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.