Tired Buck lies down at edge of meadow..... this buck was herding two does. Have not seen  a buck lie down during the rut, but this guy simply flopped down for 2-3min. for a quick rest. He was approx. 50 ft. from the house,being gun season starts in 5 days , and his carelessness, I don't expect to see him again!!!!

Size Between Buck and Doe....Photographed this buck and doe in the meadow, and realized the size difference between the two. The doe is approx. 1.5 yrs old, an not of breeding size, in fact the buck ran her off and went the other way. For several years now,I have noticed these yearling ? seem to be highly intrested in the big bucks.

Wild Turkey..Bugging & Seeding.......Had a flock of turkeys in the meadow this morning. They were mostly eating bugs, but I noticed this one stripping grass seed from a thin stalk. Somewhere, I read, that during this process, they create a vacuum ,so they don't drop any seeds. Video from approx. 100 yards

The Rut has Started.....Only see the big bucks, like this one , one time a year. This am the temp was about 38 degrees, a smaller buck was driving 6 does thru the meadow, when this guy showed up. Was in my studio when I saw him,opened the window quietly but he still heard me, came to investigate. Note  the buck keeps the grasses between him and the camera.

Great Blue Heron eyes it's lunch...... was at Shark Valley, Everglades National Park and this guy was catching toads and frogs. Near the visitors center ,but he didn't mind all the people, just hungry.

A Crowd at the Mineral block....... Usually each whitetail takes its turn at the block, a status order, however today the doe and fawns are all in the pit together. Doe is licking nose with tongue, after licking block, also look at the spots along the backbone of the nearest fawn, I guess the last spots to disappear.

Classic Whitetail in the Fall....The does are looking good this time of year, eating a lot of acorns, high in fats and protein . The herd size seems to be increasing in number, I assume because of the onset of winter and the rut.

Fungus in Deep Woods.......

Now that the winter wood is cut and split, I have time to look for photo opts. There is something about the deep woods in the morning or evening when the suns rays are highly angled,and uses an opening in the foliage as an aperture. Such is the Fungus photo, high key subject and almost completely dark edges with a few splashes of green.

 Fall -Yellow  Color is a favorite  of mine..... found this Fungus growing on a tree about 12 feet off the ground, at first, thought it was a wild canary hanging on the bark ( remember my eyes have been used hard for 76 yrs.) Don't know much about fungus, except most are brightly colored.  Moss Rose (bottom photo) is what I call a happy flower, just pleasant to look at.

VELVET SHEDDING AT LAST....
About 2 days ago this buck just began to shed velvet , usually that occurs 3 rd. week of August. Time and date on camera incorrect. Bodies are filling out nicely, good acorn crop.

Whitetail antler growth (GOOD) It seems the bucks, at least, in my area will have good racks this year. I would like to think it is from the new mineral block, however the heavy rains in the spring, made for lush foliage ( IE. A super food supply). About the 15 to 25 of August the velvet will be shed. Antlers will be polished for about a month to 6 weeks,they start putting on fat for winter and the rut( acorns & other nuts) Rut usually starts around November 8-12. I think all the photos are of 4 different bucks

Whitetail ( angle- rack) just started to photograph around the clock because have had very few visual sightings recently. I like to find some visual identity to follow each deer up into the rutting season. This one has angular growth pattern of the antlers. I will now start to plot the frequency at the block to the estimated distant of travel. ie, if he is at the block two times a day I will assume the travel is an estimated range of only several miles. If I see him only once a week the range would be considerable more.

Daylily " A Rainbow of Color" Saw this lily fore lit by sun, behind it a lemon color lily, used a fill flash to
give some snap. Asa 100, f4.0,1/160 sec. 400 mm(35mm equiv.)
Leica DC Vario-Elmart lens.

Colorful Happy Flowers......pinks, Dianthus,miniature Carnations, I guess people call them by many names , but when I look at them, they make me happy ( at least happier).

Rose of Sharon-Bumble-Bee Relationship....... Rose of Sharon started to bloom this week, covered with bees looking for pollen. I followed this bee to 8 different blooms,before it found one that it liked (as least one that the camera could focus on). Photo shot against the cloudy sky using a fill flash, -1 stop, making for a high key background

Whitetail talk it over at the block.......I like to observe body language of animals, have seen, stiff leg walks, head lowering,front leg striking and plain aggression , but this small buck seems to be chewing -out the big guy. The big guy turns his head to say," I'm not even going to look at you". Well, maybe I've been a Naturalist to long!!!!!!

Whitetail buck is developing a nice set of antlers. Last year, the antlers were irregular but so far this year the growths seen very even. Have changed to a special mineral block and it may have helped. The bucks visit the block several times a day. Note the hole in the ground, deer have eaten the salt- rich soil over the past 25 years or so.

