Rusty Blackhaw

This little tree is called rusty blackhaw (Viburnum rufidulum). It has dark, shiny green leaves. How puzzling, I thought. Nothing about is looks rusty, and how did it ever get that name?

Problem solved? The photo was taken early March here in Florida, and perhaps it is the new spring foliage that gives it its name. That's possible, although some accounts mention brilliant red fall coloration.

Signs of Spring - February 11, 2013

Yellow Jessamine

American Hop Hornbeam, just leafing out

Shiny Blueberry

Muscadine Grape

Slash Pine in Blossom - Cedar Key 1/11/13

Having cars covered in pine pollen is not something we normally associate with early-mid January.

Fall and Winter

Here's a Florida maple in its colorful phase, photo made today, January 3, 2013.

We saw our first robins yesterday, so it must be winter somewhere.

Spring Peepers

Last night a cold front was approaching, and we heard peepers calling in the back yard. They begin calling in December in most years, and 2012 will be no exception. 

The photo was taken near our home in Gainesville on September 4, 2012.

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.