Yesterday I watched a yellow and black argiope spider (writing spider, aka Charlotte from Charlotte's Web) wrap up prey on a windy afternoon.
Argiope spiders spin HUGE webs and this beautiful arachnid is no exception. It's shimmery web stretches from a corner of our house to a white cast iron chair with a distinctive zigzag pattern in its center.
With a web stretching between the roof, wall and left cast iron chair, the female argiope spider rests upside down in the web's center.
While over the years I've watched argiopes catch many different kinds of insects, I have rarely observed them shrouding their prey as efficiently and quickly as this lovely lady wrapped up her prey.
Another yellow and black argiope with a butterfly catch
Below are three short videos of our most recent resident arachnid as she wrapped up her catch in a shroud of white fibers.
I almost always find something unexpected on my early morning beachside bike rides. Often those finds include interesting wildlife, plants or washed ashore items. But recently, over a two-day period, my beachcombing finds involved Gainesville artist Peter J. Carolin participating in the 7th annual New Smyrna Beach Paint Out.
Artist blending colors with gloved hands
Much to my delight and fascination, Peter set up his extensive outdoor studio in front of SeaWoods, a stretch of beach midway between my usual starting and finishing points.
Quite a lot of gear to tote to and from the beach
On both mornings, I paused in my morning ride to say hello and ask if I could take pictures, which Peter graciously permitted.
Peter didn't seem to mind all my questions and picture taking
I'm glad he did, because not only did I enjoy watching him work, but found myself especially intrigued by his cleverly constructed work station made from repurposed items like old ironing boards, aluminum crutches and clothes hangers. Ingenious use of castaway stuff!
Arranging his ironing board table in front of swiveling paint shelves made from crutches, clothes hangers, old glass medicine shelves and 2x4s
Below is a short YouTube video of artist Peter J. Carolin from photos taking during early morning beachside bike rides on October 11 and 12, 2017
The creaking and screeching sounds from this untrimmed, mature clump of Bambus oldhamii would be the perfect accompaniment to a midnight visit to a haunted house.
I was in the kitchen working on my second cup of coffee when I heard my husband shout to me from the hallway on the west side of our house.
"Come quick! And bring your camera!"
Not one to miss what I assumed would be a wildlife encounter since Ralph was calling from the room leading to his vegetable garden, I wasted no time heeding his command.
I'm glad I did because a large, colorful yellow and black argiope spider (Argiope aurantia) had woven an incredibly broad and beautiful web across our house's western exit.
From where we both stood looking out through the door's 9-pane windows, Mama Argiope's 2-inch long body hung upside down smack in the middle of its web's distinctive zigzagging center.
Ralph reaches through the partially open door to stick his hand behind a large and lovely lady spider
The black and yellow argiope is a species of orb weaving spider also known as a yellow garden spider, golden garden spider or writing spider, but it can also be called 'Charlotte,' because the spider in E.B.White's classic children's book, Charlotte's Web, was an Argiope aurantia.
Charlotte the spider's message written in her web
Although quite harmful to insects - argiope spiders dine on whatever flying insect unwittingly becomes entangled in its sticky web - orb weavers present no danger to people. Quite the opposite. Argiopes are a gardener's friend because their diet often contains pests that would otherwise damage plants.
Unfortunately, that positive attribute isn't enough to dispel its unpopularity. Although Ralph and I appreciate spiders, most people don't. As Wilbur the pig demonstrates in the dialog below, despite his friend's beneficial contributions to society, Wilbur finds its eating habits less than endearing:
Charlotte: Do you realize that if I didn't eat them, bugs would get so numerous, they'd destroy the earth? Spiders are really very useful creatures.
As Ralph and I stood inside looking out, it dawned on me that the only way to get into the garden without damaging the spider's web was to duck down and scoot under it, which I promptly did.
From the outside looking in through the open door
Once outside, I noticed that the female argiope was not alone. Curled up in an upper corner of the web was a male argiope, much smaller than the female, as male spiders tend to be.
