Another stop at the botanical garden up the road from me. This time there were no butterflies stopping for photos, but the flowers were gorgeous.
I noticed this bluebird as soon as I arrived. He must be new.This looks like a firecracker to me.How pretty is this? You can be sure to find some shade should you decide to visit.I thought the butterflies found these pagoda plants irresistible, but they didn’t seem interested in landing on them this day.I absolutely love plumbago flowers.This squirrel was at eye level and stayed totally still for me. I guess he thought he was hiding behind that branch.
My friend suggested that I work on all the photos I have and get them ready in case we lose electricity with a hurricane heading into the gulf. So I took his advice, but without electricity where will those photos go? I guess I will unplug the computer and hope they are waiting for me after the storm. But for now we watch the weather forecasts and get as ready as we can, and wait…
Did you see that little creature peeking out of the water at the pond in the back of my over-55 mobile park, the one in the feature photo? I had heard that there USED to be an alligator in the pond, and it would bask on the bank in the sun sometimes. But it was gone, or so I was told. Gone to where was never explained. I’ve been coming down for the sunset for three years now, and usually you are greeted by a rather large turtle that will come over and check you out as you stand on the little deck which is provided for the residents to enjoy. My guess is that some residents feed him, because why else would he care that you are there? And, yes, the turtle was present and accounted for on this night. But it was the other little set of eyes that I saw that had me wondering.
Obviously not a great shot, just didn’t want you to think I’m making the whole thing up.This is the shot that I go back for time and time again. Gotta love the little palm trees and their reflections.It never hurts to have a bird fly through your sunset shot.That it turned out to be this osprey fly over was a bonus.
I’ve been known to stand on the bank in hopes that the dragonflies would be flitting around the rushes at the edge of the water, so I suppose I will have to check out my surroundings a bit more thoroughly from now on. Once I start shooting Godzilla could come up behind me and I probably wouldn’t notice. Of course I count on my gated community to keep all the monsters out, but then the alligator managed to get in didn’t he? My guess is he isn’t over 55…
It was back to the bridge along the side of the highway for the sunrise this morning. When I walked out my front door I saw a lot of low, dark clouds, but I decided to head the few miles to see what I would see. It’s a busy road, a major north/south route, three lanes in each direction with a median. The sidewalks have cement barriers, so it doesn’t feel as reckless as it might sound. And speaking of sounds, you know what I hear as I look at the scene and plan my shots? I hear a rooster, sounding as out of place as he could be.
This was my first shot. Actually a 5 shot HDR image. Enough color to make me glad I headed out.As time passed the color mellowed out.I walked to the far end of the bridge to see these boats better.
The rooster wasn’t the only thing I heard this morning. Across the road, so across all six lanes of traffic from me, was a guy having an argument with someone. Himself? Was he on his phone? I couldn’t tell, and I wasn’t hopeful that the color would magically become amazing, so I walked (fast) down to my secluded parking spot and headed home. It was the first time I’ve ever felt uncomfortable when I’m roaming in the morning or at sunset. My house is ready for the possible storm that’s coming. It’s sure nice to have friends because I wouldn’t want to ride one out in a mobile home.
It may look as if it was the same sunrise that I’ve seen three days in a row now. No clouds to really pick up the color, it just sort of faded away. And the little birds that I’d tried to shoot the day before didn’t show up, though some of the usual suspects were there. So you might think it was a disappointing morning, but it wasn’t. Because last night I finally got my car back from the shop. And it looks, and even smells, like a brand new car! I had intended to clean it before I brought it in but I didn’t get around to it, and now I’m glad I didn’t bother. The hold up was the replacement shutter that cools the engine. You wire it one way or another depending on the build date of the car, information that would have been helpful to include with the new part, but it wasn’t. So anyhow, this morning may look the same, but I have had an attitude adjustment now that I have wheels! I confess that I was getting a bit pouty as time wore on. My chauffeur is off the hook. I got no attitude from him, he’s nicer than I am.
This really is a new picture, even if it looks exactly the same.Waiting for sunrise.
The car looks so great that I’d like to wrap it in bubble wrap and never drive it again, but there is a potential hurricane to get ready for so I’ll just cross my fingers and hope we are spared again…
Walking to the neighborhood pond yesterday afternoon, armed with my camera and my cell phone, I hoped for something photo worthy to be there. I disturbed the ducks, so I took a picture of them as they swam around, deciding if they needed to worry about me. And I took a photo of this dragonfly too, but that was all the activity there seemed to be. Truthfully I hadn’t expected much, but having had my car in the shop for two weeks I was pretty sure that my friend might be having second thoughts about sharing his car while mine was in the shop, so the pond was my best option to get out of the house for a bit.
I had almost given up on spotting a dragonfly, but this one cooperated.
Then this morning the weather app said it was 71 degrees out and that was all the reason I needed to go out and watch the sun come up.
This photo looks more like the scene looked to me as I sat on this bench and waited. I had used the bench as a prop in a photo before, but I had told myself I should have brought a chair so I didn’t have to sit in the wet grass, and then realized that I could just sit on the bench. Brilliant, I know. After having swatted a mosquito or two I decided that I really should remember bug spray when I head out also.This iPhone picture surprised me by showing more color that I’d seen as I waited. I took this picture to include the pretty crescent moon in the frame along with the scene. I will admit that this is more colorful than what I saw, and it was ‘seen’ by the camera, I didn’t add anything.Walking home I wondered where that crescent moon had gone, but I spotted it still up there in the sky, but barely showing. Again the camera saw it differently, but I’m okay with that.
Will I get my car back today? And, if so where will I go? Maybe I’ll take the trike to the bike shop and get the chain put back on it. Then I’ll have full mobility to go with the cooler temperatures. Sounds good to me.
It was off to the zoo for us on Sunday. A shoot with a friendly bunch of photographers. We got there just as the zoo opened, but before the tiger made an appearance, and even the orangutans were no where to be seen. But a keeper came to the primate area and called for RanDee and RipLee, and they came out of their enclosure. She tossed them pieces of fruit, and the rest of the orangutans joined them.
I shouldn’t play favorites, but I have followed this little guy since his birth almost two years ago, and yes, he is my favorite.The mother/son bond between these two is amazing to watch. What a good mom she is.It would seem as if I don’t see any other animals when I visit the zoo, but that’s not quite true. But almost.It came as a huge surprise to me that another orangutan baby was born a few months ago and it escaped my notice altogether. Gotta love that hairdo.This mom looks very individual to me, and she has bangs.Finally this baby looked up so we can see him. Or her.Dear old Dad.The family that plays together…Finally, not an orangutan. That’s a manatee, coming up for air.He’s saying hello.A panther taking a cat nap.Cooling offKeeping an eye on things.She offered to let a boy touch this rat snake. He looked even less thrilled than I would have been.Wait, one more of the cute little guy. He’s getting so big.
A Snowbird's Life Through the Lens 