Dauphin Island

The month of January on Dauphin Island off the coast of Alabama is one of the most wonderful gifts I've ever received. The beach in winter is invigorating. On our daily walks, I was preoccupied with scavenging the beach to see what the tide washed upon the shore each day. It's different each day. One day it was strewn with vegetation of various kinds. Seed pods, stem segments, uprooted plants, tree trunks, acorns, etc. were the remains of a passing storm. The patterns of the wind, water, currents, on the sand seemingly stamped with footprints of beach visitors of various kinds...birds, people, dogs, and the like leave a history of the most recent past. Everyone delights in the variety of shells to collect. My favorite encounter was with the dolphins gently surfacing out of the water as they run the beach feeding just offshore. That will just have to remain a pleasant memory because I couldn't get a picture.

Dauphin Island Beach Club
Our Home Away From Home

Roger(Hubby), Mary Anne(Sister-in-law), Jim(Brother-in-law)

Audubon Bird Sanctuary

Estuarium

Fort Gaines

Feed the Birds

Fairhope, Alabama
Flowers are everywhere in the downtown area. They are in boxes, medians, containers, intersections, etc.

Riviera Centre Outlet Stores

Just when I thought life could get no better, my daughter, Rachel arrived to spend a week with us.

Bellingrath Gardens Greenhouse

White Orchids

White Orchids With Silvery-blue Throats

At Biophilia, on the east side of Mobile Bay near Elberta, Alabama, Carol Saas, biologist, has out of season native flora blooming in her greenhouse for snowbirds to see. There was also a terrarium with Monarch caterpillars feeding.

Carol is releasing rehabilitated injured birds. (July 2003)

The name of the center was inspired by:
Biophilia, September 1, 2002 Reviewer: Joe Zika from Cincinnati, Ohio
Biophilia written by Edward O. Wilson is a book about the conservative ethic and moral reasoning, bringing a new perspective on mans place within the richness of species diversity. Biophilia as defined by the author as the innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes. Arguing that the essence of our humanity... the expansive freedom the mind seeks... is inextricably linked with the green enclaves of this planet.
This book covers a wide expanse in both time and scope, from the microscopic and across time... exploring life's varying time scales. I found this book to be written on a personal level bringing the reader into confidence and like a father or grandfather showing us the marvels of nature first hand. I'm sure that was his intent, to reawaken us, to show how man is intergrated and plays an intergral part in the natural affinity of life on the planet, explaining that biophilia is central to the evolution of the human mind.
We go from rain forests in Brazil, to handfuls of soil, explore the bird of paradise, and study the Huron Peninsula of New Guinea. Through all of this we acquire a greater appreciation for life and the intricate symbiosis that interplays on our human equilibrium.
The book has excellent illustrative text that brings a unique vividness to the author's excellent writing. This is a book that takes the reader on a rich educational look... a serious look... at nature and all of the intergral parts as interplayed in life. Man whether he likes it or not, is tied to this planet and its life force.

After visiting Biophilia , my interest in bog plants, native plants, and threatened plants was renewed, not to mention, a new interest in butterfly larvae host plants. As per usual, I returned home with a sampling of plants as souvenirs.

Souvenir Plants

Life is Good