Ralph points to the male argiope all curled up and waiting for an opportunity to mate
Like their human counterparts, male web weavers spend much of their life in search of a partner with whom to mate. When they finally find a female of their species, they build themselves a tiny web in a corner of the female's web and try to entice her with music made by plucking the web's glittering strands. Each vibrating pluck of the strings sends a message that the male hopes will entice the female spider to engage in a bit of amorous action. However, unfortunately for the male, there's no happy ending. Once coitus is achieved, the male spider dies and will likely be consumed by its so-called partner.
Spider - man
Below is a video I took of the spider - of both spiders - in the web outside the hallway door leading to Ralph's vegetable garden.
Read more stories about Argiope spiders by clicking on these links
Ralph and I arrived at New Smyrna Beach yesterday afternoon and I couldn't wait for morning to get back on my bike, ride down to the ocean and watch the sunrise.
This is the view that greeted me as I biked onto the hard-packed, rain-soaked sand this morning shortly before sunrise, just after high tide. Dark, heavy clouds hung low over the water but in the distance, a strip of brightness lit up the horizon like a brazen flare.
Heavy, dark clouds, and yet there was light...
As I biked south, streaks of pink light streamed across the still-dark sky.
Looking southward instead of east, I inhaled morning calmness along with the view. Few people were out and a slight breeze kept the sand fleas away as long as I kept moving.
More pink light filtering through the cloud cover hinting of illumination soon to come. While I usually focus on the ocean view or north-south vistas as I bike along, this morning I paid attention to the westerly sky where random clouds received a dash of color.
A spot of light in the western sky
When I reached the stairway at Watts, I stopped to juggle but once I stopped moving, the sand fleas or no-see-ums zeroed in on my body, forcing me to cut short my morning stretches and juggling practice and run down into the ocean to take a quick dip in the warm and soothing brine.
Before heading back to my sleepy husband, I paused to write a few messages in the sand.
We all have a choice...
My sunrise beachside bike ride always gives me hope...
Before arriving back at 27th Avenue, I stopped to take a video of two cormorants in the shallow water. Cormorants are not birds I normally associate with the beach. I see snowy egrets (like the one in the video) all the time as well as willets, pelicans, plovers, gulls, terns and great blue herons. But this morning was the first time I noticed a pair of cormorants - birds I normally see at our Groveland lake - in the ocean. As I watched them in the water, I couldn't help but wonder if they were frolicking or feeding. Most likely, the latter, but maybe (I like to think maybe) just a bit of both?
By the time I left the cormorants, the sky was much brighter than it had been when I started out. I was now almost back to where I began with just a couple more images to capture before leaving.
Looking north toward 27th Ave Beach
Despite it being a Saturday morning on Labor Day weekend with dense cloud cover starting to give way to speckled light, few people were out on the sand. That won't be the case in a couple hours when this same stretch of beach will be blanketed with beach-goers on holiday.
A lone seagull perched upon a pier
Gulls may be noisy, greedy, unpopular birds but I never tire of seeing them, especially when they stand on a pier surveying a domain that's as much (maybe more...) theirs than ours.
Watching that gull on a still-quiet morning on what soon will be an extremely busy beach day, reminded me that the world belongs to us all - the large and the small, the winged, wingless, clawed, scaled, finned, furred and feathered.
It's ours to protect, not to neglect. It's ours to preserve, not to destroy. It's ours and, hopefully, it's their world too, for as long as we share and take care for its many wonders.
I've always thought of myself as a lake person more than a beach nut. Yet, over the past few years, my fascination and enjoyment of time spent by the ocean has grown immensely.
I look forward to the time Ralph and I spend in New Smyrna Beach with eager anticipation. I love my early morning bike rides, combing the beach for treasures - and I always find something - new birds, crustaceans, plants and animals to discover, learn about and appreciate. Together, they add up to complete joy and excitement.
This morning, as I try to do whenever we're at the beach (and we're here more and more often each month) I got up early, made myself a to-go mug of hot, buttered coffee, packed my juggling clubs, camera and towel into my improvised bike carryall and pedaled off to the ocean to catch the morning light.
