We are so excited for our upcoming Hiking and Camping Tour season! These are all of the hikes we have planned for you for 2024. Tickets and details about each event can be found at https://floridanaturalistexperience.square.site/ . Start planning all of your fun outdoor recreation for this fall today! We can't wait to see you on the trail.
If you provide an oasis they will come. We love our honeybees!
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A lovely White-tailed deer family stopped to check us out. ♥️
Oh deer! Look at who joined us during our family hike at Greenway the other day! In this post we’re going to highlight some amazing things about the common but valued white tail deer. White tail deer can be a pretty common sighting along rural roadsides here in Florida and across the U.S., but they shouldn’t be taken for granted. Deer are actually pretty interesting creatures.
In Florida, we have 3 different subspecies of white tail deer…
- Florida coastal white tail deer which span the panhandle and the west coast to about Tampa Bay
- Florida white tail deer which span the northeastern portion of the state, central Florida, and south Florida
- and Key deer, which are only found in the Keys.
All three subspecies of deer are marginally smaller than white tail deer found elsewhere in North America. So small in fact that most adult humans outweigh them by quite a bit, with male Florida deer averaging at 125lbs and females at 95lbs.
White tail deer are homebodies at heart, with their most potent wanderlust only taking them on a journey of about 6 miles from where they were born. In areas where white tail deer may be legally hunted, their lifespan averages at about 4-6 years. In protected areas they can average a lifespan of about 10 years, but in captivity they can live up to 20 years old. They are the most economically important game species in Florida, providing meat and materials for people in as long as people have been here.
Like cows, deer have a 4 chambered stomach that allows them to digest a wide variety of plant material. They are by no means picky eaters, and will munch on just about anything green or fungal that’s within reach to them. Florida’s nutrient poor soils actually makes it difficult for deer populations to be easily supported, but the presence of agriculture in Florida for several hundred years now and regulations on hunting has allowed their population to grow. Today, there are about 700,000 white tail deer roaming the state.
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(Check the comments for additional pictures as Facebook won’t allow pictures and videos to be posted in the same post.)
Who’s that swimming around down there? Bullfrogs? Leopard frogs? Nope! This is a massive swarm of tadpoles belonging to the appropriately named river frog, formally known as lithobates heckscheri!
River frog tadpoles can be identified easily by the dark outline around the edge of their tails with an additional dark stripe through the middle of the tail, as well as their large size. The one in my hand is rather small compared to its siblings, which reach a size of up to 3-4 inches long in their tadpole state. Adult river frogs typically grow to be about 4-5 inches long, but they have been reported to reach sizes of up to 6 inches in length. River frogs can be found in every part of Florida, but they can also be found in the southernmost and more coastal regions of Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Singling out their call among a nighttime cacophony of frog calls can be difficult to do, but their call can be described as a deep, long and continues droning “buuurrrrrr” sound as well as the occasional grunt. River frogs are not confined strictly to rivers, but can be found in almost any freshwater body in the state. Their diets range from insects found on land to aquatic creatures such as crawfish, mosquito fish and even other frogs.
10 days left until our tour at Indian Lake State Forest featuring a delicious Pacific Island inspired feast cooked on site by the culinary team that is Bon Voisin Chef! Only a handful of spots remain for this trip, so contact us for details today if you want to spend a beautiful fall day enjoying gorgeous nature and amazing food! Our next tour after this will take place on a section of the Florida Trail which travels through Marshall Swamp, one of seven of Florida’s true biological swamps. Stay tuned for more Floridian nature facts and updates about our upcoming tours!
#florida #vacation #hiking #hiking
Check out this snake browsing our garden! Notice his creative way of climbing down the fence. This is the eastern racer or black racer. Sometimes confused for Pygmy rattlesnakes which are venomous; the black racer is completely harmless and can be easily identified by their dark body which ranges from a few shades of very dark blue, black and dark grey, as well as their distinctive light tan to white colored chin and their round eyes. Juveniles black racers however can look slightly similar to juvenile Pygmy rattlesnakes.
Black racers can be found all throughout Florida, and thrive best in areas with low scrub and nearby water. They also do quite well in residential gardens, as you can see here.
