Thursday through , May 1-15, 2025—Butterfly Garden and Springtime, i.e. Windy and Rainy

Posted on May 15, 2025 by dunngone

The first couple weeks of May have been beset with wind and rain, and generally mild temperatures, making gardening and photography difficult.

On April Fools’ Day, Thursday, our Green Heron hung out by the dock for a while, and allowed a few portraits to be made. The bird looks so funny with its crest sticking up. It was intent on catching small fish for breakfast.

Kay spent most of the day assisting with preparations for the United Women of Faith (UWF, formerly United Methodist Women) from our church prepare for the annual garage sale. It’s a BIG deal, and over $20,000 is raised each year for deserving charities. I played a pretty decent game of golf at Magellan golf course. Also on Thursday, a gardener removed leaves from the from beds, trimmed all the shrubs in the yard, and planted four azaleas.

Kay worked as one of the cashiers for the UWF garage sale on Friday, and I played pickleball at Diamante. Pickleball was a blast with a number of really good games.

The gardener returned on Saturday and placed mulch on the front beds, and removed gravel to expand the butterfly garden. Removing the gravel really saved my back! Six bags of top soil were dumped in the newly cleared garden. Last year’s garden, though smaller, attracted 41 species.

After a trip to Home Depot Sunday morning, more top soil was added to the butterfly garden, and butterfly and hummingbird friendly flowers were planted. While it looks good, it is till relatively bare until even more flowers are planted and all the flowers mature. That will also help control weeds.

Kay and I both played pickleball on Monday morning; she played at Diamante and I played at the POA courts on the west side.

A few bird photos were made on Tuesday morning, and our Tuesday golf game was held to nine holes because of rain; and, it did rain the entire nine holes.

Kay played golf on Wednesday morning, and had a good round. Meanwhile, I observed a lone Great Blue Heron pausing on a neighbor’s dock, offering a “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” photograph.

Without any planned golf or pickleball I began a new project, a dust collection cart for the workshop. Anytime woodworking power tools are used, sawdust envelopes just about every surface in the garage. I acquired the components to build a dust collection system, and it worked well. However, it was not very mobile. Consequently a dust collection cart was designed and built using limited lumber and various available items. The cart was designed to be mobile and hold the vacuum cleaner and the dust collector and bucket. Parts of the next few days (when temperatures were cool in the garage) were devoted to building the cart. Rather than go into a lengthy and verbose description of the process, here’s a photo of the end result. There are still a couple of items to be added such as a “box” on the bottom shelf to hold vacuum cleaner parts.

The Book Club May meeting rolled around on Thursday, May 8, and I played a poor game of golf.

A competitive round of pickleball was played on Friday morning. I’m almost too old to be competing with the “youngsters” playing in the group. Kay celebrated Mother’s Day having dinner with her kids and their families Friday evening (I had a queazy tummy and remained home).

Kay and I both played pickleball Saturday morning, and enjoyed a quiet Mother’s Day Sunday.

Pickleball was again the activity of the day on Monday with Kay and I both playing in the morning with our respective groups. And then our resident Green Heron posed for photographs on the shoreline while “fishing”.

A successful visit to the cardiologist on Tuesday morning was followed by yet another poor game of golf in the afternoon. For some reason, I seem to be topping the ball with all the clubs—it’s got to be caused by lifting the body up on the front swing! Kay is correct when calling golf the devil’s game.

Kay played golf on Wednesday morning and took the opportunity to capture a few birds in the back yard. I played the pickleball ladder at Diamante in the afternoon. Kay played bridge Wednesday evening.

Even a damselfly was photographed.

On Thursday, I finally broke out of the weeklong golf slump, and shot bogey golf on the back nine of Desoto golf course. Of course, luck had a lot to do with it!

And that wraps up our mundane first couple weeks of May 2025.

Friday through Sunday Noon, March 28-30, 2025—Yard Work, Pollen, Spring Cleaning, and Wild Flowers

Posted on March 30, 2025 by dunngone

It’s late March in Arkansas and that means yard work and spring cleaning, blooming wildflowers, singing birds, and quite literally tons of pollen in the air!

Kay and I did a bit of weeding and shrub trimming on Friday, and now we’re waiting on warmer soil temperatures before planting flowers for hummingbirds and butterflies. And when the wind would blow huge clouds of pollen would blow off the pine trees. We wised up a few days ago and each of us began taking an Allegra everyday to lessen the impacts of the pollen on our allergies

We also worked a bit in the crawl space which we use for storage. That occupied an entire Saturday morning. It is packed full of Christmas decorations, gardening equipment; sporting goods; fishing rods, reels and tackle; now unneeded RV accessories; and loads of empty cardboard boxes. Two large waste bags were filled with useless stuff for garbage haul-off, and other items were identified and sorted for sale on Facebook marketplace or as donations for the large Women of Faith garage sale in early May. We hardly made a dent!

