Perpetual Question Do any of the leaves change color down here in the fall? The most common answer is that there is none here in the land of evergreens. The prevalence of oaks (Quercus spp.) and pines (Pinus spp.) see to that. There is ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
UF/IFAS and UF Health officials shared safety tips Thursday after reports of jellyfish near the Panama City Beach shore triggered purple flag warnings for dangerous marine life. (more…) READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Water, Wildlife
Mark Twain once said – “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” A similar statement could be made about the Gulf Sturgeon – “Everyone talks about the Gulf sturgeon, but on one has actually seen one.” ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
The land of the wet and muddy – that’s what lot of folks call the salt marsh. If you have ever experienced walking through one you know why they call it that. Salt marshes are wetlands that are dominated by grasses and are partially ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources, Wildlife
The definition of an invasive species used by the University of Florida IFAS has three parts. It is not native to the area. Was brought to the area by humans; either intentionally or accidentally. Is causing an environmental or economic ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
Humans… No one species has altered the land, sea, and sky – as well as decreased the overall biodiversity of the planet in such as short time as has Homo sapien. Since we have arrived on this planet we have slowly dispersed across ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural ResourcesMy wife and I like to sit on our back porch and watch the sunset each day. We do not make all of them, but we try to make as many as we can. We often see small bats darting in all directions feeding on bugs. Recently we were enjoying a ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources, Wildlife
When you think of cacti, you probably envision a vast desert landscape in the American southwest. Maybe there’s tumbleweed blowing by in your imaginary landscape, with the skull of a long-dead cow somewhere in the background. In reality, ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources
My favorite place in Escambia County is a waterlogged stretch of the coast near Perdido Key. Known formally as Big Lagoon State Park, the over 700-acre property has hiking, biking, and paddling trails, fishing and wildlife viewing opportunities, ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources, Recreation
Florida has a great variety of turtles. Actually, the species richness here is higher than any other state – though Alabama may argue. Many are familiar to us. If we have not seen them, we have at least heard of them. But that may ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources, Wildlife