simple. It's slow. And it's beautiful.

My first prescribed fire

This week, I finally got to go out and participate in an 1,100 acre prescribed fire. I spent the first half of the day learning about playing the role of Red-cockaded Woodpecker biologist on the burn, which basically entails protecting good woodpecker cavity trees from getting torched. During the second half, I got to drive lines through the woods on an ATV with a huge drip torch type thing squirting fire out the back. All in all, I liked it and want to do more.

Eastern Coral Snake

An unexpected treat in early January (I still forget that I'm in the deep south), I got to see my first Eastern Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius) at work. Stuff like that really makes my day.



Some of the coral snake mimics have similar red/yellow/black bands seen from above, but those patterns are often broken on the belly. Here, you can see how the bands continue on the belly.


Not the best photo, but it does show some of the beauty of the snake's color and form.

Home for the holidays

We had a great time spending a white Christmas in Minnesota with Kelly's family this year. The chill in the air and snow on the ground only added to our holiday cheer. (In our opinion, 'tis NEVER the season for Christmas lights on palm trees.)










We got to meet our new niece Rowan for the first time! She's a cutie!



Out for coffee on Christmas Day, with Mary, Grandma Jones, and Kevin. Yum!



The Como Park Conservatory had a beautiful poinsettia display on Christmas. We also wandered through their other exhibits, including a jungle where we got to watch a sloth sloooowwwwly changing position:






The day after Christmas, Kelly and I went up north for a little birding. The highlight: Two Great Gray Owls and a flock of Bohemian Waxwings. We got to watch one of the owls hunt mice through the snow--it would listen for them, then swoop down on it, sticking its head and talons into the snow, with only its wings and tail sticking out. These owls are more than two feet tall--the largest owl in North America. (Kelly likes to point out that in one year's time we saw both the smallest and largest North American owls.) Check out it's wingspan as it flies from perch to perch:





Kevin goes for a spare. Nice shoes.

A place to call home.

We've had some requests for pictures of our apartment, so we thought we'd indulge. It's a teeny little place, but it's affordable and we've really grown to love it--especially being so near the water. We hope these photos give you a good idea of what it's like, inside and out. And we hope as many of you can see it in person as possible. Until then...enjoy!

First things first...Our "water view."


We know, it's just a sliver, but it's still nice to walk out our front door, or look through our bedroom window and see the sunlight sparkling on the water. This is actually the Choctawhatchee Bay, not the Gulf.


This little inlet from the bay is on the East side of our apartment. The picture is taken from our balcony. (We commonly see Belted Kingfishers, Osprey, Common Loons, Horned Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, Laughing Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, and Brown Pelicans in this inlet-KJ)


This is our living room. The bookshelves along the wall were here when we moved in...we supplied the books! :) (And Christmas lights!)


The reading nook.


Looking at the dining area from the living area. We have a vaulted ceiling with a skylight, which is pretty cool, although you can't see it in this picture. We recently re-upholstered the dining chairs, and we were super happy to find a rug that matched the new colors perfectly!


Our teeny tiny little kitchen. One nice thing, which you can't see from this photo, is that the right side of the kitchen opens into the living area, so it's easy to be working in the kitchen and conversing with people in the living room.


It wouldn't be Florida without beautiful sunsets. This series of photos was taken in a half-hour time span on the bay just out from our apartment.

Winter breeders in pine flatwoods

Last night, I spent a few hours in some flatwoods ponds after a much needed day of rain. I was pleasantly surprised to find eight herp species, with five that were actively calling. The two frog species below were new species for me.


Ornate Chorus Frog (in brown phase; this was the only Ornate Chorus Frog I heard all night, and it took a long time to track him down)



Southern Chorus Frog (Pseudacris nigrita)



Cottonmouth (out of water on a cool night made this a pretty docile snake)