I drove the 4 hours from Eatonton, Georgia due south to Perry, Florida. I checked into the Hampton Inn, and with some help from the front desk staff, was in Big Bend Wildlife Management Area the next morning. Excited? Are you kidding? I hadn’t been to Florida since 1963, and now I’m back with camera, Fuji slide film, knee pad and all the rest of my gear.

Butterflies of the Florida Panhandle, that’s what I came for. Total triumph is about the best way to describe those 4 sunny days. No feral dogs, no nasty critters, just a few ticks (Yes, Ugh!!!), and so many butterflies that were new to me, or that I’d only since once or twice before.

The thing was, not only were there winged beauties aloft and nectaring, but there were also flowers that I had never seen before, not even up in  Putnam County, Georgia or at Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge or at Hard labor Creek State Park. Shoot or conserve film. You know how that worked out.

Excellent example here. I approached this beacon of beauty, and must have said, “Hello, and who are you?” I shot away, knowing that much later I will find the name and info..

It’s a . . . Salt marsh Morning Glory (Ipomoea sagittata) and found along the coast from North Carolina down to Florida and westward to Texas.

I liked/like it, and standing there before it, liked it alot.

Jeff