From the Archives of 2008—4
February 28, 2022
“Things that don’t move.” That’s often my answer when people ask what I photograph. That means I don’t photograph many animals. But here are some I photographed in Florida in 2008.
1 Some may not think of barnacles, limpets, and tube worms as animals, but they are.
2 So are bryazoa, cousins to the corals.
3 The raccoons in Sarasota are more long-legged than those in Oberlin.
4 This green anole was investigating a bromeliad in our front yard.
5 Sad to say, the native green anole is being displaced by the invasive Cuban (brown) anole in Florida.
6 Green anoles have pink dewlaps.
7 This red-wing blackbird looks fierce.
8 This red-wing blackbird is fierce. He was able to chase away the hawk by dive-bombing.
9 White pelicans seem placid—except to the fish they hunt as a group.
10
11 The great egret waits patiently for its dinner to swim by.
12 Just kidding. My Ohio neighbors have a strong, if retro, sense of humor.
Romancing Reality 
You’ve done yourself proud with this set of views. It’s good that you got as close to your subjects as you did in #6 and #7, especially with the anole’s dewlap on full display. The one peeking out of the bromeliad leaf was beguiling, too And you chose a fun way to end your animated series.
Like you, I’ve been surprised at the number of people who don’t think of insects, spiders, and the kinds of life in your first photo, as animals. I just did a search for “birds and animals”—as if birds weren’t animals—and got over 12 million hits.
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March 1, 2022 at 7:14 AM
Thank you, Steve. I was lucky with the green anole photographs. They can move pretty fast, but this little guy didn’t seem anxious to get away.
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March 1, 2022 at 9:42 PM
Great Photos, Linda! The plastic flamingo at the end was a surprise!!
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March 1, 2022 at 8:59 AM
Thanks, Clare. Glad the flamingo surprised you. I couldn’t resist.
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March 1, 2022 at 9:42 PM
I LOVE these, Linda–every one of them. But right now the ones in Florida are most appealing. Thank you for brightening my day.
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March 1, 2022 at 11:09 AM
Thanks and you’re welcome, Sandy. Spring will come to Ohio (I heard a red-wing blackbird yesterday), but I can understand the appeal of Florida photos just now.
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March 1, 2022 at 9:43 PM
You have a talent for wildlife photography, Linda. These shots are wonderful. #4 is a beautiful composition but, to be honest, I have a thing for pink flamingos.
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March 1, 2022 at 2:24 PM
Wow, Ken. Thanks. I have to admit that I favor #4—it’s the luckiest of the lucky-lizard photos. I didn’t know you had a thing for pink flamingos. Maybe you could show us some on your blog, hint hint.
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March 1, 2022 at 9:43 PM
“Things that don’t move” – what a good reply, but this post says otherwise. That’s odd about the raccoons – I wonder if they have southern accents, too. #4 is worthy of a NatGeo cover, Linda. Really. I love it! #7 actually looks amusing to me – sometimes Red-winged blackbirds make me laugh. But I see why you said he was fierce – that must have been fun to watch. #10 is wonderful and the parting shot is perfect.
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March 5, 2022 at 9:36 PM
I have to admit that I haven’t spoken with the Florida raccoons, so I don’t know about their accents. In any case, they would say we northerners were the ones with accents. So you like #4 of my sweet anole; thanks. It was interesting to watch the red-wing blackbird dive bomb the hawk. I wasn’t sure what would happen, who would win. I suspect that the hawk was doing or had done something aggressive toward the other bird or its nest. Glad you like the parting shot.
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March 6, 2022 at 10:52 AM
Forgot to say that I like the limpets & barnacles very much, and Joe thought #4 was very elegant in an Art Deco way. 🙂
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March 5, 2022 at 9:39 PM
Thanks. I didn’t remember #1. Part of the fun of going through the archives is discovering photos I’ve forgotten that I’ve taken. Art Deco, eh? I like that.
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March 6, 2022 at 10:58 AM