As I watched, skipper butterflies came and went, each spending considerable amount of time sipping nectar. There were just 2 blossoms left on this plant. That did not matter to their skipper butterfly visitors. It was mid-morning on the Old Grade Trail at Big Bend Wildlife Management Area, in the Florida Panhandle. Northern Florida, very, very close to the Gulf of Mexico.

More and more I notice the botany of my destinations. Flowers become more beautiful to me. Flowers new to me are wondrous: How could I have lived so long without having met you, Seashore mallow?

Morning sun lighting them, a tiny skipper perched in the lower flower. There are no other human within miles, sun, no wind, no rush, no concerns, except . . . Gee! I’ll soon have to leave this OMG! place, maybe never to see it again.

Jeff