Tight Lines…A Spring Fishing Trip to Remember
As the Anglers Club season comes to an end, many of the Burnt Store Anglers head back north, leaving about 25% off the membership to enjoy the summer season. The Burnt Store Anglers was founded by a group of 18 anglers who enjoyed fishing and sharing information 25 years ago. Since that time, over 175 […]
Peace River Audubon Society (PRAS)
RED-SHOULDERED HAWK CHICK BY RICK READ For June-September, there are no programs or various bird walks. However, on most Saturdays, at 8:30 a.m., Rob Mills leads a nature walk at Audubon Pennington Park, 1153 Alton Rd, Port Charlotte. Please RSVP on the website: http://www.peaceriveraudubonsociety.org
Florida Dragonflies
The dragonfly’s life-cycle revolves around water, so it’s no surprise that Florida has more than 150 species. They come in many colors – black, blue, green and red being most common. Dragonflies don’t have a stinger, so they won’t sting you. They do, however, have teeth. So, a bite is possible. Dragonflies aren’t an aggressive […]
Gardener’s Wheelbarrow
June is the month when afternoon thunderstorms start appearing. Rain, humidity, heat and lots of sun change the way plants grow. Everything speeds up, including diseases and pests. Keep a sharp eye out for odd leaf growth patterns and yellow veining on leaves. June brings glorious flowers to plumeria/frangipani, crape myrtle and royal poinciana. This […]
PHOTOS
Tight Lines…Bait casting equipment still alive and well
While spin cast equipment is still the number one piece of fishing equipment for Florida Anglers, a trip to the lake region of central Florida shows heavy use of bait casting equipment. For many of our visitors from the Great Lakes region of our country, you will see many excellent anglers using the conventional rod […]
Peace River Audubon Society (PRAS)
The hawk I see most often around BSM is the Red-shouldered Hawk. The back, wings, and tail are black with white streaks, while the breast is rust colored. It gets its name from the rust-colored shoulders shown in this photo of an Eastern subspecies taken in Indiana. The Florida subspecies is lighter colored than those […]
Earleaf Acacia (A. auriculiformis) – A Nasty Australian Invader
I’ve written before in The Beacon about various invasive species within our community (e.g. Florida Pursley; Tree Frogs and the Brown Anole, all blamed on Cuba). This month I direct our attention to an invader from Australia and other parts of southeast Asia. Earleaf Acacia, not to be confused with the beneficial native Sweet Acacia, […]
Gardener’s Wheelbarrow
During May about 3 to 4 inches of rainfall is anticipated…and definitely hoped for. If you’re on the irrigation system, the water level in the aquifer will have dropped to its lowest and salts become an even bigger problem in May. They also accumulate in the soil. We count on the rains to not only […]
The Polka-Dot Wasp Moth on Your Oleanders
OLEANDER CATERPILLAR Have you seen wasp-like insects on your oleanders? They are dark metallic blue, with a couple of white polka-dots dotting the wings and abdomen, with the tip of the abdomen bright red. They are called polka-dot wasp moths, and sometimes Uncle Sam moths because they are red, white and blue. They look like […]