I confess that I’ve been less active these days than I was in years past. Back in the day, I routinely took five-mile walks around our area and led Newcomer’s Club friends on once-a-month …

A few weeks ago, I was chasing a single small, innocuous brown butterfly along a path in Fort Clinch State Park. I didn’t know the species, I was curious, as always, and the best way I know to …

Bucko and I drove across Florida to the Big Bend area, south of Tallahassee, where the panhandle starts, to enjoy the Sopchoppy Worm Grunting Festival …

It makes me laugh just to say it: Sopchoppy Worm Grunting Festival. And it has made all our friends and acquaintances do a double-take when we mention that we are going there. We’ve had a lot …

Low tides are my favorite times to go to the seashore, wherever I am. On the West Coast of the United States, the pools left behind the retreating tides are full of anemones, urchins, sea stars, and …

Whenever I get a hankering for fresh live caught local shrimp I wait for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday mornings when Martin Holton is manning his pickup truck on Eighth Street near T.J. Courson Road. …

I just returned from our special place in Belize with my heart and soul filled with the tropical beach scenes there. But here I was at home again on Amelia Island, it was low tide, and I started my …

Ever since we started routinely going to Belize, I’ve been wanting to eat an iguana. As all my friends know, I love to try different exotic foods — tarantulas in Cambodia, monkey stew in …

I knew about this even before Bucko and I arrived in Placencia, Belize, this time: there would be a “Lionfish Shootout” when we were there, and I was eager to photograph the action. …

I’ve been a friend of Amelia River Cruises ever since I moved here nearly 30 years ago and met Kevin McCarthy at a talk I was giving on right whales. Kevin introduced himself to me and invited …

On a whim, I stopped into Sam’s Flying Frog Ranch pet store in Yulee recently and couldn’t be more impressed with the collection of animals contained therein. It was about four years ago …

This past Sunday, I was looking for a story — maybe about the birds of prey now nesting in our area. A pair of great horned owls and at least one chick are in their usual yearly nest in Fort …

Whenever a friend calls with an idea for an outing I am usually game. This time, my friend Diane Stoecker and her husband Ed planned to take their boat out on a sunny, mild winter day. Did I want to …

Recently, I made the long drive up to Durham, North Carolina, to visit my niece Margaret and her family – a long overdue trip for me. But driving up congested, fast-moving Highway 95 whitened …

It was the coldest day this winter so far. What the heck was I doing on the beach at Little Talbot Island all wrapped up in layers of winter clothes? It was not the best day for beachgoing, according …

Have you ever heard of a salt dome? Well, I never had either until I visited the Tabasco factory on Avery Island in southern Louisiana. Avery Island is a salt dome, one of five in Louisiana. …

I am a big fan of swamps -- freshwater swamps in particular. One of my favorite places is the bayous of southern Louisiana. Or should I say “was” one of my favorite places. It has …

By now, almost everyone has heard that frogs are becoming scarcer in the wild these days. Combined effects of habitat loss, diseases, introduced species, and changing climate have affected frog …

You’ve all heard about the Northern Lights, right? Well, I’m here to tell you that we have Southern Lights, too, especially this time of year when the sun is low in the sky. It’s …

A few times a year, Bucko and I have been in the habit of driving across the state to Cedar Key, the old terminus of the railroad track from Fernandina back in the day. It’s about a three-hour …