Month: February 2023

'scene' along the way, black and white, exploring new places, Florida landmarks, fun, making memories, nature, perseverance, photography, road trip

Let’s go for a ride…

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My immediate comment at the suggestion of ‘going for a ride’ will always be, “Where to?” And these days I will always expect to take some pictures when we get there. But there was no destination in mind when we headed out yesterday, and if we would have known we would have had the scooter and trike with us. We saw a sign for Dade Battlefield Historic State Park and turned in. The site preserves the battlefield where the Seminole Indians fought the soldiers under the command of Major Francis L Dade in the Second Seminole War. What little we saw of it made us want to come back when we are able to ride the trails. And learn a bit of history that we may have missed growing up in Massachusetts.

You drive in and park at the visitor’s center. When we arrived we saw a volunteer taking a group out for a narrated tour of the battlefield. This looks like a nice place to ride and explore.
Having just taken a class on black and white photography I had in mind finding scenes that might translate to black and white well. Or at all.
There were many live oaks creating tunnels to lure you into the woods. We didn’t see the 400 year old oak that the volunteer told us was here. I think we knew immediately that this place would be worth another visit.
I think I like this black and white the best.

We also ‘found’ the Florida National Cemetery and drove in to see it. I was there with a friend a few years ago for the Memorial Day festivities and it was a very moving place to be. The feature photo doesn’t do it justice, because there are fields and fields of gravestones, all perfectly tended and around every corner. We now have a plan to go back this Memorial Day. All and all it was a beautiful day for a drive…

I’m looking forward to the class on editing your black and white photos.
'scene' along the way, a second look, attitude adjustments, Florida landmarks, friends, fun, old dogs new tricks, perseverance, photography, Rise and shine, technology

Off to the races…

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We were up early on Saturday to get to a black and white photography class, but we also had to race from there to the Tampa Bay Downs to host a photo op for the club. Both things on the same day was a lot, and we were late getting to the track, but so was the only other person to show up. We had extra time before the first race however, so we got some lunch, and after that I was more ready for a nap than anything. But I was armed with the new 1.4 extender for my r7 camera and the 100-400 lens, so when the first race began I raced up to the balcony to get my one and only shot with that lens.

From the balcony and with the extra reach from the extender this is my shot of the far turn. From there it’s right down the final stretch to the finish line.
Back downstairs again I decided to switch to the 18-150 lens because the camera is so light with that lens on, and I was tired and hot. 90 degrees in February? I amused myself between races by taking pictures of the pretty flowers around the winners circle.
Without as much reach with my smaller lens I found like liked the view that included some of the scene as well as the start of the next race. I like to try to get an out of the gates shot, And I’m glad I did this time. Look at where horse #8 is.
From the balcony you have time to go inside the grandstand and shoot a picture of the finish line from that upstairs angle. And look, the winner was #8!
This is another winner, and it was the #8 horse in this race too!
Here’s the big picture. You can people watch from the balcony vantage point. And you can see the paddock area where the horses are brought out and the jockeys mount them before they are led onto the track for their race.

The feature photo shows you how futile it would be for me to shoot from the rail. I’m too short and there are several layer of fencing that would wind up in my shot. But in this case I saw that I could see the finish line sign between the people so I took the shot. Possibly my favorite shot of the day.

a second look, adventure, birds, egrets, Florida wildlife, friends, fun, live and learn, nature, Nature's beautiful creatures, nesting, perseverance, photography, road trip

The Vienna Rookery…

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Photographers are told that you ought to visualize the photo you want to take ahead of time. I’m not sure that they mean on the drive to your destination however. I had no problem visualizing the rookery full of great blue heron nests, with babies calling out to be fed and their parents flying in and out. But when we got there I could only see a couple of nests with great blue herons standing at attention minding the nests.

This is the first shot I took. Ah, thought I, Dad on guard, and that pile of feathers to the left must be Mom, laying on eggs.
But the pile of feathers turned out to be these two ‘chicks’. Not little balls of fluff. And I now thought that maybe that was Mom, keeping an eye on things out out of reach of the little darlings.
They were flapping those wings too, thinking of the places they’ll go.
They were yapping at her, but she didn’t seem to be impressed.
There are other ways to get your other’s attention however.
The great blue herons were outnumbered by the great white egrets. And the egrets were still in the nest building and posing stage of things. Just like in the rookeries much closer to home.

I was told that we were a month late to see the great blue herons at the just hatched stage. And we think that our kids grow up too fast. But then there will be a new family to raise next year, and we’ll come back in January.

a second look, adventure, birds, bucket list, friends, fun, Just do it, making memories, nature, Nature's beautiful creatures, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, road trip

Myakka River State Park…

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When we left home our destination wasn’t the Myakka River State Park, but it was only a half hour away from our destination, and after driving an hour and a half to get there it was a shame not to stop by. There are spoonies there after all, and I see the most beautiful photos of them online. In those photos they are landing, or taking off, or just flying overhead. But none of that was going on when we got there. You can see them from the parking lot, and the path to walk to get a closer vantage point is not too long. But what was going on, or not going on, is evident in the feature photo. Maybe it was the fact that we were there in the afternoon, possibly siesta time.

