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#NotesFromTheRiver - Here Comes the Stork!

NOTE: THIS POST WAS SCHEDULED TO RUN LAST WEEK,
BUT A TECHNICAL GLITCH ATE MORE THAN HALF OF IT.

HOPE I'VE MANAGED TO FIX THE PROBLEM, AND I APOLOGIZE
FOR THE DELAY.
WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, "HERE COMES THE STORK!"



NOOO! Not the Baby-Carrying Kind of Stork! 

The Nesting Material Carrying Kind, Like THIS:


Wood Stork
(Mycteria Americana)

 

Last week, I hinted I'd be talking about something quite beautiful in the air, but possibly a bit less so on the ground, and here it is--the wood stork. For some reason, I really love this big guy, and I hope by the time you learn more about wood storks, you'll learn to love them, too, if you don't already.

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#NotesFromTheRiver - The Fairest of Them All


Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)

 

The life of a writer is busier than most would imagine, especially when a book is being edited and wrapped up for publication. I love every minute of what I do, but sometimes it does get in the way of other fun things I enjoy, like sharing facts and pictures of what is surely the most beautiful of all our native ducks, the wood duck. (This is my humble apology for taking so long to get back to you, and I hope you'll forgive me for my absence, when you see what I've got for you today.) 

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8088 Hits

#NotesFromTheRiver - That Old Coot!



No, no, no! That's NOT the kind of coot I meant!

 
Now, THIS is more like it!
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Photo by Doug Little

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11463 Hits

#NotesFromTheRiver - Whacky Wednesday (on Thursday!)

(NOTE: Thought I'd scheduled this to go live yesterday, but apparently not. Since it didn't. Eeep.
So here it is today. Enjoy!)

~~~

New Feature Just For Laughs.
After all, one can never have too many of those, right?

~~~

 

Does anyone else miss Gary Larson's Far Side cartoons as much as I do?
If so,
this is your lucky day. I've chosen these as a sampling of how much
fun Larson had with wild animals, and I hope you'll get as big a laugh
from them as I did, starting with one that has a bit of significance
for me. (Hint: Check back through past posts.)


Now, without further ado, I give you Gary Larson's somewhat twisted
view of wildlife and nature.

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5688 Hits

#NotesFromTheRiver - Florida Panther Part 1



Florida Panther (Puma concolor coryi )

Despite what you might think, or any rumors floating around central Florida you may have heard, I have not actually dropped off the planet. I hate to admit it, but I was slammed by another bad cold, which morphed its way into bronchitis, and knocked me on what some would call my "not inconsiderable backside." (Of course, they wouldn't call it that in my presence, if they know what's good for them. But. I digress.)

Needless to say, a lot of things have dropped by the wayside as I languished pale and pitiful . . . okay, as I sneezed and coughed, and moaned and groaned, and otherwise made a nuisance of myself. Ooops. Digressing again. Sorry. Back to the issue at hand, which is my abject apology for missing the last couple of weeks' #NotesFromTheRiver posts. I will do my best to make it up to you, in the weeks ahead, where, presumably, I will be hale and hearty and gloriously healthy once again!

Since I'm still convalescing here, I thought I'd make it easier on myself my first week back by breaking the panther post into two parts. This week, a brief overview of the Florida panther, the most glorious creature to reside in the state of Florida. (Our state animal, by the way.) While the Florida panther has been listed for many years as a distinct subspecies of the western cougar, recent genetic research could possibly change that.

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5031 Hits

#NotesFromTheRiver - Florida Black Bear


Photo by Doug Little

Someone mentioned to me recently that bears gave them the heebie-jeebies, and were far more frightening than most snakes. As a person who isn't overly afraid of either, but respects both, I thought a post on our southern subspecies of black bear might be interesting. Hey, maybe my friend who shall go nameless (Mae) will suddenly realize she's not afraid of them at all. Nah. Probably not. But at least she might understand more about them, and that usually helps with negative feelings. So with that thought in mind, this post is dedicated to Mae, and I hope she enjoys it!

 

Florida Black Bear
(Ursus americanus floridanus)

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7306 Hits