These photos were taken on Digital Rebel XSi in 6 megapixel ("M-fine") mode, most with a sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro lens.

The XO-1 combined with the PTP camera interface make a lousy platform for choosing photos to put online! As the workflow involved writing down picture numbers and then copying them, I didn't get quite the ones I intended. Oh well; these are mostly pretty good.

We saw lots of bees at the Fruit and Spice Park, then some birds and some more pollinators at Shark Valley. The "other stuff" got more attention at Shark Valley compared to the birds and gators; we had become pretty jaded about them the day before when we also visited the everglades (those photos aren't online just yet).

(M)(L)Unidentified flower emerging from spiky stem (M)(L)Spiny orb weaver (actual size about 1/4 inch) (M)(L)Wasp crawling out of pipe (M)(L)Insects cover unidentified flower (M)(L)Turkey Vulture above Fruit and Spice Park (M)(L)Red Bixa, the Source of Annatto food coloring (M)(L)Ceylon Gooseberry (sour!) (M)(L)"French Peanut" (M)(L)Lizard on tree (M)(L)Unidentified spider (M)(L)Banana tree (M)(L)Bee (M)(L)Little Blue Heron (juvenile plumage) (M)(L)Another bee (M)(L)Swallowtail butterfly (M)(L)Round One. Fight. (M)(L)Unidentified wild bees on thistle flower (M)(L)A "Solution Hole" is a hole eaten through limestone by natural acids produced by plants that live in that area. (M)(L)Juvenile Alligator. He was about 2' long.

Entry first conceived on 20 February 2009, 1:25 UTC, last modified on 20 March 2009, 1:04 UTC