For this week’s challenge, Tina encourages us to “explore the habitats of both human and/or animal “residents.” She includes a quote by the Dalai Lama:

The reality today is that we are all interdependent and have to co-exist on this small planet.”

Sadly, interdependence, biodiversity, climate change are all “dirty” words here in Florida. At least, officially “climate change” can no longer be referenced in any government document. As if climate change won’t exist if the words aren’t spoken or written.

Thankfully, near us is a very special habitat that nurtures biodiversity. A place that I frequently write about.

Some of the following photos are old, of the BCP (Before Cell Phone) Era. They represent various views of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (SMNWR) over the years. As many of you know, SMNWR is a favorite place of ours for bicycling. (It used to be a favorite place for hiking, but our feet, knees, and backs won’t tolerate those long walks any more.)

SMNWR provides habitat for deer and a safe haven since the Wildlife Management Area next to the refuge allows hunting during certain times of the year. We see a lot of deer in the refuge when it’s hunting season.

You can’t have a sustainable habitat without allowing some impressive predators to co-exist whether they be snakes, alligators, or bald eagles.

Another favorite habitat is Mashes Sands Beach. It’s what I call a “poor man’s Riveria” as it’s a small beach on an estuary. It harbors a delicate ecosystem. Such as a tiny hermit crab in a tiny shell.

Or many hermit crabs burrowing in the wet sand.

Or an osprey on the hunt.

Then there’s the habitats we create in order to encourage and nurture biodiversity. My husband and I are members of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. A modest membership includes a subscription to Wings, a seasonal collection of essays on invertebrate conservation. In the Spring 2024 issue, Scott Black wrote “Planting Habitat as an Act of Hope.” His brief essay did, indeed, give me hope.

Scott wrote about his family’s efforts to transform their lawn into a garden that would provide pollen and nectar for insects. He noted that because of these changes, their “yard has become a magnet for wildlife.” He added:

There is hope, despite what we see in the news. Insects are resilient, and we know that protecting and managing high-quality habitat can quickly produce positive outcomes for insect populations, sometimes within a few years, on a time scale that means we will see the difference.

In our little corner of the world, as my husband and I work to provide a nurturing habitat for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and dragonflies, to name a few, in less than two years we are seeing a difference.

An Eastern Carpenter Bee entangles itself in the tiny flowers of an Anise Hyssop.

A Gulf Fritillary feasts on the nectar of a Blue Mystic Spiral.

Another Gulf Fritillary prefers the flowers of a yellow lantana.

Last month I had the pleasure of an photo op with an American Lady. The butterfly must have just emerged from its chrysalis as it made no attempt to escape my lens.

And while we have several poles placed around our house to accommodate the hunting practices of dragonflies, this one decided he preferred a plant hanger.

Finally, a nurturing habitat is necessary for the domesticated animals in our lives. We are fierce believers in keeping our cats indoors. Over the years, we have had to allow for a few stray cats to live outdoors, although they would always have access to shelter in our garage. This wasn’t because they preferred to be outdoors; it was only ever because our house was already full of cats and we knew (through traumatic experience) that the then-indoor cats would not peacefully coexist with the outdoor cats. Eventually, though, as one cat died, one or two was introduced to the indoors … permanently.

The last cat we brought in from the outdoors was Raji. He was very young when he turned up in our yard almost four years ago. He was a shy, suspicious cat and it took some coaxing and a lot of patience to get him into our garage where we would feed him.

Because he was so young, we didn’t want to let him have free reign outside. We were afraid that he would disappear or get hit by one of the many cars that speed through our neighborhood. But we also needed time. We needed him to accept us before we introduced him to the rest of the household.

So we bought a two-level cat cage and my husband “installed” it on the side deck. We already had a cat-door on the garage door so once the “condo” was installed, Raji could enjoy the outdoors without getting loose.

Thankfully, Raji’s habitat is now fully indoors with us and Wendy. Below is Raji in his natural habitat.

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Many thanks to Tina for this challenge. I could have kept writing and sharing photos about all kinds of habitats, but, hopefully, the ones in this post will suffice. Habitats are many and varied, some more nurturing than others.

And many thanks to Egídio for last week’s challenge. I am still amazed by how his challenge changed how I see my photos, and how I now compose them.

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An important announcement: As in previous years, the Lens-Artists team will be on hiatus for the month of July. There will be no challenge on July 6th, and the rest of the month will be led by several amazing Guest Hosts. They include:

July 13: Leanne of Leanne Cole explores TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

July 20: Elizabeth of Albatz Travel Adventures leads us with PAIRS

July 27: PR of Flights of the Soul presents BALCONIES

The Lens-Artist team will be back on August 3 when Patti once again leads us on her Pilotfish Blog.

For more information on joining our challenge, click here. Remember, if you’d like to participate in any challenge, always include a link to the original post for the challenge, and include Lens-Artists as a tag so we can find you.

Cheers, ciao, and hasta la vista.