I ventured out to nearby Middle Fork Barrens Natural Area on Sunday, March 30, in search of white Trout Lilies. No such luck. However, other wildflowers were blooming, adding a bit of color to the mostly prairie floor.

Monday through Saturday, March 16-22, 2025—Wow, Spring has Sprung

Posted on March 22, 2025 by dunngone

Kay and I continue playing pickleball (her more than me) and golf when weather allows. Though our lives are not boring, there are no new adventures to report.

Good news; bad news. The good news is that wildflowers have begun blooming, but the bad news is that high winds have prevented most flower photography these first few days of spring. Nevertheless, with a high shutter speed, a few of the blooms have been photographed. Also, a few “new to us this season” birds have shown up at the feeders.

Grandson Ridge ran several races in a multi-school track meet on Monday, March 17, 2025. He placed first in all but one, and second in that one. Not only is he a great athlete, but he’s a great kid, too.

On the first day of Spring, Thursday, March 20, 2025, feeders in the back yard attracted enough birds to generate several photos. An American Goldfinch came in close enough for a portrait.

And then, a Purple Finch, the first I’ve photographed, landed in a nearby birch tree before coming in to feed. The immature female Finch didn’t hang around long though, and only came that one time.

More American Goldfinches visited the feeders, landing in the nearby birch tree. The tree seems to be a popular hangout for birds!

And finally, a Tufted Titmouse landed in the birch tree.

Wildflowers were the order of the day on Friday, March 21, 2025, despite heavy winds. The photographic quest for the day was a white Trout Lily spotted at Middle Fork Barrens Natural Area by good friend Dan. I walked the usual circuit twice trying to find one in bloom, but no luck because of cool temperatures. However, several other wildflower began blooming as the morning progressed towards noon.

And most surprising—and best of all—a Black Swallowtail butterfly flitted by and landed in the grass about 10 yards away. I began photographing it, approaching nearer and nearer with each burst of shots. The butterfly photographs made the almost two-mile walk worth it.

From Middle Fork Barrens Natural Area, I drove to Cedar Creek Trail in search of the more numerous yellow Trout Lily. Several other wildflower species presented blooms as noon arrived.

And finally, near the trail’s parking area, a few Trout Lilies began appearing, though sparsely, on the forest floor.

Sunday through Friday, February 16-28, 2025—Unseasonably Cold Temperatures and Winter Weather

Posted on February 28, 2025 by dunngone

Mid-February started off with cool temperatures and after only a couple of days, rain began, turning to sleet and snow. And, temperatures plunged to single digits. For four days, temperatures never exceeded freezing.

With us spending more time at home in Hot Springs Village, we are going to try and play more cards (Hand and Foot) and games. But for Hand and Foot particularly, we don’t have any of the accessories such as shuffler, “book of cards” holder, and deck tray. So, it was off to the shop to make the latter two. However, as a consequence of the brutally cold weather, only the first couple days of the reporting period (Sunday and Monday) were fit to do anything woodworking in the unheated shop. Nevertheless, 1x4x8’s were glued together, decorative edges cut, slots made, and supports attached. Sanding and application of several coats of polyurethane finished the process.

Tuesday morning, February 18, 2025, I braved the dropping temperatures and the beginning of frozen precipitation to “shoot” some birds.

American Goldfinches, Carolina Chickadees, and Tufted Titmice were frequent visitors to the seed feeders, and permitted a few photos to be made.

A lot of reading was done on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday during the day, and YouTube videos and a French detective series, Balthazar, were viewed in the evening. A gradual warmup began on Friday, February 21, 2025, with many of the roads and streets free enough of ice to be usable.

These are some of the photos taken on Sunday, February 23, 2025. American Goldfinches hoarded the feeders, but a Northern Cardinal and Carolina Chickadee slipped in for a seed or two.

On Tuesday, February 25, 2025, the “regulars” returned with lots of American Goldfinches, a few Carolina Chickadees, and a Tufted Titmouse using the feeders.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025, was a warm day, and though few birds came in to the feeders, many hung out in the trees, necessitating a steady tripod to reach out and “touch” them with the camera/lens. A Brown-headed Nuthatch stole the show, but played coy with the camera and made taking its portrait quite difficult.

