So… what’s wonderful enough to pry you away from air conditioning and get you hiking in the sauna conditions of mid-August in Louisiana? Me? Orchids! Wild orchids. Like these Yellow Fringed Orchids (Platanthera ciliaris), and their cousins, Yellow Fringeless Orchids (Platanthera integra). The latter species are actually yellow, as opposed to orange, and they lack the long eyelashes you see above. But they are lovely if less showy than the fringed ones. We also have Cranefly Orchids (Tipularia discolor) in Louisiana. They are even less showy but so elegant, with tiny flowers in brownish-greenish tones. These are the hardest to…

As the title of this image suggests, I have several keepers of the many photographs I have made of “underworlds.” Underworld I and Underworld II were both made from moving trains, one in Baltimore and one in Chicago. This one was made on foot in Austin, Texas. Passing through such spaces while alone in the car frustrates me. Typically, there’s no place to pull over to make pictures and otherwise appreciate the space. Most of the time, I successfully resist the urge to pick up my phone and shoot while driving! I imagine designers of bridges and highway interchanges focused…

2018 seems to have been the year for critter firsts! Indeed, I spent more time out in refuges, wildlife management areas and other natural, wild landscapes in 2018 than in many years. Louisiana Master Naturalists – Northeast is the reason. I loved every minute of it and look forward to more, more, more in 2019. So this common snapper was at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, where we went for our Herpetofauna of Lousiana workshop, led by Dr. John Carr of the University of Louisiana Monroe. BTW, he has also co-written the definitive book on the same subject. I…

Those who know me best will expect a dragonfly to be among my year in review posts! Of course. This particular dazzling beauty is a female Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa). The male has the same forms and patterns, but where she is golden, he is dark red. A pair of them darting about in the sun…. well, Mother Nature’s most exquisite jewelry. And I know just where to find them! These are not the most common dragonflies. In fact, some range maps show them to be rare in Louisiana. And I know where to find them. Every year since about…

They say “April showers bring May flowers,” but in the south March showers bring April flowers. Lots of them. This lovely bellwort was on Mt. Nebo in Arkansas, a few hours north of where I live but still southern enough to have lots of flowers for the annual spring meeting of the Arkansas Native Plant Society. Bellwort is very ephemeral and not the most common wildflower. It grows in Louisiana, but I have never seen one here. We saw several patches on the day we climbed Mt. Nebo near Dardanelle. I was quite taken with their delicate beauty. I joined…