The spoonies hang out where the river meets the lake, which just so happens to be where the gators hang out also. Lots of them, just to the left of the scene in the feature photo. And also in the water, swimming over to get a closer look at us as were take our pictures from the opposite shore.
Was the great blue paying attention to the gators in this picture? The little blue certainly wasn’t. And the spoonies aren’t paying attention at all.
They weren’t all totally inactive though, I just had to look a little more closely.
And when I saw one shaking it’s booty I made sure to get a picture.
Of course spoonies weren’t the only birds there. I shot bursts of photos trying for pictures of this osprey flying right overhead. When you shoot bursts the camera needs a break to catch up with itself now and then. And during one of those buffering moments this osprey dove into the water and came up with a fish! Right in front of us! But I can’t prove it because I missed the shot, darn it.
We both took lots of pictures of this black-necked stilt because we hadn’t seen one before. He was wading and hunting for his lunch with lots of other wading birds.
Among the waders were a few limpkins. They were hunting for their favorite treat, apple snails. But any snail will do. Their beak has a bit of a twist to the end, specialized for getting the snails out of their shells. They must be successful because the riverbank was covered in empty shells.
Finding a little blue heron there shouldn’t be a surprise, they seem to be everywhere.

As always it was a fun way to spend the day. And we have to take advantage of the weather while it’s still a relatively cool 80 degrees or so. Hot in the sun if you just stand there, but in the shade it just can’t be beat!

'scene' along the way, a second look, birds, Chinsegut Conservation Center, friends, fun, leap of faith, learning, life goes on, live and learn, marriage, memories, nature, Nature's beautiful creatures, perseverance, photography, strangers become friends

Chinsegut Conservation Center…

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I went with a friend today, back to the place that I first took a photography class about 7 years ago. I made friends in that class that are still good friends all these years later. The subject of the class was ‘bird photography’, and I venture to say that Ive taken quite a few bird photos since then. The birds were quite cooperative today, returning to the feeders again and again. Plus I got to try out a 1.4 extender for my Canon r7. Before I tried it I was totally sure that I didn’t NEED one, but now I’m not so sure. As much, if not more, reach than my old 150-600, and weighs a LOT less. I think I’m hooked.

This Yellow-Throated Warbler is practicing his gymnastic moves,
A Carolina Chickadee has the feeder to his or her self.
Doesn’t this Cardinal look like the picture of innocence? Who, me?
This is a newly constructed bird house. It look like someone has moved in.

I’ve had a busy week, what with several photo op trips and getting married and all. I’m a bit of a fraud these days since most of what I said about this blog when I started is no longer true. I’m not on the Nature Coast anymore, but I’m still pretty close by. And I’m not on my own any more, which is as much a surprise to me as anybody. I was proud of myself for handling my sudden widowhood as well as I did, and now I’m proud of myself for recognizing how lucky I am to have found someone who so perfectly fits into this life I’ve made for myself. Sometimes life just falls into place…

a second look, friends, fun, nature, Nature's beautiful creatures, perseverance, photography, ZooTampa

Riplee…

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Yes, we went back to ZooTampa yesterday, and of course I looked for Riplee. But honestly, I’m not 100% sure who was who. But this little guy from the the feature photo appeared to be on his own, no mother hovering to keep him safe. And he was all over the place, gathering up the pieces of vegetables that had been put out for them for their morning treat.

I was sure I was looking at Riplee when I took this picture.
But then this little one started to make me wonder. Riplee is two years old now, and there was another one around a year younger than him so that makes me wonder about this one. A very little one was climbing on ropes, very busy, but then a mom reached up and reeled him in now and then.
But then there was this mom who quickly climbed the enclosure and swung from ropes and that little one clinging to her was on his own to stay attached.
When I saw this mom holding her baby I assumed it was that little infant I saw the last time I was here. But looking at the photo I think this baby is the one year old. I remember how I’d race back to the zoo to see Riplee, sure that he would have grown so fast. But he was an infant a long time, well over a year before he was venturing away from mom.
Eventually you must move on, and when we did we saw these barred owls. I took the picture through the same mesh that you see behind them, but the camera focused on the owls and ignored the enclosure in front of them. That’s how it looked through the view finder as I took the pictures, but I was doubtful that it would look like this in the photo.
I tried my best to get an otter picture the last time was was here. They swim in the murky water and if they zoom in close to the glass you see them for a second. I was kind of pleased with this one, the bubbles especially.
Yes, we live in Florida, but the new Florida exhibit is very nice so we always stop by.
This didn’t look like a wolf to me as I stood there watching it move around the enclosure. It scratched itself on the bark of a tree, and panted with a very friendly-looking face. I asked myself if I’d recognize them in the wild, and I suppose if I was in their environment I’d be more aware. I think it looks more wolf-ish in the photo.
This was a new spotting for us. We saw several big nests up high in the trees, and this one is home to a great blue heron and her chick. Freely choosing to make her home here I assume.

I apparently will never learn to take pictures of the signs that tell you what animal you are looking at. I feel badly if I show pictures without any identification at all, so I’ll hang onto my mystery photos a while and try to look those up.