Lemurs hardly ever can be seen in their entirety, meaning that long tail in a picture.We wandered for a bit since the orangutan enclosure was being tended to by the keepers.I am convinced that our pets are totally content when life follows a routine and they know what to expect. But looking at that face I have to wonder, what do they think about?When big daddy emerges he makes quite an impression.Finally, mom and baby emerge into the morning sunlight.Is she checking out her audience?Another pose that makes me wonder what they think about.All of the wildlife preserves in our area are also inhabited by wild birds who recognize a great place to live. These ducks seem to enjoy life in the zoo.I saw this little bird land on a post, and since my camera was ready to go I took its picture. Merlin says it’s a house sparrow. But as sometime’s happens, when I saw the photo in the computer I was distressed to see that it’s leg is deformed.Not a bird but a bird of paradise. The first picture I took at the zoo that day.
Going to the zoo will work out best when you plan ahead. Getting there when the zoo opens at 9:30 you can expect the animals to be active. The orangutans emerge from their dens to find that the keepers have scattered greens around the enclosure for them to eat. Sometimes they put out various pieces of clothing or towels that the orangutans enjoy draping over themselves. There is a good bit of shade at the zoo all day, but it will get pretty hot later. Of course there is a splash pad for the kids to enjoy, and I suppose a parent or grandparent might enjoy it also. A one day pass can seem expensive, until you realize that you can buy a pass that will get you admission for a year for the same price.
Because even though the ‘breeze’ is whipping the rain against the house in sheets, and even though I was listening to it in the dark this morning, it just doesn’t sound like a tropical storm in this area. I hope it’s no worse in the areas that haven’t yet recovered from Hurricane Ian.
I’m told that there was a small opening in the corner of the fence when they moved into this house. And they had dogs, so they planted the bougainvillea in the feature photo to help keep the dogs in. And now it’s the bougainvillea that is threatening to eat Wesley Chapel. I used to prune the small one I had in Spring Hill and my arms would take a beating from the nasty thorns this plant is known for. I had my cat at the vet once and he looked at my scratched up arms and asked, with a horrified look on his face, if the cat had done that. It is a pretty sight, but it would be prettier if it attracted bees and butterflies. And right now it’s waving those deadly fronds like crazy.
I was leaving Sam’s Club the other day and noticed this Rain Tree as I waited to make my turn. I once drove around Spring Hill looking for these trees, always so shapely, for a blog post. My fall foliage, Florida style.And a rose from the garden of the local library where I went to pick up a few books since I wouldn’t be out in the rain taking pictures for another day or so. Nice library with an unexpected Florida friendly garden.
I have books, actual physical books, to read while I listen to the wind and rain today. I say that I prefer a real book, I’d rather turn the pages, which I’ve been known to try to do when I’m reading on my iPad. But my vision hasn’t been tested since my cataract surgery, and my cheaters don’t seem to be doing the trick as well as I’d like. I’ll probably pull the lamp a little closer also. The joys of aging…
It’s the coast of Maine that is referred to as the rocky coast, but my childhood favorite beaches of Duxbury, Green Harbor, and Brant Rock are nothing if not rocky. I took Charley to Duxbury on a day when the beach was especially rocky and he was singularly unimpressed. But the two of us Brockton kids share a love of the same places, even if we didn’t ever know each other until 70+ years later. So we roamed, got lost, and roamed some more. And had lunch at Friiendly’s which we didn’t realize still existed. They did, in fact, have Fribbles on the menu, but I resisted, this time anyhow. The feature photo is the Scituate light, a place I never saw until this visit. Just up the coast. We have a wedding to go to this afternoon. Imagine the excitement of this morning for the bride and groom. Then tomorrow we will head up the coast to the actual rocky coast of Maine, where we will explore, and probably get lost, some more.
This stone depicts the grounding of the ship Etrusco on March 16, 1956. My friend remembers this happening, but he is, ahem, older than I am so I don’t remember this at all. The ship ran aground during a ‘devastating St. Patrick’s Day blizzard’, and the gallant members of the Civil Defense communications staff in Scituate managed to keep the lines of communication going which allowed all 30 members of the crew to be rescued.I hoped to get another view of the lighthouse, and it’s there, in the center, dwarfed by the ships masts. Kind of a Where’s Waldo thing.Rocks and more rocks.Brant Rock looking north.And again but looking south.The Fairview Inn, where my parents and their friends would go to get away from us kids when we all stayed in cottages at Duxbury Beach for the same couple of magical weeks each summer.I hadn’t realized I had captured an image of one of the watch towers along the coast. Dating from WW2, and in the process of being restored.And two Brockton kids wouldn’t head back to Brockton to meet up with old friends at the Cape Cod Cafe without a cruise through Fields Park. I said I hoped I’d see the swans. That you will see Canada Geese is a given.Just one of the families of swans that we saw.Tower Hill, where many Brockton kids tobogganed down the hill into the golf course in the winter.
At first we didn’t think we had people in common, even though we grew up in the same home town. But my cousin’s husband proved to be the link between my friend and his long-lost best friend from childhood, so our little reunion at the Cape Cod Cafe last night was worthy of a Hallmark movie. It’s so good to be ‘home’…
It must have been in the cards to visit Plymouth yesterday. That’s if finding a good parking space, or any parking space, counts for anything. This is a beautiful place to visit, even when you don’t manage to cross the street to the charming shops, or perhaps that means another visit is in order.
The Mayflower II, on display near Plymouth Rock.You don’t grow up in MA without knowing who Massasoit is. Chief of the Wampanoag Indians who made peace with the English settlers and taught them the fishing, planting, and cooking skills that helped them survive.This structure houses the rock. I overheard part of a talk given by a ranger in which he explained that the rock was an important part of life for the Pilgrims as this meeting place was where they came to share information among themselves and their children.The rock.Across the way is the wharf where we ate dinner the night before, and where we walked to in order to try another bowl of clam chowder. I liked the second one better but my friend disagreed.I loved the painted shells along the path.My friend visited Plymouth with his family often when he was a kid, more so than I did, so he feels more nostalgic about this place than I do. It’s so nice to be here.
I was watching TV in my little house. My recently acquired app that predicts how good sunrises and sunsets might be had me happy to stay home, it wasn’t going to be much. From my chair I can see a sliver of the western sky above the sheers in the Florida room, and it looked dull and gray. But down the hallway is a back door with a little diamond shaped window in it, and when I noticed it glowing red I stepped outside to see this amazing chunk of sky. So my trip out for the sunset took me only 10 feet out the back door, but it was the prettiest one I’d seen in a while.
I knew I’d see more spectacular sunrise colors from the coastline posted on Facebook yesterday. Further inland the horizon is hidden in the trees and behind houses, and the color doesn’t usually get as intense. But the iPhone does pick up the color that’s there, and a little dehaze in Lightroom helps too. It’s nice to just walk around the block to see what you can see…
A little colorA different perspective.The moon was there too.Only a few ducks were keeping me company.
Wordle has me stumped this morning, so I looked at the pictures I took yesterday morning and decided they were nicer than I realized. Soon I can take another walk around the block and see what today’s sunrise might be. Maybe the elusive word will come to me…
A Snowbird's Life Through the Lens 