Enjoy the Outdoors. Love the Planet.
All about Nature, about the outdoors<>I love it, photograph it and protect it.
About Sports and Photography
This blog is mostly about awesome outdoor activities and Nature pix.
Many of you know that Bulldog here is a major sports nut, too.
And when I get good shots of a sporting event, they just might end up here.
It’s all outdoor photography, right?
I’m a big fan or the University of Central Florida. The UCF Softball squad hosted the Shockers of Wichita State last week. And I got some good photos out of it!
The banner photo is of a Shockers hitter just before the bat makes contact. It’s a keeper!
The next shot shows UCF ace pitcher Alea White. Alea is a junior and is really making her mark on UCF’s program. If she finishes strong this year and has a good senior season, she’s on pace to eclipse Shelby Turnier’s record of 80 career wins.
Bunting is not a technique used that much anymore in baseball. It’s still a big deal in softball, however. In this next photo, a Shockers hitter is showing the fans how it’s done.
Ultimately, the Shockers bested my Knights, 2-1 in a very close contest. It was a hard-fought one, and I got some good pix!
What more could a fan ask for?
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Photo credits Ben Lawrence Basile
Lady Karma Visits the Poacher
I caught wind of this somewhat unusual story coming out South Africa last week.
I didn’t post about it at the time because is sounded like one of those stories that may or may not have happened but are put out there mostly to sell papers or garner lots of clicks.
Then I noticed today that the story’s been picked up by so many for-real news organizations that I know it’s been verified many times over. So here we go!
Some poacher in Africa was stomped by an elephant last week. The scene of this wonderful but somewhat rare event was Kruger National Park in South Africa.
But wait, there’s more! After getting squashed like a roach, the hapless dude was eaten by a pride of lions!
Oh, noble critters! Did you have to spike the ball like that! Bulldog is assessing 15 yards for excessive celebration in the end zone!
No, I’m not sure how much Mylanta™ it would take to quell that kind of heartburn.
But I’d surely help if I could.
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
PS: In the very unlikely event that you’re not completely sure of which side I’m on when poachers go out to murder and butcher animals I love, just leave me a comment and I’ll be only too happy to explain.
Time to walk the Beach
Sometimes you just want to walk up and down the beach. Not necessarily on a prime beach day, either.
Sometime you’ve just got to take your luck, head that way and get out in it!
That’s what this pensive fellow has done in this photo. I’m thinking he spends a lot of time doing that.
Just my intuition, you know!
If I don’t get there soon, I’m gonna be one hurtin’ puppy!
Dyin’ here in landlocked Orlando, I am,
“Beachdog Ben”
Photo credit Ben Lawrence Basile
Ban on Arctic Drilling Restored
It created quite an outcry when the trump Administration overturned an Obama-era ban on most drilling in the Arctic.
The Executive Order lifting the ban was signed back in April of 2017.
The League of Conservation Voters believed that that executive order could not withstand a legal challenge and so they filed suit.
They won their case yesterday–and though the trump Administration is almost sure to appeal Judge Sharon Gleason’s order–the planning for drilling in some extremely environmentally-sensitive areas has come to a screeching halt.
To see a story with more detail about this rare piece of good environmental news, follow this link.
To learn more about the League of Conservation Voters, click here.
Bulldog Ben
First Cali, now New York
Some of you may know that California was the first of the 50 States to ban single-use plastic shopping bags. That happened back in August of 2014.
New York is about to become the second to do it.
Of course, some members of the public think it’s an awesome thing. Some, predictably, are complaining about it.
Sara Goddard sits on the City Council of Rye, New York and is one of the folks who advocated for this law.
Now that it’s about to take effect, she has put together a quick feature in a question-and-answer format to help people get up to speed on how this change might work out, how it might affect them.
I have no idea whether anyone who may read today’s feature lives in the Empire State or not, but because similar legislation is under consideration in other states, I’m thinking that running it here could be worthwhile.
I would love to see this spread to Florida, my home state. I consider that a long shot at best but public opinion on this seems to be changing very quickly.
And that’s a good thing.
Bulldog Ben
What Does the EPA Do?
If you’re familiar with this blog at all, you know that environmental issues are a very big deal to me.
If you care about our planet, no doubt you’ve made sure that the way you go about living your life reflects that attitude of caring. Caring about the Earth on which we all depend.
No doubt you also think that public policy should be made and be carried out in ways that favor the Earth. Ways that, if they don’t actually help our planet, would at least not harm it.
Well, if you feel that way, you’d definitely be at odds with the way our policies about the environment are being made and being carried out right now.
If you’d read this far, some thought relating to the EPA most likely has popped into your head.
And yes, how the EPA goes about its business is a very big deal.
If you’re not quite sure what the EPA does or whether its work actually matters, this article from Nat Geo would be a big help.
It’s a fairly quick read. I recommend it highly.
Public policy matters. It matters a lot.
It’s time to step up our game. The welfare of our Planet and the survival of our species depend on us and what we do. Our elected officials are not only not helping, they’re making it harder for concerned citizens and Earth defenders to do anything.
