Procreation on the Deck

New experiences, however carnal they might be, are worth reporting and yesterday's spectacle deserves a post.  It began early in the aft...

A Riot of Life

In late April, wetlands across the Temperate Zone of North America harbor a riot of sound and color; the Garth Wetlands, in north Columbia, ...

Bullsnake Bravado

On my visit to Waterton Canyon yesterday, I took a side trail down to the South Platte, hoping to spot a dipper.  My effort was in vain but,...

Reptile Season

Reptiles, the last major group of ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) to appear on Earth, evolved in the Carboniferous Period, about 300 milli...

Wildflowers along the South Platte

June is a good month for wildflower viewing along the Front Range urban corridor since late spring blooms mingle with those that persist thr...

Paynes Prairie Basin

Just south of Gainesville, Florida, Interstate 75 crosses a broad valley covered by a shrubby grassland.  This is the western portion of the...

Red Bug Slough Preserve

Red Bug Slough Preserve is a 72 acre refuge in the southern suburbs of Sarasota, Florida.  Stretching along a drainage channel, it is charac...

In Rattlesnake Country

At the trailhead for the Sharptail Ridge Open Space preserve, south of Denver, a sign warns of rattlesnakes in the area.  Of course, similar...

Along Grindstone Creek

Grindstone Creek Nature Area, in Columbia, Missouri, is another excellent area for birding.  Riparian woodlands line the stream and limeston...

Birth, Death & Survival

Following the gradual thaw of March and the steady transition of April, an explosion of life occurs in May and June across the Northern Hemi...

Snake Watching

Today's warm, sunny weather lured garter snakes from our rock wall for the first time this season.  Over the course of an hour or so, I ...

The Month of Transition

While April weather can be fickle, there is generally a significant transition toward warmer days, punctuated by regular periods of rain.  O...

Natural History of Sea Turtles

Turtles evolved in the Triassic Period of the Mesozoic Era, some 200 million years ago, a time when small dinosaurs and the first, shrew-lik...

Evolution of Marine Animals

Life, itself, evolved in Earth's primordial oceans about 3.6 billion years ago; these initial unicellular forms of life were likely chem...

Pascagoula River Basin

Of the many landscapes that we crossed on our trip back to Missouri from South Florida, the broad tidal marsh of the lower Pascagoula River ...

Five-lined Skinks

Attempting to rescue our plants from the brutal summer weather, I was watering last evening when I spotted a small lizard as it dashed from ...

Prairie Racerunners

Closely related to the six-lined racerunner of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S., the prairie racerunner is found from northwestern Ind...

The Garth Wetlands

Stretching across the Bear Creek floodplain in north Columbia, Missouri, the Garth Nature Preserve harbors one of the best urban wetlands th...

American Gators

Crocodilians, now represented by crocodiles, alligators and caimans, split from other reptiles and early dinosaurs back in the Triassic Peri...

Along the Myakka

The Myakka River, in southwest Florida, one of only two rivers designated "Wild & Scenic" by the Sunshine State, rises in nort...