PERSONAL NOTE: Now that we don’t have near as many exciting adventures to relive in the blog, I have decided to change it up a bit and focus more on photos and unique activities. We will still capture our travel, and perhaps craft projects, but no more verbiage about our boring everyday life.

Friday, January 17, 2025—All About Manatees

Posted on January 17, 2025 by dunngone

One of the key items on our “TO DO” list for this winter was to see the manatees in Florida. Earlier this week, Kay found that the Crystal River area had great manatee tours, and was only 1+ hour west of The Villages. A quick check on Trip Advisor revealed a number of tours, including snorkeling, kayaking, or just viewing from a boat. We opted for the last one, and reservations were made for 2 o’clock PM Friday, January 25.

Crystal River, named for the river which flows through the area, sits on Kings Bay near the Gulf of Mexico (Or is that Gulf of America? What a buffoon). Kings Bay, in turn is fed by over seventy springs and as many as forty more seeps that feed 600 million gallons of freshwater a day into this incredible body of freshwater sitting only six miles from the Gulf of Mexico. It is a leading winter refuge for the Florida Manatee. Consequently, there were many places to see and things to do in the Crystal River area, but a late start hampered our ability to partake. We ended up touring the Crystal River State Archeological Park, one of the longest continually occupied sites in Florida. It is a National Historic Landmark comprised of 61-acres; it is a six mound, pre-contact, Native American site with burial mounds, temple platform mounds, a plaza area and a substantial midden. For more than 1,900 years, this site on Crystal River in Citrus County, Florida, with access to the Gulf of Mexico, served as a ceremonial center. The real reason we visited this site was to photograph birds, which proved to be somewhat unsuccessful except for an Osprey and Red-headed Woodpecker.

After the archeological park, we ventured to Pete’s Pier to await the Crystal River Manatee Viewing Cruise. Florida manatees are large, aquatic mammals that are native to Florida. Adult manatees are typically 9-10 feet long from snout to tail and weigh around 1,000 pounds; however, they may grow to over 13 feet long and weigh more than 3,500 pounds. They can only tolerate a very narrow temperature range; Manatees need access to water warmer than 68 degrees to survive prolonged cold weather. At 2 o’clock PM sharp, Captain Chris motored through the pier area to one of the springs areas where we joined many other tourists anxious to see our first manatee.

Snorkelers getting up close and personal. Manatees are dark shapes in background

Regretfully, attempts to video the large animals with a GoPro underwater failed. Most of the following photos were taken by Kay.

After the neat manatee viewing cruise, we ate seafood at one of the local restaurants and returned to The Villages.

Wednesday through Saturday, January 8-11, 2025—Trying to Enjoy The Villages

Posted on January 11, 2025 by dunngone

I suppose it’s been obvious from the previous post that “pickleball” has not been mentioned. I played twice and enjoyed both times; however, it’s not the same as the great group at Diamante. It was competitive enough, and the players were friendly (even though the first “old” lady I played with instructed me on how to play the game). But, it just wasn’t the same and there were no warm fuzzy feelings.

Also, it’s been difficult to find birds, etc. for photo ops, though I’ve worked really hard and walked a bunch of trails towards that end. And, it’s been cold here by Texas and Arizona winter standards, with afternoon winds making it feel even colder. (Note to self: Could it be that I’m homesick? Who knows, but it is the first winter I’ve ever felt like this. Maybe that’s a good thing.) Anyway.

Kay had a cut and color on Wednesday, January 8, and was not too shocked that the price was almost double what it was in Hot Springs Village—it’s expensive in this part of Florida.

After tons of research in eBird, we took a day trip on Friday,, January 10, trying to find somewhere to find something to photograph. We ended up at Emeralda Marsh, east of The Villages. The Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area (EMCA) is a 7,089-acre conservation area administered by the St. Johns River Water Management District, In December 1974, it was designated a National Natural Landmark Our objective was to explore via the EMCA wildlife drive. When we got there, the gate was locked as the drive is only open seasonally. Nevertheless, we opted to walk the drive, and immediately upon starting, Kay spotted a Zebra Heliconia butterfly.

As the drive continued, it became obvious that there weren’t many birds, but there were several blooming marsh plants.

And then, a few birds were flitting about among the adjacent trees. An American Robin, Palm Warbler, and Gray Gnatcatcher were photographed.

And a Gulf Fritillary was nectaring on a far away shrub.

