These white flowers were poking out of some scraggly brush on the walk around the old rice field at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.
Perhaps a Camelia variety, they were the only flowers I saw in this mile and a quarter (2 KM) stretch on December 10.
The blooms were a little raggedy looking, but attracted a steady flow of bees and other small insects.
They were making the most of the situation on a 70 degree F (21 C) morning.
A snippet of nature that made me pause as I wandered the edge of a pond.
The middle of the pond was already in the shade at 3 in the afternoon. The left bank is lined with tall pine trees. I thought the Great Blue Heron would fly towards me to get a sunny spot, but he thought different.
December 5, 2020
Stabbed by a pine needle
This rather large fungus looks a bit like a pie…or my mind is still on Thanksgiving.
I had a narrow gap view of this Eastern Phoebe perched on a cattail at the edge of a small pond.
I waited for a clear shot as the tall grasses and hanging Spanish Moss waved around in a slight breeze.
The breeze was agitating the water, too, giving interesting ripple patterns in the background.
Welcome!
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.
Long-tailed Skipper Butterfly was one of at least five butterfly species I saw on November 13 at Donnelley Wildlife Management Area.
All in, these smaller butterflies took full advantage of the tubular Morning Glory blossoms.
There was some competition, including a number of bees as the morning warmed up.
Also seen November 13, 2020
A beautiful Snowy Egret zipped by me with a nice background of fall looking grasses.
Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly was one of at least five butterfly species I saw on November 13 at Donnelley Wildlife Management Area.
There were actually dozens of them along the road, zipping in and out of the Morning Glories.
Zoom in on this last image and you’ll see some sort of a multi-segmented insect between the two Morning Glory blooms that I did not see at the time.
Also seen November 13, 2020
