Limpkin

January 2019

After flying into Orlando on Saturday, before beginning the tour, I rented a car and drove across the state to the East Coast to Titusville for the 22^nd Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, before checking into my hotel.  Energized with meeting so many new like-minded birding enthusiasts, sharing stories, and visiting environmental organization’s crafted tables and vendors promoting an array of wildlife material had me psyched. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate and the birding tours I signed up for the following day were cancelled. 

In torrential rain I drove back to Orlando Airport on Sunday to return the rental car and then checked into the hotel in Orlando where ...

April 2018

Arriving in South Texas early, I stopped in San Antonio for a few days of sightseeing and Tex-Mex food, before my wildlife adventure in the lower Rio Grande Valley. This narrative is strictly devoted to birds, however difficult it was to select captivating photos out of over 900 captured digitally. My plan to focus on Life birds seen on the tour took a detour; there were too many favorites I couldn’t resist including. In another post the subject will center on all the unusual wildlife from the trip, many of which I had never seen before. 

The small group, Roberta and her husband Bill, picked me up at the hotel I was staying at in Mc Allen Sunday morning and we hit the ground running. Texas has over 600 species of ...

McCormack Lake, Plainsboro Preserve.

"Happier of happy though I be, like them

I cannot take possession of the sky,

Mount with a thoughtless impulse and wheel there

One of a mighty multitude, who his way

And motion is a harmony and dance

Magnificent..." -

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

Purple Finch and House Finch.

Birdwatching lifts the spirit during winter doldrums, a seemingly innocuous antidote. What could be more mellifluous to the ear than the symphony of birds singing? Volunteering at New Jersey Audubon's Plainsboro Preserve on weekends this past winter was both satisfying and gratifyingly. Surprisingly, it yielded dual rewards. Not only was meaningful data provided about birds for ......

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Delaware and Raritan Canal.

"There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart." ~Celia LaightonThaxter (1835-1894)

Delaware and Raritan Canal.

Open air beckoned with the call of superb sunny weather, greeted warmly after a rainy Spring. Endless outdoor activities filled my calendar - morning walks, gardening, harvesting organic produce in the farm fields, observing wildlife and a diversity of jaunts. The summer would not be complete without a trip to the Jersey Shore. Bracing for Fall, its invariably gratifying to pause and reflect on lingering memories before the next chapter.

                             &.........

Phlox.

"The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy."

- Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

Astilbe, Mountain Laurel and Spiderwort.

The longest day of year is behind us. Summer solstice, when earth's Northern Hemisphere tilts on its axis and faces the sun directly, signals the start of summer. While I'm more a winter person than a summer person, I love what summer offers - flowers, song birds, hummingbirds, butterflies, wildlife, just to name a few of my favorite things.

Anemone and Monarda.

Starting with the first warm day, the Butterfly Garden did not disappoint. Perennials that wintered-over transformed the drab .........

Pansies.

Like clockwork in mid-March, the salamanders begin their annual evening migration to their breeding grounds. The site these spotted salamanders have selected for reproduction is ideal for them to lay their eggs in; the pools shallow and safe from predators. Temperature and weather conditions just perfect, Beekman Road in East Brunswick is closed to vehicle traffic as these tiny amphibians come out of hibernation from their habitat in the woods and cross the road en masse to the vernal pools. One of these years I will get to witness this wonderful miracle of nature so close to home, still, to my chagrin, it eludes me every spring.  Note to self:  ‘Set reminder on iPhone’.   

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"Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." - Special Olympics Athlete Oath.

Volunteer T-Shirt.

What better way to spend a rainy March weekend than volunteering for Special Olympics New Jersey at the Spring Sports Festival Bowling, held at Brunswick Zone Bowling Alley in North Brunswick. Founded in 1968, Special Olympics provides training and athletic competition in a number of sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Volunteer Check-In.

As a member of the Volunteer Management Team, the day's challenges test our fortitude. Not quite set up for volunteer check-in, the volunteers start to arrive bright-eyed and cheery, as much as anyone can be .........

Early morning exercise fits my schedule, alternating daily between a gym workout and a brisk outdoor walk. While my community has a lengthy tree-lined walking path that affords ample scenes of nature and at times a myriad of wildlife sightings, I welcome a change of venue.

Pair of Tigers with Nassau Hall in background.

My favorite place to walk is the Princeton University campus, right in the heart of downtown Princeton. Founded in 1746, prior to the American Revolution, the main campus is situated on 500 acres, dotted with historic buildings of exquisite collegiate gothic architecture. Nassau Hall, the oldest building on campus, fell briefly to British soldiers during the Battle of Princeton, until reclaimed by George .........

The preservation of beauty in art, nature and wildlife is something I am very passionate about. Imagination and skill help shape ideals and feelings that are expressed in many creative ways. I hope to keep the beauty alive by awakening the senses and attempting to develop a keen awarenes of its many facets, through my on-line gallery and insights shared on the Blog.

Welcome!

I look forward to comments.

"Our task must be to free ourselves ... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty." - ALBERT EINSTEIN (1879-1955)