the dance of the brown skink

Another hike at my local, neighborhood state forest.  While I was egrossed in studying a beat up ole live oak.

I heard a ruslting in the leaves.  I couldn't see what it was so I moved closer and found a pair of brown skink doing a dance.  Maybe the dance.
 

First they would approach and posture up  . . .  closer and closer until their urge to fight was irresistable.

Wow! they were tangling (tangoing) so fast you couldn't even see it.

They would land - disoriented -  figure out where they were and  . . .


 Then they would go back to the posturing part of the dance.


and again tangle. . . .  in the unending dance. 

I felt like I took too many pictures and spent too much time with these little guys so I moved on to bigger but not necissarily better things. (like the otter)

The whole experience reveals several insights to me: First, that small things can facinate as much as big ones.  Second, I get distracted easily.  And third,  I need to start taking video because the pictures somtimes just doesn't cut it when the dance is on.

More Ocala National Forest

It was such a nice day on a Friday I ducked out of work early for a quick hike in the forest.
After due consideration and some google earth I chose a place I hiked about 7 years ago.

A section of the Florida Trail just of the side of the CR 314.  It was windy today and the clouds flew across the sky.  The sunlight flowed through the trees in waves across the grass.

I was really here looking for spring wildflowers but I guess it's still a little to early.  I found a beautiful burned forest stand.  I want to say it was well managed but it sounds so . . .  "managed."

There are still lots of oak trees along the way.  It's hard to see them as out of place but periodic fire is the natural way.  The forest service has made a real effort to control burn this place.  It looks great.

The pictures don't show how hilly it is in the backgound or how far you can see through the trees. 

But you can actually see the waves of sunlight.

A beautiful Florida Trail day hike in the not yet spring.  I sang "In the garden"  as I walked.

Otter With Attitude

Another Encounter with one of my favorite of God's animal creations and , . . .
  a quiet hike in the woods.

A hot late January afternoon here at Indian Lake . .  a small lake.

I approached slowly as I watched a flock of turkeys and was lucky to see an otter before he saw me.

Then he saw me and didn't seem concerned.  Cautiously and curious he checked me out.

I watched him for a long while but lost interest and went about my wanderlust  exploring the
 bent oaks and wild orchids of this place.

I went back to the lake and caught my new friend napping. So I slowly crept up to capture a few moments. I rarely see otters out of the water and this is pretty special . . .

  to me anyway.

He was just taking a cat nap . . . chillin' .    After a while he saw me sitting across the lake.

I'm setup with my tripod in the bushes. I don't move.

  He calms down but now sleeps with his ears up.

I don't move. My new friend is not happy with me. He seems a bit irritated about the loss of nap time.

He checks me out.   After a half hour or so he gets restless and moves.  What is he doing?

He gets up; ambles over to the water and appears to be taking a dump! Never seen that before.

 He turns back to smell it, ugh!

 and does it again! 

  Is this for my benefit?   I'm laughing at the show.

 He looks at me to make sure I have been watching

 

and calmly goes about preening his coat.

Otters are above the mere labors of survival. They have attitude.

 Otters are totally cool and can back it up.  What a day.