Sand Pine in Blossom 12/15/12

Sand pines (Pinus clausa) in blossom, near our house in Cedar Key, December 15, 2012.

Fall Grapevines

Florida Grapes - this vine is growing on our fence in Cedar Key

Muscadines - this vine is growing less than a meter from the Florida grapes shown above.

Grapevines love it here in the scrub. Both species are vigorous growers, and it is difficult to say definitively which one is dominant. Perhaps muscadines grow better in moist woods.

Fall in Florida

Heavy frost yesterday morning and again overnight. 

And the hollies are dressing up the season. Yaupon above and dahoon below.

Fall Color, Florida Style

Bald Cypress

Woodbine

Winged Sumac

Sweetgum

Black Gum

Muscadine

We Are in Star Lake

Spaghetti and key lime pie with neighbors for our first night at the Lake. Can't beat that!

Windows open. Breeze blowing in for sleeping.

Sunshine and 70 degrees for our walk around the lake this morning. 4 miles and some hills.

Very nice start to our stay with one big negative...poor Jake seems to be having trouble recovering the strength in his back legs after such a long ride on the car.

Buttonbush

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) plants seem to be flowering abundantly this year, although until this one, I've had trouble getting a good photo of one.

Lots of Deer This Year

This photo, taken through the screen on our back porch, shows a doe and what appear to be twin fawns. At least one other doe, this with a single fawn, shows up with them sometimes. For the most part they are quite tame. Our dog pays them little heed, and they aren't intimidated by him. One possible reason they have been hanging out in our lawns is to get out of the woods and away from the mosquitoes, which have been very bad since Tropical Storm Debby.