We met another person on the trail that mentioned more robins further along the drive, and that he had seen a mama black bear and two cubs. We were not so fortunate. We asked him about places to observe birds, and indicated that there was another area of the Marsh just north of us that offered shorebirds. Kay and I drove to that area and were immediately rewarded with birds. We immediately saw a Red-shouldered Hawk and an Osprey, the latter with a fish in its talons.

And then we saw Anhingas, Glossy Ibises, and Snowy Egrets. There were also several other bird species but they were too far to photograph.

From Emeralda Marsh, we drove to the Fred Funk Butterfly Garden(s) at the Lady Lake Seventh-Day Adventist Church, and were a bit surprised to see several nectaring Monarchs.

Also, a small Cassius Blue butterfly (?) stopped long enough for a photograph.

Sunday through Sunday, December 1-15, 2024—A First for a Modern Day Christmas

Posted on December 15, 2024 by dunngone

Even though the holiday season is in full swing, it has been relatively quiet here on the home front these first couple of weeks in December, at least for me. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons holiday depression has not reared its ugly head for the first time in perhaps 40 years! Kay, of course, has been busy with parties, etc, including hosting The Book Club for the month of December.

As we continue to spend winters away from home, medical and dental appointments abound this time of year. We both had dental appointments, Kay had visits with two doctors. I FINALLY got my hearing aids working (actually they were replaced) after several months, and I got a new prescription for contacts in both eyes±—close up in the left, distance in the right—and I can wear them at night for up to two weeks.

We both p played pickleball a couple of times, and ventured out on the golf course as well. Surprisingly, the courses remain in good condition.

As for projects, I put the finishing touches on the rolling workbench, trimming it out and adding a shelf.

Only a few birds were flying the last few days, and they were regulars at the feeders. I did manage to shoot a few photos on December 2, 4, 8, 9, and 15.

While Kay was out and about on Monday, December 2, a Brown-headed Nuthatch, a Carolina Chickadee, and an American Goldfinch visited our “sanctuary”.

On Wednesday, December 4, a Tufted Titmouse and Downy Woodpecker added to the mix.

And then on Monday, December 8, a Dark-eyed Junco and a Brown Creeper showed up. The Brown Creeper was a Life Bird for me!

Another new seasonal bird appeared on Tuesday, December 9: a Great Blue Egret.

And lastly, on Sunday, December 15, only a Carolina Chickadee came to hide in the now bare birch tree.

Saturday through Saturday, November 16-30, 2024—Christmas Season is Here

Posted on November 30, 2024 by dunngone

The Christmas season is upon us. Kay has begun decorating—at first a bit slow, but picking up speed as the month matured. Since we’re typically gone in the January through March timeframe, decorating early allows us to enjoy the season for a tad longer.

Besides golf and pickleball, Kay was busy with medical appointments and social events, while I took a break from pickleball for the last couple of weeks, but continued to play golf, 9 holes at a time. We both really enjoy our Sunday afternoon “Couples” Golf with the Seitzs, Baggetts, and Grahams.

While Kay was at a dental appointment on Tuesday, November 19, I waited patiently for birds to land to take their photo. Only a couple “posed” long enough for photos: a Tufted Titmouse and a Red-bellied Woodpecker.

The big project for November was design and construction of a rolling workbench. Fortunately, friend Dan had the same idea and came sup with a design for his workbench that was really good. I slightly modified it, and he and I cut out the pieces on Thursday, November 21.

I photographed birds on Friday, November 22, and again on Sunday, November 24, but nothing was processed to “write home about”. Also on Friday, November 22, The Christmas season began in earnest with a performance of A Christmas Carol, A Musical Performance by the HSV Players. It was awesome!

Cast of *A Christmas Carol, A Musical Performance*

Parts of Saturday and Sunday, November 23-34, were spent assembling the rolling workbench.

My carpentry and wood working skills are quite rusty,, but the project was fun and will work for the intended purposes.

Finally, on Monday, November 25, a few new birds showed up and were photographed.

Also on Monday, I returned to the Costco Hearing Aid Center to have hearing aids adjusted. This is the third or fourth time in the last few months I’ve been there to have adjustments. After much discussion and testing, the hearing specialist agreed that the hearing aids weren’t working; that’s what I told him several months ago before I finally stopped wearing them. A loaner pair was provided and they work great. Now, if mine will come back working…

The rolling workbench project that was begun on November 21was finished on Tuesday, November 26. It’s important to note that good friend, Dan Olson, devised the original design, and I only modified it slightly.

Also, on Tuesday, Kay cooked for Thanksgiving, making my mama’s cornbread dressing and a sweet potato casserole, and I photographed a Downy Woodpecker.

We enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast at Kay’s son and daughter-in-law’s house. All the food was really good.

As the days of late November came to a close, a significant cold front invaded the mid-south, dropping temperatures to a more normal level—lows in the 30s and highs in the 50s. This Carolina Chickadee, photographed on Saturday, November 30, has become a best friend of the seed feeder.

Friday through Friday, November 1-15, 2024—Life is Good, Except for Sports Injuries

Posted on November 15, 2024 by dunngone

The first week of November was one of intense rainfall, which was much needed. However, pickleball courts were closed and golf courses were cart path only; guess one can’t have everything!

I did manage to take photos five different days. A switch to bird photography was made on Saturday, November 2, as butterfly flights were far and few between. Only a couple of birds, the regulars at the feeders, were photographed, and it’s obvious I’m out of practice.

Daylight savings time ended on Sunday, November 3, and it now gets dark so quickly, and the older we get the longer it takes to adjust to the “new” time. More birds were photographed during the day, including a couple of “new” species: Brown-headed Nuthatch and Pine Warbler.

Kay’s social calendar is becoming quite full with various clubs and groups meeting weekly. This is in addition to her pickleball play several times a week.

I photographed birds again on Tuesday, November 5, but only the usual birds showed up near the feeders.

Middle school basketball has begun in earnest, and grandson Ridge plays a couple times a week. We watched him play on Thursday, November 7, but he only logged a few minutes because his team is so dar good that they were blowing the other team away. We watched him play again on Saturday, and it was the same with hime only playing a few minutes. He left at half time of the second game to play soccer, and his team won handily.

Unseasonably warm weather on Sunday, November 10, brought a few butterflies out, and two new species to our garden were observed. These were numbers 39 and 40 of the species visiting this year.

During pickleball play on Monday, November 11, I re-pulled the left hamstring, so no more pickleball for a while, and golf only 9 holes at at time.

Wednesday, November 13, was a busy day for us as we both had cardiology appointments, and Ridge had a basketball game. I did manage to take a few photos, finally switching over to the big lens, a Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS. Needless to say it requires a steady hand which I no longer possess.

Another new seasonal bird appeared on Friday, November 15—House Finch.

Tuesday through Monday, October 1-15—The Hummingbirds Left and then Kay Left

Posted on October 15, 2024 by dunngone

Kay and I continued playing lots of golf and pickleball despite the above average temperatures and humidity. Family birthdays continued this first half of the month of October; Karyn celebrated on October 6 and Jenny celebrated on October 13. One more birthday remains and it’s in a few days. Cool weather finally arrived on Monday evening, October 14, and was a welcome change from the high 80s and low 90s experienced earlier in the month. Big events this last couple of weeks included a “girls’ trip to the casino”, the monthly meeting of “The Book Club”, the Hot Springs Village Big Band Concert, and did I mention that Kay left me.

I did photography 8 days so far this month. On Tuesday, October 1, 2024, a “rare-to-this-area” Long-tailed Skipper showed up again, having first been observed a few days ago on September 29. I have seen only two other Long-tailed Skippers in Arkansas, in 2018 and 2020, both time in the west Little Rock area.

And, on this same day a tiny Anole was detected among the marigolds. It couldn’t have been more that about 5 centimeters (approximately 2 inches) long’

Only one new species of butterfly was detected so far this month, a Red Admiral on Wednesday, October 2, 2024.

A White-lined Sphinx Moth appeared out of nowhere and hung around for several photos. This was another first time visitor.

Otherwise, the garden visitors were many of the same species observed the previous couple of weeks.

On Friday, October 4, 2024, Kay, Pam, and Sue ventured to Pine Bluff to play the slots at the Saracen Casino Resort; none of the “girls” reported a winning night! Meanwhile, a Sachem Skipper butterfly was photographed.

On Monday, October 7, 2024, an American Lady butterfly was seen nectaring on a Butterfly Bush.

On Tuesday, October 8, a couple of real beauties were photographed: a Monarch and a Painted Lady.

The Hot Springs Village Big Band played a concert at the Balboa Pavilion on Friday, October 11, 2024. They are quite good, as many played professionally or as music faculty in the working lives. A couple of vocalists accompanied them on several songs.

Saturday, October 12, 2024, three butterfly species were photographed in the garden. Their beauty made up for the lack of numbers.

And then on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, Kay traveled to Short Pump, Virginia, for a sister visit. There is so much catching up and laughter when they get together, particularly reminiscing about foregone days. However, I miss her and am anxious for her to return home. The butterflies took pity on me that afternoon, and provided opportunities for several photographs.

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