While the sunrise itself seemed to struggle this morning, it was the reflected color in the opposite sky that caught my eye as I arrived at Bayport. The layers of clouds glowed golden for a while, and then became lovely pastel blues and pinks. I wasn’t alone there this morning, sharing the scene with the occupants of two other cars. Then one of them set off their car alarm and couldn’t seem to turn it off, but it was time to leave anyhow, and soon enough came the rain.
I had a plan for Saturday morning. I figured that there was time to go to Bayport for the sunrise, and then head back home and find the Sandhill crane family as they left the pond behind me and headed out on their day’s adventures. And it was going well, I thought, as I saw the color beginning to develop in the sky. I don’t always notice the flag when I’m at Bayport, I have already tried, and failed, to get the flag to be flowing in the breeze with the colors of the sunrise behind it. I guess I need to be taller. But this day it struck me that the flag was at half-mast, and I realized it was in honor of Barbara Bush. A well-earned sign of respect I thought.
The colors continued to develop, but the overall gray hue at the horizon continued also. The 600mm lens saw this…
As it got lighter I turned away from the sunrise and looked to the west, looking for otters playing, or the Great Blue Heron who frequently appears just as the sun rises. I found neither, but I did find a magnificent cloud that looked like a very colorful tornado. I knew that it was possible to take a vertical panoramic photo with the iPhone, but I hadn’t found a suitable subject before. 
If I hadn’t stopped for coffee and a muffin I might have caught the crane family heading out, but not this day. Still, a good start to the day…
I had to force myself out for the sunset. I had a busy couple of days ahead and wanted to be prepared with photos just in case, but I wasn’t going out with my usual enthusiasm. I went to Pine Island, but I just wasn’t feeling it. It wasn’t pretty in person, and there was a large group of people settled in for the sunset in the area where I usually stand to take photos. And that really was the problem, that after being so enthused with Pine Island sunsets for quite a while I wasn’t expecting to get anything different from all the other sunset photos I’ve taken there. Which is why I took the photo above and the one just below, of the beach to the left, not really aimed at the sunset. The gulls were in the air and the Laughing Gulls were laughing, calling my attention to that side of the beach. And when I got home I was surprised that I liked the images that I had gotten. I thought I had been wasting my time and I was discouraged, so I headed next door to Bayport.
At Bayport you have a choice. You can be out in the park area with just the setting sun to focus on, or you can park in the other lot and peek at the sunset through the palms. For some reason I felt more like peeking. Just me and the camera…
Out on the lanai at 4 AM, enjoying the dark and quiet. Well, not so quiet. The pond creatures were chirping away, punctuated by the low, throaty strums of the bullfrogs. The coffee was ready, set to automatically go off at 3:45 AM even on a day off, because even if she hadn’t set the alarm her four-footed roomies would make sure that she was up in time to get to work. But it was not a work day, and the coffee was good, and hot. To be enjoyed the coffee must be scalding hot. The pond serenade was in full swing, sometimes increasing or decreasing in volume as if a hand was on a knob out there turning it up and down. How they all decide to step it up or down in unison remained a mystery to her, but she enjoyed the mental image of the hand and the knob. The star she thought she saw twinkling out there turned out to be the lights of a far off airplane, but then she saw that there were stars shining dimly, and she knew that she would head out for the sunrise. But that was still several hours away. One of her dogs had been out already, sniffing the air and finding all to be well. They had been enjoying the serenade together, but then the second dog wanted to go out, and immediately headed around front, requiring her to follow, in her pajamas, coffee in hand. There were new neighbors across the street and she wondered what they would think if they were up and saw the old lady across the street out wandering in her pajamas in the wee small hours of the morning. That maybe she was losing it? Was she losing it? She didn’t think so, but how would you know really? And then the wandering dog returned, and the coffee had cooled, it was time to start the day…
The combatants were gathering. Young adults for the most part. They were civil, actually quite friendly with each other as they waited. But they became more quiet as the time for the battle approached. Looks of concentration came over their faces as they readied themselves. I was offered the opportunity to participate, but the rules of battle were totally foreign to me so I preferred to watch. Soon it was time and everyone manned their devices, sometimes more than one, and began to wander, zombie-like. The Pokemon battle was underway…
Apparently everyone but me knew that there was an additional area of Bayport available to enjoy. Just a jog to the right off the road leading in and you find a small parking area. There is a path through the palm trees, a winding path, and bathrooms, a helpful addition also. There is a metal boardwalk of sorts, so that you can rise up into the trees a bit and enjoy the view. I’ll bet it is comfortable even in the summer since it’s shaded and usually breezy by the water. I also have it on good authority that it’s a good spot for Pokemon hunting.
It was nice to find a different place for sunset photos on a day that featured beautiful blue skies. I haven’t taken a photo with a blue sky in quite a while. And a super moon. The moon set and sunrise tomorrow morning is an event for my photo group, and I hope you’ll enjoy it where ever you are also.
