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Little Lake Journal

Life & Nature On Little Lake Santa Fe

Richard Rathe, 2026 (Boats, Photography)

An occasional journal of photographs and activities on the Lake thru the seasons. I walk or kayak almost every day and these are the flora and fauna I encounter. The photographs are mine unless otherwise noted. Entries are in reverse chronological order.

Oct 8

Fragile Dapperling (Leucocoprinus fragilissimus) Mushroom

Oct 3

Red-Shouldered Hawk — You lookin' at me?

We have a small herd of White-Tailed Deer in our neighborhood. They usually give birth to the new fawns in the spring. That's why I was surprised to encounter this newcomer in October. We started having a piebald individual every year. This is the fourth or fifth I've counted. Less obvious color pattern than the others. None have survived more than a year to my knowledge. 🙁

Sept 25

Had a little flock of mostly warblers descend on my kayak after a brief rainstorm. Discovered later they were mostly there for a hatch of mayflies.

Sept 5

I rescued this four inch caterpillar from the road and later ID'd it as a Tersa Sphinx Moth.

July 29

Encounter with my friend who is an avid canoe racer…

Early Morning Kayaking [photo:Dave Seeds]

July 15

Consider the Black-Bellied Whistling Duck! (One of the better bird names IMO.) Larger than average ducks, longer neck, pink bill & feet, used to be called tree ducks. I see these very early in the morning and occasionally a pair on a nearby dock. Only learned recently that they are mostly active at night, which is why I wasn't aware they were around. And the best part, they actually whistle, no quacking here!

June 21

Many butterflies are flitting about now, including this Spicebush Swallowtail.

Take a close look at the blue airbrushed patterns near the tail. You'll see that there is a distinct zig-zag pattern as it fades to black. I'm thinking this may be an example of a Turing Pattern first described by the famous mathematician Alan Turing in 1952.

June 19

Sandhill Crane Family—the young are called colts.

Florida has a major population of Non-Migratory Sandhill Cranes. They are slightly shorter than their migratory brethren. The colt shown here was hatched locally.

April 1

Old Man in a Fog

Mar 27

Since we are part of a wetlands area we have Marsh Rabbits, not Cotton-Tailed.

Mar 23

With Spring rains come the Rain Lilies. 🙂

Mar 21

This is the above-water flower of a carnivorous Bladderwort. The pale root-like underwater structure has little bags which close when minute water flea insects enter them. The small green leaves are pondweed and not part of the bladderwort (which has no leaves to speak of).

Feb 19

A small flock of these ducks was seen on the lake for about a week…

Jan 2

Beautiful, calm day to start the new year. I went out for a long leisurely paddle in my kayak to watch the sun set and the full moon rise. 🙂

This is a slide!