This scene reminded me of a museum diorama, almost made up with the variety of occupants.
Tree Diorama
Category Archives: Nature
Alligator Crossing
A fellow photographer motioned to me that there was something down over the bank. That motioning wasn’t at all specific, nor alarmed. I was hoping for a Barred Owl, which we had heard earlier.
No, it was a pretty big Alligator on the move.
I backed up, and more and more Gator came through the underbrush.
With my 100-400MM lens at 100MM I could not get the entire beast in my frame.
As expected the Alligator went straight across the road and dropped into the pond.
I found out later was that this is a mama Alligator and she had been seen moving young hatchlings into the pond.
Little Blue Heron
A Little Blue Heron perched above the pond on an on an outstretched branch that shows signs of spring.
Pancake Fungus
I was hungry when I saw this fungus sprouting off a tree trunk: all I could think of was pancakes.
From the other side and a bit higher up, imagine a drizzle of amber colored maple syrup as you ponder the pine needle stabbing the biggest cake.
Ornaments by Nature
Dangling from a slim tree branch a wasp nest adds to the decoration of this pond-side tree.
A closer look shows that there is not much supporting the nest. I didn’t see any buzzing activity and don’t know if wasps spend the winter in these nests or hunker in more weather resistant homes.
Stabbed
Stabbed by a pine needle
This rather large fungus looks a bit like a pie…or my mind is still on Thanksgiving.
Path To My Door
Welcome!
Mushrooms Beneath the Pines
The large cap of this dark mushroom caught my eye as I crossed a large lawn under a stand of pine trees.
The cluster of smaller, overlapping mushrooms behind it was pretty interesting, too.
Taken from above, the cluster looked like buttons, although these don’t look like the button mushrooms sold at the grocery store.
Flowing Fungus
From a distance it looked like something man-made, maybe a piece of trash stuck in the tree trunk by a human.
Fortunately it turned out to be nature-made.
And quite bizarre looking, sort of like a lava flow.
A close up view of the strands:
GBH Hiding In The Tall Grass
Doing what Great Blue Herons do, stand and watch.
The view has opened as the canal-side grasses are turning brown and some recent heavy rain has knocked some down. He wasn’t as hidden as he would have been a month ago in this spot.
