March 2018 – A Snowbird's Life Through the Lens

adventure, boats, family, fun, grandchildren, kayaking, nature, photography

Down by the riverside…

March 31, 2018March 30, 2018 naturecoastimagesblog

I’ve been wanting to go kayaking for a while now. I pictured quietly floating down the river and taking pictures with my iPhone. That was what I had wished for, but what I never dared to wish for was someone to go with me, especially my grandson! It will be easy I told him. It’s intuitive, I said. And it was, for a little while. When I saw him shift his weight towards one side of the kayak it seemed as if I had a lot of time to will the kayak not to tip over, but it did. With a splash the water was full of floating shoes, and hats, and Spence was sputtering when he came up because he’d dropped his phone. What wasn’t hanging around was his kayak, it was being carried by the (strong) current and I had to leave Spence there (did I mention that the water wasn’t too deep), while he looked for his phone, and I took off after the kayak. It was a relief when he recovered the phone and after he’d determined that his waterproof phone was really waterproof, but that’s when he realized that his glasses were also among the missing. So this story doesn’t have a happy ending since we never did find the glasses. And of course that makes me feel badly, but still I have been laughing my head off over this all day. I think I lost it when he snagged his shoe as it floated by. I guess you had to be there. I haven’t recovered yet, maybe he isn’t the only one who went off the deep end…

birds, Cranes, Florida wildlife, nature, photography, unintended images

Out and about…

March 30, 2018March 29, 2018 naturecoastimagesblog

There we have it, proof that there are two eggs out there on the nest. The other day we were under a tornado warning, with heavy rain and wind, and I worried about the Mama Sandhill crane out there on the nest, in the storm, and possibly being pelted by hail. When it stopped for a minute and I saw sunshine I went out, thinking I’d get the dogs walked. The break in the weather was momentary however, but long enough for me to notice that her mate was out there too, laying right there with her on the nest. It warmed my heart. Having someone to share the good times is wonderful, but having someone there to share the hard times is a blessing.

The Tri-Colored heron was also out there yesterday, and a Red-shouldered Hawk too. I got lots of good photos of the hawk, I thought, until I went to upload them and realized that I didn’t have the SD card in the camera. Rookie mistake.

Saw this in the parking lot at work and had to chuckle. Got to love an old fart with a sense of humor.Maybe he is related to this guy.

I thought of this first! I proposed this to Charley in the last five or so years that we had our dental office. Extractions were a particular talent of his, and dental supplies had become outrageously expensive, so I thought it a low overhead service that was needed in our office area. I thought it was brilliant. Evidently someone else did too. Looks like a franchise too, sigh…I’ll bet this guy is a charmer…

And then there is Siri. Upon leaving Busch Gardens I was looking for parking lot D, but the only signs I saw were for parking lots, A,B,C,E, and F. So I said, “Hey Siri, where did I leave my car.” I started walking before I thought to take a screen shot.

I’m sure your phones also give you a message when you get to where you are going, suggesting the route to take and how long the trip home will take. Well, for a while there every time I got into the car she told me how far it was to the nearest car wash. I wish I had taken a screen shot of it because I was almost getting annoyed with her. And I still haven’t taken the hint and washed the car. But just the other day I asked her something, I don’t remember what it was that I had asked her, but once I got my answer I said ‘thank you’. And she replied…

birds, family, Florida landmarks, gardens, grandchildren, perseverance, photography

A day with family…

March 29, 2018March 28, 2018 naturecoastimagesblog

Such a fun day. A birthday trip to Busch Gardens with two of my grandchildren. It’s been quite a while since I’d seen them so it was quite a treat. However the quest to ride the rides (them) cut down on the opportunities to take pictures (me). But as I left to head for home I passed the two aviaries that we had zoomed past as we entered the park. I couldn’t help myself, I had to stop in.

finding my way, Florida landmarks, honor, photography, special effects, sunset

Wandering in Dunedin…

March 28, 2018March 28, 2018 naturecoastimagesblog

I had taken plenty pictures of the sunset, and it was fading anyhow, so I started wandering, drawn by the lights of the various shops just up ahead. I have tail light trails in the photo above, and the ghost of a car that I ought to remove but will drive myself nuts trying. I prefer to wonder who was in that car, and where they were going. I hope they had as much fun as I did that night. It started with the Old Bay Cafe, and then Got Lobstah? Unfortunately I didn’t get to try a lobster roll, my cousin says they have the best ones he’s had outside of Massachusetts. And I continued on from there. I love that they honor our veterans in Dunedin. I know a couple of heros, something I’m sure that they would deny, but they are though…All I can say about this one is that I clearly need to consider perspective when I’m taking pictures. Blame the parked cars and close quarters. Maybe the shop itself was crooked because when I try to level one thing then something else is off…

flowers, gardens, nature, photography, solitude

A Secret Garden…

March 27, 2018March 26, 2018 naturecoastimagesblog

I have never seen such a lovely garden. A meandering path through lush foliage, and a surprise around every turn. It was the fun meet and greet before our photo walk last Saturday night. I could have gotten lost, happily lost. And I could have taken many more pictures, it deserved to be a destination all it’s own. We were told we could take photographs and post them wherever we like. I thought that was an excellent idea!And oh, by the way, I took most of these as single photos, but I had heard that Easy HDR would convert those also. Must have worked because I can’t remember which was which.

learning, old dogs new tricks, photography, special effects, sunset

Fire in the sky…

March 26, 2018March 25, 2018 naturecoastimagesblog

The trouble with coming home with a LOT of bracketed photos for HDR is that by the time you have been concentrating on them for a while they look dull unless they are intense! So forgive me if they are assaulting your eyeballs please, because after spending all morning on them I’m not about to start over. I wonder which of our hosts, Eddie or Bob, sold their soul to the devil to arrange for such a spectacular sunset for this photo shoot. By the time we got to Dunedin and had assembled and then walked to the pier the sunset was up and running. Eddie told all of us to post our photos on the meet up group site, and then I heard him say that he had never gotten as much criticism as he got after he began to post HDR photos. So thanks in advance Eddie!