Spring in Connecticut

 Just a few springtime things around the house in the southwest corner of Connecticut.

I thought I would be too late for daffodils, but some clumps are still in late bloom.

I decided to participate in part in No Mow May to help the pollinators, so I had the front yard (visible to the street) mowed but will leave the back alone until June.

Last year I had a Kwanzan cherry tree planted.  I am delighted to see good strong bloom this spring.

A tree was cut down before I bought this house.  The decay is beautiful.

A couple of bushes are putting out strong new shoots.

Skunk cabbage is plentiful down low near the stream behind my house.

And a chipping sparrow paused in the open to give me practice photographing New England birds.  Many birds in Florida are much bigger and slower.  I will need practice up here with the LBJs (little brown jobs).

Season's End

 Much of Naples is seasonal.  Folks like me come down in the Fall and head north in the spring, any time from Easter to early May.

Walking down Third Street South at noon was eerie.  Very popular restaurants were essentially empty.

As were the sidewalks.

Time for me to head north.  Tomorrow's post will be from Connecticut.

St. Raphael

 Pelican Bay is a massive development in North Naples between the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Route 41.  Development started in 1974 and continues today.  Pelican Bay covers about three square miles.  There are condos, apartments and single family homes.

One of the most striking places is St. Raphael, a 178 unit condominium development constructed in 2000.  St. Raphael appears to have both low-rise and high-rise units.  It has the usual amenities like a resort pool and access to Pelican Bay's golf courses, but it also backs up to extensive mangroves leading to the Gulf.

Pepper Ranch Preserve II

 Apart from the wildlife at Pepper Ranch Preserve, there were many beef cattle grazing. (Or lazing.)

Cattle egrets live near cattle to feed upon the grasshoppers, crickets, horseflies, moths, spiders, and other insects kicked up by the hooves of the cattle.

Pepper Ranch Preserve I

 This 2500 acre ranch and preserve is an hour east of Naples in Immokalee, near Lake Trafford.  I was hoping to see a caracara, but I did not.  The dry season in southwest Florida has been VERY dry, so there was less bird life than I expected.  I need to go back next Fall or Winter, after the summer rains.

Still, I did see some wildlife.  There were a few black vultures.

And many, many crows.

There were some sandhill cranes.  Young colts like this one are brownish; adults are gray.

White-tailed deer stood and stared at me whenever I came upon them.  I suppose that is fair, since I was staring at them.  With a big camera.

A limpkin hung out near the water.

And several turkey vultures circled.  One perched in a nearby tree before leaving the scene.

Celeste

 Celeste is from Chicago but now spends much of her time in Naples.

She began as a make-up artist but then spent most of her career producing television commercials.

Kahlo and de Borchgrave at Naples Art Institute

 Works by tenowned Belgian artist, Isabelle de Borchgrave, are shown at Naples Art Institute until June 11.  The exhibition is inspired by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, one of the most iconic female artists of the 20th century. 

de Borchgrave's works are entirely made from paper!  It took her three years to create these pieces.

The details are dazzling.

The mannequins on which de Borchgrave placed her paper dresses all display Kahlo's iconic eyebrows.

The theme for City Daily Photo for May 1 is "museums," so this post is linked to the CDP website.