A few days in Coral Springs, Florida
I had to go to Coral Springs for a work-related training course. The course was at the Marriott (which has a convention center AND a golf course).
Every day during the class breaks, I’d go outside (with the smokers) and try to take pictures of the ever-present brown anoles. (I saw a couple of geckos - one even dropped on my hand and I shook it off before I saw what it was - but I couldn’t get a picture…)
Almost all of my pictures are uploaded in their own Flickr set (I still have a few left to identify, manipulate and upload). I won’t put all of them here…
[All pictures are hot-linked to the corresponding page on Flickr. If you get a Flickr account and I add you to my "Friends & Family" list, you can see the large/original versions. I had to restrict access to the larger versions due to what I suspect was an unhealthy interest in some of the pictures of Dyson. Sigh…]
I arrived at the Fort Lauderdale airport just before 8 p.m. After waiting on my luggage, renting a car and driving to Coral Springs, it was getting pretty late. So as to not waste any more precious time, I drove directly to the brewpub instead of checking into the hotel…
Since my US grand-boss is in Miramar, Florida, and I’ve had to go to that particular HQ a couple of times, I had already located the only brewpub in the area, Big Bear Brewing Company.
Their selection isn’t terribly challenging, but it’s good enough. (I like to support small brewers when possible, so I ate there Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday…)
Here are a few of their beers…
And some of their equipment…
After class the first day, I spent some time wandering around one of the many little ponds (and canals) in the golf course. Some flowers, some bugs, some lizards… I was happy…
This is a hairypod cowpea (Vigna luteola). I spent HOURS looking for an identification on this flower. I went down the wrong path initially because I thought it was in the Crotalaria family - see my picture of Crotalaria rotundifolia for comparison. Then, late at night last night, I stumbled across a picture of a flower like this labeled, simply, "cow pea". That didn’t help right away because, apparently, cow pea commonly refers to the cultivated variety of vigna. But I got there eventually and, exhausted, went to bed…
This butterfly is a dun skipper (Euphyes vestris). I am still trying to identify the plant upon which that the butterfly is perched. (Edited to add: I found out what the plant is… It is a firespike (Odontonema strictum). Identification was difficult because the inflorescence was dramatically fasciated.)
Lately, I’ve been obsessing about taking pictures of mushrooms (as you might’ve guessed from the earlier post). (A few really cool mushroom pictures that I took during our trip to Orlando: dog turd fungus, bird’s nest fungus, maybe a Collybia, and an unknown mushroom.)
This one is, I think, a common earthstar (Geastrum saccatum). Perhaps. Mushroom identification ain’t easy…
It was hiding in the mulch under the shrubs around the hotel. (Yes, I was crawling around in the mulch in my business-casual clothes while other employees from my company (but not my particular group) watched in bemusement…)
Here is one of the MANY brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) that I saw. I think I have another five or six pictures in the set. Go there if’n you want to see ‘em…
The little buggers are flighty and FAST. Without a proper zoom, you have to sneak up on them and move sooo slowly they think you’re part of the landscape. I wasn’t terribly successful. (And these are the best of HUNDREDS of pictures…)
On Thursday, the class let out around 2 p.m. I should’ve gone back to my room and done some work. Instead, I went on a (not quite) four hour hike. I walked through the housing development surrounding the golf course to the undeveloped area bordering the Everglades. There was a bit of a gravel road running next to a long, straight canal. I headed north and, after a bit, the houses on my right gave way to a water-filled rock quarry. Overall, it was a pretty good walk. Except for the section populated by biting deerflies, which I walked through in both directions. One deerfly got trapped between my neck and the collar of my t-shirt. It bit me quite a few times before it managed to work its way down to my shoulder (still under my shirt) where I slapped it to its bloody death. (It left a blood stain the size of a quarter. It ALSO left, where it was originally trapped, what looked suspiciously like a hickey on my neck…)
Found some interesting things on the way. For example this desiccated lizard (probably another brown anole) ("Lizards! Get yer lizards! Onna stick!!")
I’m guessin’ that a bird snagged himself some dinner but got a-scared off before he could eat it…
When we were in Orlando, I took a picture of a flower and was never able to identify it. This time, while focused on the ID for the hairy cowpea (above), I stumbled across a picture of a wild bushbean (Macroptilium lathyroides). Yeah for me!
Here’s another one…
While messing around near the water’s edge (taking a picture of a flower that I just got around to uploading), I saw these tiny globes that looked like some type of eggs.
After a bit of on-line research, I’m pretty sure that they are from a Florida apple snail (Pomacea paludosa). (If you click on that link and scroll down the page, you’ll see some very similar eggs.) I found what I am sure is a Florida apple snail shell not so far away…
Could be wrong, but I’m sure it is some type of freshwater snail. (And I don’t think a lot of them lay their eggs out of the water, but I dunno…)
Speaking of freshwater snail shells, here is an abandoned shell (probably goldenhorn marisa, Marisa cornuarietus). Repossessed as a result of an escalating adjustable rate mortgage given to some snail with questionable credit, I’m sure…
I was constantly on the lookout for a gator. Unfortunately the scrub growing along the canal didn’t give me to many opportunities to see the water. Luckily one such opportunity paid out. This is an American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). It was a bit shy and every time I moved closer to the water, it ducked under…
I’m not too sure of the following identification. There are a few factors (click on the picture if you want the details) that don’t seem to fit, but I can’t find a better fit. I think it is a camphorweed (Heterotheca subaxillaris). They were all along the side of the dirt road…
I really liked the look of these "pine cones". It is from an Australian pine (Casuarina equisetifolia), which is not a true pine. According to the web site linked to the name, what appear to be long pine needles are not, in fact, needles but rather long, thin twigs. Huh…
I saw a LOT of green & black dragonflies. Here’s a picture of one of them eating another dragonfly…
They are eastern pondhawks (Erythemis simplicicollis). The eyes are so cool. It really makes me want to get a fancy camera instead of my little pocket camera. Something with an actual zoom lens and manual focus so I don’t have to take a hundred pictures to pick out ONE with almost the correct focal length…
One more flower before I wrap up this post. (Do go up to the Flickr set to see the other pix!)
This is a moonflower (Ipomoea alba). It blooms at night (apparently it unfurls within a couple of minutes) because it is pollinated by moths. The flower bulb is a couple of inches across - gonna be a big flower… The heart-shaped leaf in the background goes with this guy…
After I finished up my hike, I was feeling tired and a bit grubby, so I decided to skip my nightly trip to Big Bear and eat in instead. So I drove over to the Publix (mega grocery store chain) and picked up a few things that caught my eye.
Fine dining at its best! (Well, maybe not - the chorizo was pretty bland. But the plantain chips were plenty salty and garlicky; the pasta salad was tasty; and the Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale was quite nice as was expected…)
Hopefully that was an interesting mix of pix…
Post script:
Here is one of those pictures that I had not yet uploaded when I wrote this post. It is a primrose willow (Ludwigia peruviana). When I got around to picking the best of the bunch for this particular flower, I liked this one so much, I had to add it to this post…