The sad truth is that this will not change unless we force those in power to make the changes.
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
© 2019 Ben Lawrence Basile
Today is Common Courtesy Day!
Yes, it is! So I wanted to put up this quick post and invite my vast readership to be really, really courteous today.
What?! You’re already doing that, 365 days a year?
Me, too!
So, here’s my fall-back plan: if you see anyone acting discourteously today, kindly tell them what day it is, ask them to forego being all mean and stuff and let them know they’re all-good to begin acting the fool again effective tomorrow!
Just make sure you do so in a very, very courteous way!
Your paragon of total courtesy, I am,
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
DeSantis, Environmental Hero?
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is a big-time supporter of Donald trump. That was the cornerstone of his primary campaign when he was in a serious fight with fellow conservative and Florida Ag Commissioner Adam Putnam to get the nomination on the Republican side.
You can count me with the environmentally-minded voters who believed at the time that the election of DeSantis was going to mean, at minimum, four more years of of disastrous policies for the environment in the Sunshine State. And for the everglades, in particular.
I am very surprised and incredibly relieved to say that those fears were unfounded. I’m delighted to report that DeSantis has shown in at least three ways, that he’s for real about standing up to Big Sugar in Florida and doing all he can to protect our fragile, beleaguered environment here in the Sunshine State.
What I mean, specifically: he issued executive orders to reverse some of Rick Scott’s horrible policies affecting Florida’s ecosystems.
He sacked pretty much everyone who served on any of Florida’s five water management boards and replaced them with people who actually care about environmental issues and were not lackeys of Big Sugar.
And he immediately beefed up funding for efforts to clean up the Everglades. That included a strong commitment by the State to get the project to complete the Everglades reservoir taken off the back burner.
In an opinion piece published on January 11th, Carl Hiaasen, writing in the Miami Herald, summed up some of these happy and completely-unexpected developments. It’s a good place to start if you’d like to see why many folks in Florida are happily admitting that they had Gov. DeSantis pegged all wrong as far as our state’s environmental issues are concerned.
I still believe that Florida’s interests writ large would have been better served by the election of Andrew Gillum.
But I also believe that it’s always appropriate to give credit where credit is due and I’m delighted to say that Mr DeSantis has–at least up to this point in his time as the state’s chief executive–definitely proved that he is a strong friend of Florida’s environment.
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
© 2019 Ben Lawrence Basile
Co-existing with Wildlife
If you’re wondering how to co-exist with wildlife in a humane way, getting some tips from professionals would most certainly be a good thing.
The information found on this site could be very helpful. Especially if you live in a rural area or even if you have more than a few trees around your home in a mostly suburban location.
There are so many helpful tips on the site for small-ish critters, up to and including deer.
In the part of Florida where I live, bears love to raid trash cans and climb trees in sometimes large and up-scale neighborhoods. It’s become a pretty common thing.
Many people believe that this situation is one reason why the State of Florida green-lighted bear hunting again back in 2015. The hunting resumed the following year.
I am against bear hunting under any conditions but the article avaliable from the above link shows that the new regulations here in Florida are very seriously flawed even if you were in favor of the resumption.
If people who live near bear habitats were more bear-savvy, this unfortunate situation could possibly be improved. For tips on co-existing with bears specifically, follow this link.
Bulldog Ben Basile
© 2019 Ben Lawrence Basile
In Praise of Blossoming Trees
This post of mine first appeared back on July 5, 2016. I’m running it again today because of the beautiful Tabebuia I saw in someone’s yard last week. That fabulous tree is pictured in the photo at the bottom.
There are few things in Nature as beautiful as a tabebuia tree. The photo here is of one I tended, watered and pruned for nine years. Lovely tree; it was a gift from our next door neighbor.
The fact that a tabebuia only blooms for a few days each spring does not detract from its beauty. It’s a reminder for me that life is fleeting and we blossom for a brief season, then fall away and return to the earth. It is good to have your day in the sun!
Though these lovely trees are barren now, there are some beautiful trees, fairly-common in the Sunshine State, which display their gorgeous, bright-yellow blossoms in summer’s sultry heat! I refer to the yellow poinciana, better known to arborists as the peltophorum.
I’ve seen more than a few of them around Central Florida in the last three or four summers; they’re quite a spectacle for those of us who crave a little color in the Florida landscape before autumn’s arrival. They seem to blossom from the top down and the blossoms last a good, long while. They can grow up to 50 ft tall; I’ve seen one nearly that size near the entrance to Disney’s Jambo House Resort.
Count me as one of those Floridians who stays indoors a lot more at this time of year. Day after day of temps in the mid-nineties gets old pretty quick. When I do motor about from place to place here in our subtropical paradise, it’s such a welcome pleasure to be greeted by those lovely yellow blossoms!
If you’d like to see a brief feature about these fine specimens of arboreal beauty from an excellent source, click on this link.
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
© 2016 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo credits Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Enjoy the Outdoors. Love the Planet. 
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