Cecropia Moth ?........Found this moth drying out on side of a house. Photographed from many angles, this angle shows the wing marking to be a pair of fish- like looking markings. Most moths seem to have odd creature like marking for protection. Also, most have a bad taste to birds ,according to the experts. Moth was approx. 6 inches long.

L

Southeastern Indiana deer antler growth.....Last year ,the deer I photographed had a lot of antler deformation, so I changed to a BIG 6 MINERAL BLOCK (North American Salt Co.) and the feeding pattern has increase 3 times, around the clock. Salt block is monitored by a remote camera. Block contains Salt,Manganese,Iron,Copper,Zinc,Iodine and Cobalt. It will be interesting to see how the antler growth progresses this year. Some articles indicates the antler are at least 70% minerals.

GREY SQUIRREL Family.... Have a large White Ash tree outside my,second story, studio window and have watched and filmed a family of squirrels for several days. They play in the tree, chase each other but this day all ended up on a stub branch about 8 inches long ,18 feet high. A long way down, even for squirrels. Photo is a video capture.

WHITETAIL Deer..Antlers starting to grow.....Photo taken 5 days ago. Antler starts seem to be somewhat early this year. Note the shaggy look to the coats, shedding the winter fur. The hole in the ground is the result of placing salt blocks on the ground,with rain, the salt leaches into the ground and deer eat the soil. this hole is 18 inches deep by 15 ft. long. A result of 20 years worth of providing salt. This time of year ,they visit the salt lick 3 to 4 times a day .

Brown Pelican..taking off or

landing ....... I love to photograph Pelicans either landing, taking off, sailing and diving. There is a large water hole, formed by high tides along Ft. Myers Beach, Fl which has several pelicans and other water birds. This one came in to feed and I think was taking off,note the water splash behind the feet, they usually run across the water to gain speed to become airborne. Any way I like the shot. 400mm,1/400 sec. f6.3 ,-1 step bias,spot metering and a lot of luck

Early Wildflowers in Southeastern Indiana.......My grandson took me to see recently purchased property , this Sunday. A nice tract of rugged land with a large creek, waterfalls, clay banks, big rocks, and a very steep hillside. After falling into the creek, stumbling over rocks and forcing my old legs to do things they didn't want to do, after about 2 hours ,it became the most enjoyable afternoon I've had in sometime. On the hillside , I found various wildflowers that I usually go to the Smoky Mountains to see . Photos are of PURPLE TRILLIUM ( top) and DUTCHMAN'S-BREECHES which seems to be rather rare, but this hillside had an abundance of them. What a find!!!!! also several Triullum,Squirrel corn,Spring Beauty, Ramp and wild Phlox.Creek has a find of good fossils. About 20 miles from where I live and 200 ft. lower but much earlier.

Whitetail deer grazing in meadow....Unusual to see grazing deer, all with the heads down. One is always watching. Photo taken by the remote wildlife camera. The new green grass sprouts are very attractive.

Back-lit Night Blooming Cereus....Had this plant for 40 + years, about 5 ft. tall and I trim about 4 ft. off per year. A native of the Sonoran desert in North America. The bud starts to open about dusk, the photo taken at 10:45 pm,by 9:00am the next morning its wilted. Bloom is approx. 10 inches in dia. Note the moth attracted by the sweet smell. Smell is produced in bursts,very sweet.

Sandhill Cranes near Tavares,Florida. These sandhills were feeding in the pasture of a large cattle ranch. This the 3rd year I have photographed them, after doing some research, it seems they might not be migrating bird but a sub-species called Florida Sandhills. The article indicates the population is around 5000 and threatened by "habitat destruction" thus listed as ESA Endangered (protected by State & Federal laws). Florida Sandhills do not migrate.

Whitetail Deer winter well......

Usually the deer in our area are very thin in the spring,however this year they look good. Even though we live in a developed area ,there are large pockets of natural terrain.

Wild Turkeys in the Meadow ....... Photographed these 12 hens and 3 gobblers this morning,have not seen this many at one time ,this mating season. Weather was cool (37 F) with a 15 mph wind.

Common Morpho (left ) and Owl Butterfly (right) eating on fermented fruit. Both native of central and south america. Photographed these at Butterfly World in South-Eastern Florida

Snowy Egret watches Gator........Visited Shark Valley, Everglades, was photographing the gator and the egret was working the waterway searching for food, had to move between me and the gator,about a 10 feet passage. Egret did take the chance of becoming food and flew.

Micrograph of Florida sea shell.......Took sand samples from Fort Myers beach, washed and sieved them to obtain small shells . This one looked like a spiral , but under the digital microscope look different. Photomicrograph approx. 15x