If you spot one of these guys around your home do not be alarmed, as these snakes are playing a big role in removing all kinds of pests ranging from insects to rats, and even other snakes from your yard and home. Black racers are very non confrontational snakes and will often times slither away when spotted rather than attempt to defend themselves. As their name implies, they’re pretty good at that.
There are 4 spots left for our hiking trip this October 14th! If a beautiful hike through the scrubby upland woods of central Florida followed by a delicious 3 course meal prepared by lifelong chefs sounds like fun to you, then contact us for more details and to reserve your spots!
#florida #vacation #hiking #hikingtours #food #localfood #floridamasternaturalist #privatechef #floridavacation #family #floridafun #adventure #bonvoisinchef #chef #personalchef #centralflorida #floridachef #chefsofinstagram #food #family #homecooking #mealprep #vacation #southerncharm #health #newamericancuisne #fusioncuisine #internationalcuisine #foodlover
If you live in Florida, then you probably see one of these types of lizards just about every day. These are actually two different species of a group of lizards known as anoles. While both are species of anole, there are some key differences that make the two stand out, aside from their color. If you live in an urban area, you may almost exclusively see the brown anoles. This is because of their ability to more easily camouflage themselves in this environment. They have a tendency to dominate over the smaller, less prolifically breeding green anoles. Green anoles are native to Florida, but have been competing with the brown anoles for about a century since their introduction to Florida as stowaways on cargo ships coming from the Caribbean islands and Cuba. The green anoles survive alongside the growing population of brown anoles by taking to higher, more greenly colored hunting grounds, such as the leafy parts of tall shrubs and trees. Although limited in their ability to do so, both the green and brown anoles are actually able to slightly change the tone of their color depending on their surroundings to better blend in. This is the origin of the misconception that they are the same. Despite their generally skittish behavior, these lizards can also have a lot of personality. They are also helpful in the home setting as they naturally prey on pests you’d like to keep out of the home, such as ants and roaches. We’re going to be seeing lots of wildlife along our upcoming hikes, with amazing gourmet food provided right there in the field by Bon Voisin Chef! Stay posted for our upcoming fall dates and more facts about Florida’s amazing nature! #florida #vacation #hiking #hikingtours #food #localfood #floridamasternaturalist #privatechef #floridavacation #family #floridafun #adventure #bonvoisinchef #chef #personalchef #centralflorida #floridachef #chefsofinstagram #food #family #homecooking #mealprep #vacation #southerncharm #health #newamericancuisne #fusioncuis
This plant reacts to touch! This is the sunshine mimosa, also known as a powderpuff mimosa for its bright pink, fluffy flowers. The leaves actually fold up in reaction to touch and other stimuli. Their Dr. Seuss-like flowers are also big hits for pollinators, serving as a source of pollen for bees and butterflies alike. Their flowers even provide a safe place for butterfly larvae to develop. Unlike mimosa pudica, which is also known for its seemingly shy folding leaves and thus sports the name the shame plant, sunshine mimosa is a native species to Florida and does not grow into anything larger than ground cover. The gentle flowers and folding leaves of the sunshine mimosa seem fragile, but in reality can take a beating, making them beautiful grass alternatives for yards! These mimosas are growing at Ray Wayside County Park where the Silver River and the Ocklawaha River meet, and are trampled daily and mowed often. Yet, here they are doing what they do best; being beautiful and supporting Florida’s ecosystem! We’re going to be seeing all kinds of personable forms of life like the sunshine mimosa during our upcoming hiking season. We’re going to be making memories finding creatures you may have never seen while exploring Florida’s nature and enjoying delicious food prepared by Bon Voisin Chef. Stay posted for more cool facts about Florida’s wild side as well as information regarding future hikes, or message us directly! #florida #vacation #hiking #hikingtours #food #localfood #floridamasternaturalist #privatechef #floridavacation #family #floridafun #adventure #bonvoisinchef #chef #personalchef #centralflorida #floridachef #chefsofinstagram #food #family #homecooking #mealprep #vacation #southerncharm #health #newamericancuisne #fusioncuisine #internationalcuisine #foodlover
