Field Notes

6:37 a.m. Cicadas whirring. Cuban tree frogs sounding like squeaky shoes—two or three of them living in the fish house. Finding dead cicadas: nymphs, shells and spent adults.

Hurricane Debby skirted through earlier this week. Lots of rain and some wind gusts, but mild.

Flowering: gardenia, verbena, plenty of zinnias, hibiscus and roses. Found two small snake skins, possibly baby rat snakes—patterned backs. The cactus bloomed at night.

A notable contrast that proves pleasing to the eye: beautyberries and the yellow flowers of pigeon peas. Both wildlife-friendly.

The weather actually feels cooler in the mornings, with a cooler breeze. I believe the chimney swifts have left now; I haven't heard them chattering in a while. Then I heard catbird calls the other day. More birdsong that I don't recognise.

Last week held a beautiful “super” harvest moon in Pisces.

Raining. Hurricane Helene skirted past to the northwest last week. Next week we face a potential direct hit from Hurricane Milton.

Still dark at 6:50 a.m., a faint blue light just starting to fill the sky.

Noticing lots of bird arrivals: a pair of flycatchers, the catbirds back, flocks of robins and small yellow visitors on the feeders. Venus has been bright and large. Clear skies have led to some great stargazing. The lacewings seem more active, as do the gallinules.

Mugwort—Artemisia vulgaris—popping up along the fence down at the ranch. Cold nights around 40°.

The skies are full of birds in the morning: swallows, robins and ibis. At Lake Woodruff, a duck pair—blue-winged teal?

Robins swarm the camphor trees. Are they eating the black berries? Lots of chatter. Saw a yellow-bellied or yellow-throated warbler on the bird bath last night.

Camellias in full bloom. Many tree swallows fill the sky.

Haven't seen the tree swallows in a while. Last night a flock of whistling ducks circled over Deland. Ice on the banana leaves yesterday and the bird bath was solid. Haven't seen the large flocks of robins either—moved on?

Saw the tree swallows fly overhead yesterday, heading towards the preserve.

A small yellow bird visited the feeder and ate the suet. A warbler? Camellias are starting to brown. Toadflax growing in the grass around the tent.

Tree swallows soaring above the house. Three otters at the preserve. The weather has warmed after last week's freeze—70s now.

Prune roses and citrus.

Rose growth and blooms. Azaleas popping. Eastern redbud—Cercis canadensis—in full pink bloom. Robins still present in large flocks. The wrens sing loudly. Fritillaries coming out. Carolina jasmine in full bloom.

Temperatures dropped close to a freeze. Covered all the delicate leaves: papaya new growth, bananas and squash.

The fruit trees—apple?—are starting to bud, ready to bloom into blossom.

Full azalea display. Spiderwort's purple flowers. Apple blossom, orange blossom, lavender—everything in bloom.

Yesterday at Lake Woodruff: two bald eagles and lots of baby gator pods.

Swallow-tailed kites! Three or four flying over the house.

Osprey nesting. Wrens gathering nesting material. Swarms of caterpillars on the persimmon. Lyre-leaf sage flowering. Hummingbirds.

Summer tanagers—an arrow formation of birds flying north. Lubbers have hatched.

A pair of painted buntings visit the feeder. They have been here since early March. No sign of the chimney swifts—did they come when the chimney was still blocked? If so, I hope they come back.

Cicadas have started singing. Frogs croaking; southern toads at night. The bird-feeder area is abuzz in the evenings: catbirds, northern cardinals, painted bunting pair, titmouse, ruby-throated hummingbirds, red-bellied woodpecker and Carolina wrens. The warblers seem to have moved on.

Giant eastern rat snake in the barn, looking for rats? It must be six feet or longer. One of Ezra's lubbers shed its first skin.

Red lilies in the blue barrels are just finishing their bloom. Hawthorn coming to the end of bloom—small green haws. Oranges have started forming. Tussock moth caterpillars are about. Jacaranda has lost nearly all its leaves.

A cooler snap of weather after some rain in the night. A catbird fledgling flew into the window; it sat in a tree a little stunned. Chimney swifts flying over the house. Carolina petunias blooming.

Last night I saw the swifts flying back into the chimney—maybe four of them.

Yesterday I found a poor flycatcher fledgling, squished in the road. Its parent stood over it.

Jacaranda blooming. Magnolias blooming. Southern toads singing. Cicadas are back at the feeder by the dozen.

Great crested flycatchers heard, but yet to see. Painted buntings have been more present this spring—could they stick around to breed? We are right on the edge of their breeding territory. Monarch caterpillars on the milkweed. Heard a bobwhite in the woods here at home. Merlin heard a scarlet tanager and goldfinch.

A fledgling. Beautyberry blossoming. Fruit starting on persimmons. Magnolia warbler at the bird bath. Baby toads around the koi pond. Privet blossom. Giant mimosa behind Mum's blooming white flowers. Sandhill crane chicks about.

Glorybower blooming. Jacaranda. Silk tree. The weather is hot and dry. A gopher tortoise passing through our yard.

Finally some rain. Saw a pigeon fledgling near Berryville downtown. Snapping turtle at the preserve. Baby raccoons everywhere.

Marshmallow blooms. In late September, the golden raintrees yellow with blossom.

Rain, sun, rain, sun. Raintrees still full of blossom; some have dropped most flowers and are now adorned in pink pods. Marshmallow. Alba bidens going to seed. Spanish needle seeding. A full bushel of bananas on our big plant. Lots of ibis on the lawns.

Catbirds are back.

Catbirds have returned.

Heard a flock of birds in the garden, high in the canopy. Couldn't make out what they were—possibly robins or warblers?

44° on the thermometer—I'm sitting here in a beanie. Brrr. Phoebe. Cassia blooming. Buds on the Mexican sunflowers. Golden raintrees dropping pods. One or two camellias. Beautyberries heavy with fruit. Oranges starting to ripen. Loquat blossoming. Merlin heard a yellow-billed cuckoo.

Red berries—cherry laurel? A freeze on the 11th and 12th. Hundreds of tree swallows at the preserve. Otter. Swamp sparrows. Warblers. Two eagles soaring over the chicken pen on Veterans Day.

Giant katydid in the garden. White snakeroot—Ageratina jucunda—a poisonous, late-blooming pollinator flower. Ghost pipes in the chicken run. Vultures. Mexican sunflowers visited by monarchs, honey bees, a very fat and hairy bumblebee and a ladybug. Marigolds—Zinnia elegans.

Early January: tree sparrows everywhere in the evening. Lyre-leaf sage is growing shoots ready to flower. Spiderwort leaves growing.

January 16: 28°—frost. Catbirds calling in the evening. The wren has started singing. Few birds, only a cardinal male at the feeder.

January 24: Carolina jasmine flowering; redbud.

20° frost. Fields of ice over the blueberries and ferns. Freeze damage: philodendrons dropped and brown; canna, avocados, bananas, gingers and beautyberry; shrivelled loquat fruits; Turk's cap, Alba bidens, papayas and orchid.

A small flock of cedar waxwings sit in the water oak behind the house. A few days earlier there was a painted bunting on the feeder. The Carolina wren has started its morning song in full swing. Vultures lurk in the garden. Azaleas are now in bloom. Some jasmine.