This was my view when I got there
A sight worth getting up early for
The sun was hidden behind a bank of low-lying clouds but rays of light appeared nonetheless. I'm always encouraged by old Sol's ability to penetrate even the darkest sky. Inspiring determination!
It was almost dead low tide, which meant there was a flat, expansive stretch of hard sand - perfect for riding on with my three-wheel recumbent. Waves were gentle, almost non-existent. I rode steadily along anticipating a relaxing swim once I'd pedaled a couple miles.
A shadow-selfie of me in my fun cycle
Once I was south of Hiles, I stop biking, sipped some coffee - still hot! - and took out my clubs. My club juggling has definitely improved thanks to these early morning practice sessions on the beach. There's something about juggling on the beach that I really love. Especially at sunrise when the only ones to see me make mistakes are a few uninterested snowy egrets, pelicans, royal terns and the occasional walker, biker or beachside jogger.
The birds don't seem to mind if I drop clubs while practicing my juggling
After juggling for a bit - got up to 50 throws this morning - I went for a swim. The water was absolutely perfect! Warm and gentle and delightfully salty. I almost hated to get out. But I did and I'm glad I did because if I hadn't, I might have missed seeing the hermit crab crawling across the sand inside the biggest moonsnail shell I've ever seen!
Below are two short videos of the moonsnail-occupied hermit crab making its way across the sand:
When it comes to shelling, New Smyrna Beach is no Sanibel Island. Sure (shore?) there are a few shells here and there but usually none of them are anything special. But sometimes - maybe because of the tide or weather - many kinds of pretty shells wash ashore. That's what happened this morning.
A few of my morning finds
Thanks to all the shells I kept spotting from my low-riding recumbent (a perfect bike for shell-spotting) it took me much longer than usual to make it back home to Ralph. Usually he joins me but this morning he needed a little extra time to rest before starting the day. But that's okay. We'll have another chance tomorrow and if there's one thing I've learned about being at the beach it's that everyday there's something new to discover at the ocean. Can't wait to seer what the next day will bring!
Scroll down to watch video of a downy woodpecker eating insects on bamboo
Poisonous sprays aren't the only way to prevent small sucking insects like mealybug, aphids and scale from damaging plants. Birds can eliminate insect infestations too.
As long as plants are not treated with noxious chemicals, birds like this female downy woodpecker will take care of plant-bothering bugs for you.
Female downy woodpecker feeding on miniscule insects
Mealybug, aphids and scale all excrete a sticky substance called honeydew that quickly becomes infected with the sooty mold fungus. Insect-eating birds like woodpeckers are attracted to this ready supply of food and will consume.
In the video below, watch how diligently this female downy woodpecker circles the stalk in order to devour as many tiny bugs as possible on this young shoot of Blue Timber (Bambusa chungii) Clumping Bamboo.
Since bamboo is such a fast-growing plant, it's able to outgrow any insect problem. Nonetheless, some people still insist upon using chemical controls. While there are products recommended for sooty mold, I prefer to let woodpeckers have at it. What about you?
A young planting of Mexican Flamevine, Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides, has been attracting so many butterflies to our yard lately.
Zebra Longwing, the official state butterfly of Florida, sips nectar from a Mexican Flamevine flower
The vine, in the same family as daisies, Asteraceae, is native to Mexico, Central America and the West Indies. My plant came from small cuttings my daughter and I snipped off about a year ago from a sprawling stand of Mexican Flamevine growing along Lake Minneola.
Yikes!
Quite the climber!
Since my garden history includes many times when my love of vines has outweighed common sense, I was understandably conflicted about adding yet another potentially overly-aggressive plant to our landscape. I knew Mexican Flamevine would be an attractive addition to the yard if I could only figure out the right place to put it. I also knew that due to my lazy nature, no matter where it was planted, it would probably get out of control. Hmm...what to do?
Amber looking rather pleased with our find
My 'must-have-another-vine' me was the winner. Unable to resist the incredible color of the plant's bright, daisy-like flowers, I took home a few cuttings, stuck them in some of Ralph's potting soil, placed them in a shady spot where they'd be watered regularly and then basically forgot about them.
