To Santee National Wildlife Refuge...
Santee has lots of Spanish Moss on the trees....
This tree always reminds me of an elf tree..
I saw SO Many butterflies (Lepidoptera)...this year has given us such a bounty of these lovely insects. So I will try to ID theses ones for the record...
Variegated Fritillary
The Fields are chocked full of butterfly food, Goldenrod!
Long Tailed Skipper
Pearl Crescent
Gulf Fritillary on Bearded Begger-tick Sunflower
AND So many others that I did not photograph...
soooo many wildflowers...
White Heath Aster
The Field is alive with flower and insect.
Here is a Savannah Sparrow perched to hunt insects...lots of grasshopper around.
The Eastern Phoebe takes advantage of all the flying insects....
And two Palm Warblers were having a shouting match with a couple of Marsh Wrens, I could not get a shot of the wrens but I did catch the Palm Warbler.
These Lotus Plants are huge...the photos does not show the size, this leaf is at least
18 inches across! It's the size of a WOK.
And the seed pods are great in dried arrangements! If you want to wade out and pick it..
a Common Gallinule with a young one....
Saw only a couple of small alligators..
Pied Billed Grebe kept popping up on the surface then diving under again...
Last weekend I did more spruce up on my van, painted all the door handles and the top...it was hard and it did not come out looking like a professional job, but its an improvement of the peeling two-tone look it had going for it,....still need to paint the plastic on the mirrors and that will be my outside spruce up done..
That's about all I have this week....
This post is dedicated to the young buck whose life I was unable to save....I acknowledge your passing with my tears and my wish for peace to replace the pain that held your spirit for that half hour...I hope you know how much I cared for your living and I celebrate your right to live in peace. The way you died did not define who you were or what your time on this Earth was about. I knew you only 30 minutes but I will never forget the gentle being you were, what you were a part of, and the love for you will live on. You are forever in my heart.
10/19/2020
10/19/2020
I sincerely believe as long as you are in someone's memory you live on.
PEACE
Every day is a new Adventure.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteBeautiful scenes from your visit to the wildlife refuge. The flowers and butterflies are lovely. Nice variety of bird sightings. Your van looks nice. Take care! Take care, wishing you a happy day!
Hi Eileen....I had a very nice day, it was good to be out there among the plants and birds and insects...you can't drive to any of this unit you have to hike, so its up close and personal.
DeleteFantastic variety of butterflies! That place looks great for exploring. I'm not sure what the story is with the deer but I'm sorry to hear about it. I hit a deer with my car a few years ago and I still feel sad when I think of it. Oh! And your van is looking good!
ReplyDeleteThere was so many butterflies, I was in awe. I didn't hit the deer I don't know how it happened but I found him being mauled by 2 dogs...his leg was broken, and they had ripped him to pieces! So I ran the dogs off tried to comfort him and kept flagging people down till I found a man who was armed and he put the poor deer out of his misery...I called the game warden and cops but it took them more than 1/2 hr to respond. It was a horrible couple days for me...but I know he could not be saved.
DeleteSo many gorgeous flowers everywhere and OH the butterflies they are so beautiful in all their gracefull being. Sorry your day was mared by the poor deer that someone hit and just left to suffer. Some people really suck if that is what happened. And to boot the dogs off leash causing more pain and suffering.
ReplyDeleteHi Jo, I have had PTSD since my job in NY...I had to cut myself off to Zero emotions...NOW Im just the opposite. I suffer for days after I've witnessed a trauma. It just keeps popping into my mind, I try to block it out but that doesn't work. Writing helps me more than anything. The game warden and the deputy showed up at the same time about 5 mins after the man I flagged down shot the deer. They both seemed to think someone hit the deer and left it to die then the dogs found it. I did bury the deer I went home and got my shovel.
DeleteNice photos Sondra I find close ups difficult as I never seem to get the focus right. Autumn , Fall, is a lovely season , well they all are really. for me its just that period around February thats tedious as I cant wait for Spring. The van looks good and looks rust free. Your vehicles because they have much larger engines than here are much less stressed and go on for a long time.
ReplyDeletethat Killdeer is hard to spot. Take care.
Hi Dave, back in the late 70's and early 80's we all had small cars remember the gas shortage? I had a little 4 cylinder pick up truck I loved it..but it had no air conditioning...so I traded it for the Bronco II in 1984 My husband had a Plymouth Champ like this one..
Deletehttps://www.justacargeek.com/2019/03/1980-plymouth-champ-typical-1980s.html
And he used it as his horse shoeing car...he put all his tools at the back and it was like a tool box on wheels. BUT horse shoeing tools smell bad, so he built a little one wheel trailer to tow behind the champ. It was so cool I still have the frame of that trailer...it has one swivel wheel!
A great car especially with that type of gearbox. A one wheeled trailer that must have been something to see, do you have any pictures?
DeleteI may have some old photos of it...I will have to look thru...the frame is out Back of my shed I've never seen anything like it before!
DeleteI’m sorry about the deer. That is sad. .... Wonderful butterflies and perching birds and the Egret in the midst of a field of yellow flowers is kind of all my favorite things in one lovely photograph.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sallie, that day was a very hard day to get through...I know it's how nature works but I don't like it. The fall flowers have been amazing this year now they are coming to a close.
DeleteIt looks like a fantastic spot for all the wildlife, such a good variety, the Butterflies here are pretty much gone for the year now. I'm sorry to hear about the deer, it sounds horrific to have to deal with :/
ReplyDeleteWe had a wonderful supply of butterfly this fall...I think the mild fall has extended the flower bloom so more butterfly are out. The deer encounter was a hard pill to swallow...I guess I needed to learn some lesson but for the life of me what it was Im clueless about.
Delete