SWF: Longleaf Pines at Tibet-Butler < Florida, Skywatch Friday

SWF: Longleaf Pines at Tibet-Butler

Posted on July 2nd, 2009 in Florida, Skywatch Friday

While waiting out the time between the scrubbed STS-127 launches in mid-June, we spent a couple of days around Kissimmee, Florida. One morning we visited Tibet-Butler Preserve in Orlando, a stop on the Great Florida Birding Trail.

Before we were chased out by the man-eating mosquitoes, we followed a bit of the Pine Circle Trail, where we were dwarfed by a forest of Longleaf Pine.

Longleaf

We were interested to read that seedlings of this tree have a so-called “grass stage” where they are easily mistaken for clumps of grass. Is that what we saw on the path, or are these simply fallen needles from the tall trees that surrounded us?

BabyLongleaf

Our lone bird on the short walk was this Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Pecker

We also glimpsed the greenest lizard I’ve ever seen (my guess – Green Anole [Anolis carolinensis]).

Lizard

No photos of the mosquitoes but trust me, they were there. Have a great weekend and a safe Independence Day to my fellow Americans, wherever you are. Be sure to check out the other posts submitted for Skywatch Friday this week.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 at 12:25 pm CST and is filed under Florida, Skywatch Friday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Jul 2, 2009
2:47 pm

#1 Klaus wrote:

Wonderful post. Enjoyed browsing your site and to read about your Florida Experience.
Cheers, Klaus

Jul 2, 2009
5:06 pm

#2 Wren wrote:

Thank you for not showing photos of mosquitoes. I’d reflexively slap the monitor and break it – or my hand. Neither is a good outcome.

Jul 2, 2009
5:25 pm

#3 Rob Ripma wrote:

Great shots. Looks like and awesome place!

Jul 3, 2009
2:19 am

#4 gwendolen wrote:

Have a great weekend Amy. I’m off to Brittany, toodles

Jul 3, 2009
5:10 am

#5 Arija wrote:

The woodpecker shot is really nice with the blue sky in the background.

Jul 3, 2009
6:21 am

#6 Regina wrote:

Nice blue sky with a bird. Wonderful post. Great shots.

Jul 3, 2009
9:07 am

#7 Christine wrote:

ah, standing under the trees with such a sky is a gift. Very nice post.

Jul 3, 2009
11:23 pm

#8 J. Andrew Lockhart wrote:

beautiful and bright!

Jul 6, 2009
6:39 pm

#9 BPOTW wrote:

Great photos and thanks for the nature lesson!

Jul 9, 2009
1:02 pm

#10 Marnie wrote:

Hello from a fellow Illinoisan. Lovely photos. I think the red bellies cousin lives near me;)
Marnie

Jul 9, 2009
7:17 pm

#11 Vickie wrote:

Couldn’t help but take a peek at the long-leafed pines you found at Kissimee. I use long-leafed pine needles for coiling the rims of gourd art, mostly buying them from North and South Carolina. We have a few of these in TN. Thought they aren’t native, they have drifted across the borders.

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