I am a software engineer based in the metro Orlando area. On weekends, you will often find me in the field with my family photographing Florida's native orchids. I also give lectures on these orchids at many orchid, garden, and native plant societies. I am also an avid fossil hunter.
Water table drops unevenly
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Here's a comparison of drought levels in the Big Cypress ... Relative to
the rest of the Everglades. This chart above shows the level of the water
table in...
Greening Up In The Garden
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A lot of these photos are going to be from March and early April. I’m
working on taking photos now for another post later in the month. This
spring feels l...
Purplish-Blue Delights Waving in the Breeze
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During a recent six-mile hike in Julington-Durbin-Preserve in S.E.
Jacksonville, I stopped suddenly, next to a prescribed burn area, noticing
over 100 thi...
SUWANNEE SPRING ... with Fangorn
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Let's go for a Spring walkabout at Suwannee River State Park. Do it now
while the new foliage has that Spring glow to it, the humidity is down, and
the mo...
It's all about process
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*Still a work in progress...*
Some time ago, I sketched with a group at the Naples Preserve. My
sketchbook page was not quite complete so I postponed sc...
Corkwood - Stillingia aquatica
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Corkwood (*Stillingia aquatica*) is a semi-woody shrub found nearly
statewide in Florida in shallow-water marshes and the edges of freshwater
swamps. It...
Flower Friday: Butterfly orchid
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*Butterfly orchid (Encyclia tampensis) *
*Photo by Mary Keim* *Click on terms for botanical definitions. *
Butterfly orchid is a slow-growing, epiphytic pe...
Munter Mule Overhand (MMO) Knot
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A caver posted to a caving forum a YouTube video about how to tie a Munter
Mule Overhand (MMO) knot. This seems to be a pretty good knot to know and
use ...
They Say It's Winter
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I'm certain all my Florida gardening friends remember that awful winter of
2010 when we experienced an out-of-the-ordinary winter. If you don't
remember, ...
Asteridea asteroides - Star-like Asteridea
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Click image to enlarge
*Asteridea asteroides - Star-like Asteridea*
This exotic looking plant that you might think was a garden escapee, is in
fact a...
The End of Another Season
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Our 2016 native orchid season was considerably abbreviated by a trip to
Australia, so we saw only a limited number of the species we usually visit
and di...
Of Primulas (and a Violet)
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The past few days of warmth and sun has really kick-started spring on Park
Downs. The annual blue carpet of Hairy Violet (*Viola hirta*) has returned
and i...
Crested caracara seen on PI!
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Today I was lucky enough to watch a crested caracara eating some dead fish
along the side of an embankment. This species is one of my favorites!
Unfortunat...
Should I stay or should I go?
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I haven’t been posting to this site for the past year even though I do have
more flowers to add. There aren’t ever any comments to any of the posts, so
I a...
Betting Odds On World Cup Soccer 2014
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World Cup Odds
If you really like soccer, also know as "futbol", get all set to get
pleasure from loads of action on Tv for the epic FIFA World Cup 2010
v...
My blog featured in Orchids made easy
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Ryan and Laura Levesque, authors of *Orchids Made Easy* - a book and
website all about how to care for orchids, invited me for an interview for
their web p...
Pholidota chinensis in bloom last month
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I can't believe I haven't posted since November! Definitely overdue :) One
of my newer orchis is a Pholidota chinensis, which I acquired February 2010
@ th...
Brassavola cucullata - ghost-like flower.
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Brassavola cucullata is a species that hails from Mexico and much of
Central America. Like other flowers in the genus, this species has
intensely night-fr...
The Florida National Scenic Trail
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Many people are probably unaware that there is a 1,400 mile trail that
traverses the length and breadth of the Sunshine State and was the
brainchild of a ...