3rin's View…

Near the end of May, I hopped on a plane to Ohio. The trip required some careful preparation on my part, since I was trading hot Summer days for cool Spring-like weather. I had to dig jeans, long-sleeve shirts, and tennies out from the back of my closet where they were relegated months ago.

It was a quick five day trip but I packed a lot in a short amount of time: watched Harper’s baseball game, prepped for Gracie’s graduation party, checked out Ronja’s newly purchased old house, chatted with family, explored a Civil War era historic site, met some local wildlife, found my wings downtown, and spent quality time with Shane and Angelika (my favorite cousins).

It was a such a wonderful visit!

I caught this while walking back to the parking lot after volunteering for the Memorial Day beach cleanup. What an amazing way to end the day!

I was thrilled to see this Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) in my yard this week. He looks a bit worn but is still a handsome creature.

How can I tell it’s a boy? Male Monarchs have a pheromone patch on their hindwing, a black smudge along the vein nearest their abdomen.

Hopefully, a female will flit on by someday. Maybe even one day I’ll find some eggs…

Unlike the Baby on Board car stickers which advise other drivers to use caution for the safety of the occupants, this sticker works the opposite way letting us know to give this vehicle a wide berth for our safety.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock I’m certain you’ve heard the term Florida Man. Maybe it’s the heat and humidity but for some reason, men down here regularly make headlines by doing the most insanely stupid things.

There’s even the Birthday Challenge where you Google “Florida Man” and your birthday (sans the year) to see what nonsense happened on your special day. Caution, it is not for the faint of heart. My favorite headline from my day: “Florida man known for Easter bunny fight arrested.” So many questions…

There’s even a new song about this phenomenon:

Buckle up, my friends, we’re going on an emotional ride. A few weeks ago, while filling the bird feeder, I spotted a new plant in my front yard. It was small, slender, and rather unassuming so it was no wonder that I had overlooked it previously.

Curious, I snapped a few quick photos before heading off to work. During my break I uploaded one of the photos to Google lens and harnessed the power of the internet for identification.

Imagine my excitement when the first match was to a rare, native, endangered plant! I was positively giddy while researching the Crested Coralroot Orchid (Hexalectris spicata). How cool would that be? To have something that special pop up in my pollinator garden!

The Crested Coralroot Orchid is an odd little plant that doesn’t use chlorophyll, instead it survives by pulling nutrients from decaying plant matter. And it is typically found in oak litter. I don’t have any oak trees but I did just recently spread 10 cubic yards of oak mulch around my yard (decaying plant matter + oak = good fit). To say I was cautiously optimistic is an understatement!

But, I knew I needed better pictures in order to potentially verify my epic find. So, the next morning I spent 20 minutes photographing the inconspicuous flower. Then, with bated breath, I uploaded a clearer photo into the search bar.

Talk about a loop-de-loop! My elation crashed into major disappointment as I realized my plant was not, in fact, special after all. Instead, it was exactly the opposite! The Chinese Crown Orchid (Eulophia graminea) isn’t endemic, it is exotic (not native). Even worse, it’s considered invasive! Ugh!

I’m still happy that a plant chose to volunteer in my yard, I just hope that the next species to do so is one of the good ones!

Y’all, I’m so excited! When I went to clean out my bird baths a few days ago, I found a bright, shiny penny. I just know it was a gift from my neighborhood crows. This cool coin now has a special in my curio cabinet.

The best part is that they left it in the newest bird bath. One that I specifically acquired with them in mind because it is larger (more room for them to splash around) and shallower (easier for them to retrieve their food that they insist on washing). I like to think of it as their way of thanking me.

I have a special feeder in the works for them, a place for larger food items since they can’t fit on my bird feeder. It’ll be interesting to see what they decide to give me in return…

This past Saturday, Al and I caught a Clearwater Threshers game. The tickets I won were a good incentive to get us to the ballpark, home of the Philadelphia Phillies’ minor league affiliate.

Oddly enough, the Threshers, played the Daytona Tortugas (the same team that beat the Mauraders at the game we attended last month). The Threshers won handily, as was expected since they are the best team in the Florida State League (FSL).

Apparently, we’re Tortugas fans! Our new plan is to go to games at all 10 of the FSL minor league stadiums, but only when the Tortugas are playing. Which might take a bit of planning…

The winners celebrated with a fantastic fireworks show set to music, definitely a fun night at the ballpark.

Before the game we checked out Jack Willie’s Bar, Grill and Tiki. It’s off the beaten path but it’s been around since the late 1960s, so they must be doing something right. The food wasn’t fancy but it was tasty, the portions were large, and the prices were small so all in all a great place to relax on a hot summer afternoon.

I fell in love with the detailed interior woodwork. The front of the bar depicted the sun rising over the water, with carefully cut wood planks. Simple, yet eye catching. It’s definitely a charming Old Florida gem that we’ll be visiting again!

Spotted this sign at a local brewery a couple weekends ago. There were four other rules, which I don’t remember (thanks beer), but this last one caught my attention.

Silly me, I thought that was fairly standard behavior when out in public. Apparently, there have been issues in the past. Just what the heck is in their beer?!