Category: foggy sky

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, foggy sky, friends, fun, life goes on, making memories, Passing time, perseverance, photography, road trip

St. Armands Circle…

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I had driven though this area before. A road trip, complete with bulldog. So as tempting as this area had looked we chose to get to our hotel and settled in, with a take out pizza, rather than shop. Somewhere there are pictures of the lovely sunset we watched from the beach right outside our room that night. But this night was another story. On this night we had prepared for a chilly evening, after a day without sunshine at all. But the temperature was about 60 degrees and the air was soft, balmy even. I was surprised to see that the restaurants were all open air, but it was comfortable. We ate at Cha Cha Coconuts, which I have to mention because the name so perfectly fits into the whole, colorful, evening. A fine evening with an old friend indeed.

Our view while we enjoyed our dinner. Bubbles floated past compliments of a nearby business.
I haven’t been out for night photography for a while. Thank goodness for the iPhone.
Apparently someone was tempted to have dessert.
Window shopping is always fun. Except at the real estate windows with current local listings in the millions of $$$. Like $20M! I was out of my comfort zone.
Of course we continued to wander the circle.
Forgive the reflections in this picture, especially because the worst of the reflections are on the Fenway Park picture, which was the picture I wanted to highlight. I imagine that this shop would be a sports enthusiast’s dream.
I wouldn’t argue with this sentiment.
More colorful windows to lure you inside.
So tempting to go in.
There is something for everyone on the circle.
I failed to notice the statuary until my friend pointed it out. All donated by John Ringling.

What a treat it is to find yourself in the company of an old friend from your high school days. I know I never imagined that I would ever be the age I am now, and I know I wouldn’t have imagined living in Florida, or any other of the details of my life as it stands right now. But here I am, and it’s all good. “God is good”, to quote my friend.

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, birds, black and white, foggy sky, friends, fun, moments, nature, Nature's beautiful creatures, perseverance, photography, safety Harbor, sky, weather

Making the rounds…

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Armed with ‘better’ lenses we headed back to the owls the other day, and found pretty much the exact same scene as we did a few days before. One owlet peeking out of the nest with Mom behind him. As we arrived, however, Mom flew out of the nest and onto a nearby branch, and there she posed for a few minutes before flying back to the nest. I was able to get the feature photo before she flew back to her babies. So all in all not such a bad little while in Philippe Park.

Here he is in black and white, which this photo nearly was anyhow.
There are three owlets in the nest, we will have to keep returning in hopes of a little more ‘action’.
I did manage to see Dad in the tip top of the nest tree. I’d been told he was there but usually can’t ‘find’ him.

Then we were off to nearby Moccasin Lake to the raptor rehab there. Again our timing was good since the volunteers were getting the owls out of their enclosures for a few minutes.

Here we have a Barred Owl. I’ve seen these at Circle B Bar Reserve, but not lately.
What a beautiful face on this Barn Owl. I have only seen these at various rehab facilities.
His handler said that if you saw only a skeleton of this owl you would never imagine such a beautiful bird. It is really a small bird with very long legs. He says it makes him wonder about dinosaurs which have been recreated based on their skeletons.
A peregrin falcon.
He definitely had something to say.
It’s amazing that the camera will focus on the birds and ignore the fence for the most part. Red-tailed hawks.

We made a last stop at the Safety Harbor marina. People were gathered on the pier looking down into the water, so we hurried to see what they were seeing. Not wildlife, but a person who said he was licensed to explore the water’s edge to see what was there. It was the only thing to see on a cloudy day, but we went home happy.

A mud crab, said the expert.
A gloomy mid-day scene…
'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, birds, Florida landmarks, Florida wildlife, foggy sky, friends, fun, nature, perseverance, photography

Circle B…

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The temperature was great this morning, even if the sky was cloudy while we walked the trails at Circle B Bar Reserve. It was nice to be out with the photo group again. We were hoping to be able to get together lots more often this year, but I guess we will have to wait and see.

Alligators weren’t as plentiful today.
I was tickled to see a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers while we were there. I’ve only seen them once before and not at Circle B.
Another first at ‘the B’ was an eagle that did a fly over. Thankfully another photographer was paying attention and pointed it out.
I pointed the camera up and started shooting. That I managed to get a shot, or two, was dumb luck.
The sun was trying to come out.
Great Blue Herons are always in close attendance to the trail.
Anhingas are also plentiful.
An osprey posed for a picture.

Of course we hoped to see the bobcat kittens that people have been getting photos of lately, but not today. Owls are also possible there, and we thought we heard one, but we didn’t see one. I guess that means that another trip will be in order, and soon…

'scene' along the way, black and white, connections, coping, foggy sky, friends, growing old, healing, moments, nature, perseverance, photography, weather

In a fog…

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I confess that I took these photos nearly a week ago. We had to be at the surgery center at 6 AM for my friend to have cataract surgery, and we drove through pea soup fog to get there on time. As I sat and waited I looked out the window and was drawn outside to take pictures. There was a golf course across the street, conveniently located for photos, I thought. Truth be told we had to return several more early mornings last week for follow up appointments, and each of those days were nearly as foggy as that day was. Tomorrow the second eye will be done, so lots more appointments and potential for more drives through the fog. Such are the challenges of Florida mornings when the overnight temperatures are cool.

This is the surgery center property with the golf course across the street.
I thought if I crossed the street I would get better pictures, and eliminate the power lines. The street was surprisingly busy for such an early morning.
Once I had my unobstructed view I didn’t like it as much as I liked seeing the fence, etc.

My friend is also a photographer, and it seems to me as if he has been seeing life through a fog all his own. I can’t wait to see his reaction once both eyes have adjusted to a new, clear, reality…

'scene' along the way, exploring new places, family, foggy sky, friends, fun, Just do it, making memories, nature, old dogs new tricks, perseverance, photography, road trip

In the Smokies…

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We are enjoying lovely weather in the Smokies, but not having WiFi has prevented me from working on my pictures and sharing them. It hasn’t prevented me from taking tons of pictures however, so I will have lots to keep me busy when we get home. The fall foliage we hoped for isn’t at it’s peak, but it smells like fall, and there are enough beautiful trees to make me happy. And we still have a few days.

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, boats, foggy sky, friends, fun, making memories, perseverance, photography, road trip, technology

The Cape Cod Canal…

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We reached the canal on Wednesday, but too early to continue on to check in to our motel. So we found a bench in the shade, and sat and watched the world go by. Or the boats, one speeding faster than another. And people on bikes. We got out our bag of snacks and munched, and took pictures for quite a while. And then it happened, just as it was time to leave. Something different, a tug boat pulling a barge came into view as it passed under the Sagamore Bridge. It was a treat to see it after an hour of more ‘normal’ shots.

But when I looked at the pictures later I saw that they looked dull, and I blamed the snow-white sky. Yesterday I said I needed to learn how to replace the sky in photos, and today that’s what I did. While it’s easy to do, there is a learning curve and lots of additional adjustments you can do, so I chose only a couple of pictures with sky involved, tweaked them just a little, and called it a day. The wonders of technology.

As the tugboat and barge continued toward the Bourne Bridge I saw that the tugboat was called the Sapphire Coast, and was out of Chesapeake City, MD. And the barge was a cement hauler. I guess I never wondered how cement got from one place to another, but I don’t think I would ever have imagined it traveling on a barge through the Cape Cod Canal.