What a color!!
It turned out that one of my cuttings survived. Unfortunately, I didn't realize it at the time because I foolishly neglected to label it. (Remember what I said about me being lazy?) So a few months ago, when I decided to install a potted Beach Sunflower (Helianthus debilis) - another rooted cutting that was growing without a name tag - in the sandy soil next to our trampoline, I mistakenly planted my rooted cutting of Mexican Flamevine instead.
Oops! Took the wrong plant
By the time I realized my mistake, the Mexican Flamevine had begun to thrive. It had extended new stems and leaves and multiple flowers had begun to bloom. From the kitchen window, I look right at it. While washing dishes or working on the counter my eyes are constantly drawn to the brilliant orange blooms.
Apparently, I'm not the only caught up in the plant's allure. Butterflies aplenty have been coming to visit! The Gulf Fritillary and Zebra Longwing have been the most frequent visitors so far but other flutterers, bees and pollinators check it out as well.
Here's a short video I made of several Gulf Fritillary butterflies fluttering around the bold blooms on a hot summer afternoon.
How many can you find?
I don't know yet where my Mexican Flamevine will end up, but I doubt if it will stay in the place where it's currently growing. I only hope that at some point I'll figure out an appropriate spot for it to go. Somewhere where it can thrive without growing out of control. Somewhere where I can see it often and enjoy the show. Somewhere that will make us all happy - plant, pollinators and lazy gardener me.
This week at the beach has been the perfect mix of productivity and playfulness. In addition to getting much weeding, clearing and planting done at our property, meeting with workmen and dealing with design changes, Ralph and I managed to get ourselves up and on our bikes everyday but one and this morning, when Ralph needed a little extra sleep-in time so I went out alone.
I don't mind solo rides. As much as I enjoy our rides together, there's a special pleasure in being on my own. This morning, instead of biking along the beach from 27th Ave. to Hiles as we usually do, I took Saxon south. It was early. No cars at all. It only took about 10 minutes to bike to the beach. By then, the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon but low-lying clouds blocked it from view. I decided to take a right and bike south. It was dead low tide. Perfect for beachside cycling.
Sun hidden behind clouds
There was little wind to keep sand fleas away. They didn't bother me when I was moving but when I stopped to take pictures the tiny bugs became annoying.
Too many sand fleas hovering about to stay still for long
A quick dip in the surf solved the sand flea problem. Not only was the water delicious but by the time I came out, the sun had risen above the cloud cover.
My post-swim attempt at a selfie with the sun
The rising sun wasn't all I saw as I biked north along the shoreline. Part way back to 27th Ave., I came upon a cool crab.
Smaller, redder and with a more rounded shell than a ghost crab
Hard to be crabby on such a sunshiny morn
My knowledge of crustaceans is limited but expanding. The more time we spend at NSB, the more fun I have learning about unfamiliar critters and plants, including many different kinds of crabs. The one I saw this morning didn't look at all like the ghost crabs I usually see on the beach.
Ghost crab looking...crabby
A little farther along, I stopped for a second swim then pedalled until I came upon a fellow who had just caught a fish. He seemed so proud of his catch even though the fish was quite tiny indeed.
Proud fisherman
A few minutes before arriving at 27th Ave., the shell of a small horseshoe crab caught my eye so I picked it up and took a couple shots before returning it to the waves.
Even an abandoned horseshoe crab is fascinating
Below is a video I made late last summer when Ralph and I watched a much large, LIVE horseshoe crab make its way back to the ocean through the shallow water.
Today's adventure was different than usual in that I was biking alone, but it was the same as always by being so rich in discoveries. No matter what weather, time of day, season or tide, when I'm at the beach something - usually many somethings - catches my eye. Being at the beach in the early morning is a great way to start the day!
Yesterday's early morning skyshow My antidote to the daily news
Every year just before the summer solstice, a young alligator appears in our lake. If it happened only now and then, I'd consider it an anomaly, but instead, time has proven the appearance of a sub-adult alligator to be a normal seasonal event. May and June are the months when alligators mate in Florida and on our property it's also the time of year when a young gator - seldom more than one - makes an appearance in Hour Lake.
