Category: adventure

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, Florida landmarks, friends, fun, go with the flow, kids, making memories, perseverance, photography, Pine Island, sunset

People watching…

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Was I at Pine Island for the sunset? Of course I was. Did I get there early and totally get distracted by people watching? Of course I did.

There was the mom on the pier next to me who’s son was catching fiddler crabs and asking her to take a picture of them. He happily let me take a picture also. Then there was Dave, a frequent flier at both the sunrise at Bayport and the sunset at Pine Island. He sets up his camera to take a shot every few seconds and makes videos which he puts on You Tube.

There were cartwheels on the beach…

I had seen this little baby playing in the mud but couldn’t get a shot of him until Dad carried him down to the water to rinse him off.

What I can’t seem to get a picture of is how this guy gets from the before picture to the after picture.

Oh wait, I was there for the sunset…

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, fantasy images, Florida landmarks, friends, fun, gardens, making memories, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, turtles, weather

Third time’s a charm…

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There were three potential places to go that day, all close to each other. First was going to be The Narrows, the raptor rehab facility that I’ve been to before. The turtle pond was teaming with turtles, but with no volunteers to walk the various raptors along the paths all that was left was to see them in their enclosures. So we moved on to what was supposed to be the main event of the day, Heritage Village. We had looked it up, but failed to notice that it was closed on Monday and Tuesday. Which left us at the Florida Botanical Garden in the worst of the heat of the day. We followed pretty tiles down a shady path which led us to the children’s garden, a place I hadn’t visited before. A mom was pointing out some banana spiders to a group of children who told me to be careful as I headed over with my camera. The water birds were sounding off which led us to spot the small gator in the pond next door.

If all trees had faces like these I probably wouldn’t have had as many tree-climbing adventures when I was a kid.

We heard the water feature before we saw it. And it sounded very refreshing, like maybe we should take a dip to escape the heat. But we controlled ourselves.

I can never resist a bee, even if I have to crop 95% of the picture away in order for you to see him. Or her.

We will have to be sure to get out earlier as the weather gets hotter this summer. It was nice to be out, and even nicer to stop for lunch in air-conditioned comfort before heading home.

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, brainstorms, connections, Florida landmarks, friends, making memories, nature, One-Foot Fred, perseverance, photography, sunrise, Up and at 'em

Rise and shine…

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The thunder storms the night before had me hoping for a pretty sunrise. Enough so to roust out a friend to go to Aripeka with me for the sunrise, and for the chance of seeing One-Foot Fred. I had high expectations. So I pointed out the bait shop that I always enjoy taking an HDR image of while I’m waiting for sunrise. And the view to the west with the reflected colors of the sunrise. We were none too early so we didn’t have long to wait for the color to be seen in the sky, but without much in the way of clouds to really light up the sky.

sti

I was quite pleased with the sunrise even if One-Foot Fred failed to put in an appearance. I haven’t seen him the last few times I’ve looked for him, but I don’t think I’m worried about it. Not yet anyhow…

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, Amazing artwork, brainstorms, food, friends, fun, making memories, perseverance, photography, second chances

Spending time…

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We weren’t lost exactly. We were killing time waiting to meet with the camera club and found ourselves at the mercy of streets that were closed off, and we got turned around a bit. So I wanted to take a picture, and the idea that there was a dolphin playing in the water was just a coincidence. Trust me, he’s there, almost dead center in the photo.

The next day we decided to go to Mazzaro’s, which I’d been raving about for quite a while, and I know I’ve posted about it in the past. I had raved so much that I wondered if it would live up to my build-up. And what had the pandemic done to the business? But I needn’t have worried. If anything the outdoor murals were brighter, the selections in the gift shop next store were even more irresistible, and the food was still as good as I remembered. The crowds were as big as ever also, which is why there aren’t photos from inside the shop. Trust me, and go there if you ever get the chance.

It’s fun to take someone to a favorite spot and have them be as enthused with it as you have been. Several nice days in a row and now I’m listening to rain on the roof as I write…

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, birds, exploring new places, Florida wildlife, friends, fun, nature, nesting, Owls, perseverance, photography, road trip

In search of the burrowing owls…

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Ridiculously cropped from my first photo of the day. Now it’s all gravy for the rest of the shoot.
When they aren’t nice enough to be up on a stake keep looking…
Sometimes they are two by two…
And if you see four at once you might choose to backtrack and shoot lots of pictures.
But keep shooting…
And then there were three.
Such a serious look.
One foot at a time.
'scene' along the way, adventure, boats, bucket list, finding my way, Florida landmarks, friends, making memories, perseverance, photography, sky, weather

Day trippin’…

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The point of the trip was never the Sanibel lighthouse. No, I noticed the lighthouse when we drove to Sanibel Island from Cape Coral after photographing the burrowing owls. Since we were so close we decided to drive to the lighthouse and pier, and so did everyone else in the vicinity. Memorial Day weekend wasn’t the best timing for this trip, and the hopeless traffic jam caused us to give up and go back one the bridge for a more long distance view of the lighthouse. I wasn’t the driver and I’m exhausted, too tired to sort through all my owl pictures tonight. I’ll start on them fresh tomorrow. Today was a lot of fun, I wonder where we’ll go tomorrow…

And then it was time to head for home. With two hours of driving ahead we weren’t happy to see this sky developing, but we did stay mostly dry all the way home.