Plants and Animals

Mostly plants, though.

Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone! And thanks to parents and g-parents who contributed to my 'snake boots and sunglasses fund'. No doubt I'll get plenty of good use out of both over the next few years.

Michelle and I celebrated by having dinner at a cuban cafe last night. Chance and I celebrated by going for bike ride (see below).

I've otherwise been occupied with field work. Here are few pictures from my research sites at Goethe.

Longleaf pine seedlings coming out of the 'grass stage'.

Fire chooses the winners and losers based on height, usually. Competition for light, water, nutrients, etc. often determine height. I study the competition.

I've planted over a thousand longleaf seedlings during the last month to study them in the coming months/years. Armadillos and feral hogs took their toll on a few.

Uncle Dave, if you're reading this, I've found a good spot to hunt hogs down here.

Characteristic white bud in longleaf pine during spring.

Needles tend to be clumped towards the end of branches. It's tough to mistake this pine species for any other.

Sapling stage.

The pine flatwoods sit about 2 feet above the coastal swamp or hammocks pictured above. Any change in elevation here in Florida usually means a new set of plants and animals.

Sometimes, it means much bigger trees. This is a 900-year-old baldcypress. It's over 100 feet tall and more than 8 feet in diameter.

The first time I walked to see this particular tree (it's at the end of a nature hike in the Goethe), I ran into a couple who was...um... enjoying nature in other ways, I guess. I wanted to yell, "C'mon, public land" or the standard, "get a room!". Instead, I just turned around (probably red) and walked back to my car.

Strange things happen when I go to see large cypress trees. This one in southern Illinois almost ate me.

Michelle and Chance had to come to my rescue.

Good boy!