The yearly sighting always has similarities such as the alligator's size, which hovers between four- and five-feet long, a size corresponding to a 4- or 5-year old reptile. A gator of that size has not yet reached sexual maturity but is too old and large to remain with its clutch of reptilian brothers and sisters. It is ready to go out on its own in search of new habitat and feeding grounds.
Although the immature gator may still be about a year away from being old enough to mate - alligators mate when they reach about six-feet in length - it is big enough to be taken seriously, especially if it shows signs of acting aggressively toward people.
Over the past 25 years, we've only had to call in licensed Florida trappers on three or four occasions and each time, the hunters have been successful at capturing and removing abnormally aggressive animals.
Licensed trapper removing a captured, aggressive gator
Fortunately, most alligators that have frequented Hour Lake have not paid us much attention. Although some have seemed curious about who we are and what we're doing swimming in "their" lake, their reptilian focus has usually been more centered on the fish and turtles that provide them with sustenance than we humans, who are really their only natural predators.
However, especially with our young grandchildren now playing in the water as well as Ralph and me taking the occasional dip, that doesn't mean we should let our guard down.
Young gator checking me out as I check him out
During May and June I am especially attuned to alligator movement. When I'm here and I spot one, I go out and watch it, waiting to see if the toothy critter swims away when it sees me or glides closer. Most alligators that come toward people don't do so out of instinct to attack but because some foolish person has fed them in the past. Like any wild animal that has learned to equate human beings with edible handouts, an alligator that has been fed by people replaces natural reticence with abnormal aggressiveness.
Yesterday, as I was sitting down by the lake in the early evening, the young gator that I've been watching recently left the mid-lake peat island where it had been resting to glide slowly toward the shore. Fortunately, it glided away from me instead of directly toward where I was sitting - a good sign that it is probably not going to be a candidate for removal. Nonetheless, I resisted going for a dip to cool off. Sometimes it's better to err on the side of caution rather than tempt fate by throwing caution to the wind - or, in this case - to the water.
A photo from years gone by of my son Timmy, who was about 15 at the time, showing off his teenage strength by holding up an aggressive young gator that a trapper had captured
Over the past month, I've had the pleasure of watching a pair of Eastern bluebirds return to the same nesting box where they have attempted to raise young for the last three years. The wooden nesting box is affixed to a post next to the lake about 30' from our house. I can easily see it from my favorite sitting spot by the kitchen table.
A pair of Eastern bluebirds that return annually to raise - or try to raise - young
Previously, the pair hasn't been all that successful. Twice before, crows swooped in to grab the baby birds just before they were ready to fledge.
Big, hungry crow first lands on top of the box then flies down, sticks his long, sharp beak into the hole and tries to grab a meal to feed his own babies
This year, the babies managed to survive despite attempts - at least two that I saw - by a hungry crow eager once again to steal away one or more young birds. On both occasions, I only noticed the attack after hearing the parents' loud screeching as they repeatedly dive-bombed their opportunistic enemy.
Fledged bluebird perched on a fig tree branch not far from the nesting box
Once the bluebirds succeeded in convincing the crow to search for easier prey, the adult bluebirds returned to their parental responsibilities of standing guard and finding food to feed their hungry brood, tasks shared by both. When one of the adult birds was off catching caterpillars, flies and beetles, the other entered 'protector mode,' scanning the skies diligently from atop the nesting box or nearby tree branch.
This fluffed out female Eastern bluebird combines preening with sentry work from her nesting box perch
In the video before, before the female Eastern Bluebird feeds her babies inside the nesting box, she spends considerable time on top of the box checking out her surroundings.
When she's sure it's safe, she flies down to the box opening, quickly passes her catch off to the nestlings and flies away. I waited to see if any baby birds would poke their little feathery heads out to beg for more, but none did. By the time I panned back out, the father bird had flown over to take his place as sentry on top of the wooden box.
The next video is about dad's turn. Like mom, he too spent considerable time surveying the area before deciding it was safe to fly down to the nest.
