TigerHead's photos

Oak tree leaves, days old, dancing in the spring breeze. Nature preserve, May, 2015 (Please view in Lightbox for best effect.)

Music festival, September, 2014 (Please view in Lightbox for best effect.)

Sino-Siberian Iris, Beardless Iris Private estate gardens, June, 2015 (Please view in Lightroom or in larger sizes for best effect) Herbaceous perennial with creeping rhizomes. Leaves linear and grayish green, to 70 cm long. Flowering stems 25–50 cm, hollow. Flowers reddish violet to very dark violet, almost velvety black, 6–9 cm in diameter, outer tepals usually with golden yellow stripes. Deliciously fragrant. Flowers in June to July. Iris chrysographes is easily cultivated and requires a fertile soil which does not dry out during the growth period. Grow in full sun. Propagation by seeds or division in the spring. Cultivars must be divided. For cooler areas plants do best if planted in the spring. Some cultivars are grown, mainly "black" flowered clones under names as 'Black Beauty', 'Black Knight',] 'Black' (syn. 'Black Form', an invalid name), 'Ellenbank Nightshade', 'Stjerneskud' and 'Kew Black'. 'Rubella' is purplish violet. Iris chrysographes has been used in a number of hybrids with other species. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

The richness contained in these blooms lasts mere days, but while profuse in its nutrients and aroma, fully intoxicates a wide range of insects. Nature preserve, July, 2015 (Please view in Lightroom or in larger sizes for best effect) Bumblebees (genus Bombus) Common eastern bumblebee These familiar insects are stocky, fuzzy, and yellow (or orange) and black. The queen bumblebee typically chooses a nest site that is on or under the ground. She lays her eggs, and 10 days later a relatively small number of worker bees is born. These workers gather nectar and pollen, make honey, and care for the nest and young. In the late summer, drones (males) and queens are born, and they mate. Most of the colony dies with the onset of cold weather, but the queens overwinter in leaf litter.

A small group of does hugging the edges of a wood clearing. This was the most adventurous of the bunch. Nature preserve, April, 2015 (Please view in Lightbox or larger sizes for best effect.)

Hemaris Thysbie - Clear-winged Hummingbird Moth - one of my favorite insects of all time. Nature preserve, July, 2015. (Please view in Lightbox or larger sizes for best effect.)

Like micro-forests, moss colonies are an ecosystem unto their own. For a nature nerd like me, endlessly fascinating! Nature preserve, May, 2015 (Please view in LightBox or in larger sizes for best effect.)

Classic Iris at peak bloom. Botanical garden, June, 2015 (Please view in LightBox or in larger sizes for best effect.)

After a flash thunderstorm, this skittish fellow who normally refuses to pose for pictures, clings to the grasses in the wind to dry its wings. Nature preserve, June, 2015 Please view in LightBox or larger sizes for best effect.) Cisseps fulvicollis is a day-flying narrow-winged tiger moth. It is small to medium size (FW length 15 - 21 mm) with a relative large body for the size of its elongate wings. The head and collar are light orange. The thorax is brown gray and the abdomen is slightly metallic blue-black. The forewings are warm brownish gray and the hindwings are black peripherally and translucent pale gray-white with black veins centrally. The black antennae are bipectinate, slightly wider in males than in females. This moth resembles moths of the day-flying genus Ctenucha. It can be told from both of the species of this genus found in North America by the combination of orange collar, black tegulae, and pale central hindwings.

Cavorting vines, nature preserve, May, 2015 (Please view in LightBox or larger sizes for best effect.)

Dusk falls on Fort Lauderdale beach. December, 2014

Gorgeous couple, posing in late-afternoon light. River sanctuary, August, 2015 (Please view in LightBox or in larger sizes for best effect.)

Mere hours before temperatures will dip well below freezing - dramatically altering the landscape for many months to come. Marsh edge, nature preserve, October, 2015. (Please view in LightBox for best effect.)

Great Blue Heron - Nature preserve, October 2015 (Please view in LightBox for best effect.)

The Red-mantled Saddlebags or Red Saddlebags (Tramea onusta) is a species of skimmer dragonfly found throughout the eastern United States. It has translucent wings with red veins, and has characteristic dark red blotches at their proximal base, which makes the dragonfly look as if it is carrying saddlebags when flying. The last two bands and the cerci of these dragonflies are black. While male Red-mantled Saddlebags have a distinct red body, females will typically have light brown or pale orange bodies, as well as lighter white and brown eyes. Nature preserve, June, 2015 (Please view in Lightbox for best effect.)

Fiery Skippers feeding on Cow Vetch (Vicia Cracca). Nature preserve, June, 2015 The Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae and are approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. The males are orange or yellow with black spots while the females are dark brown with orange or yellow spots. The caterpillars are greenish pink with a black head. The caterpillars are often considered pests and can feed on bermudagrass, creeping bentgrass, and St. Augustine grass. Fiery skippers, along with all other species of skippers and skipperlings, can hold their wings in "triangle" shape. The forewings are held upright, and the hindwings are folded flat. This position is thought to better absorb the sun's rays. The fiery Skipper lives in Northern America. (Please view in Lightbox or in larger sizes for best effect.)

The Red-mantled Saddlebags or Red Saddlebags (Tramea onusta) is a species of skimmer dragonfly found throughout the eastern United States. It has translucent wings with red veins, and has characteristic dark red blotches at their proximal base, which makes the dragonfly look as if it is carrying saddlebags when flying. The last two bands and the cerci of these dragonflies are black. While male Red-mantled Saddlebags have a distinct red body, females will typically have light brown or pale orange bodies, as well as lighter white and brown eyes. Nature preserve, June, 2015 (Please view in Lightbox or in larger sizes for best effect.)

Late Summer meadow, popping with color and life. Nature preserve, September 2012 (Please view in Lightbox for best effect.)