Category: nature

'scene' along the way, birds, coping, life goes on, memories, nature, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, road trip, sunrise, travel, unintended images

Sea Street Beach…

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I somehow got it into my head that sunrise was at 6:50 yesterday, so I wasn’t rushing as I drove to Sea Street Beach.  It was obvious that the sky was full of color as I drove, but I still wasn’t thinking.  It was the first morning without Ozzie, it wasn’t a normal morning at all.  And I had been up at 3 AM, even that is a little earlier than my normal early rising.  And I had had the thought that I wouldn’t have to rush for the sunrise, but I lost some time writing and thinking of Ozzie.  So for whatever reason when I arrived this is what I found02-14-19valentine202-14-19valentine402-14-19valentine302-14-19valentine sun02-14-19valentinefeature02-14-19valentinesignI think that the shape standing on the closest rocks might be trash cans.  I told myself I’d lop them out of the photo in editing.  But when I saw the photos I saw them as a heart shape, and it was Valentines Day after all, so I left it as is.  Funny how Mother Nature can perform for you even when you aren’t exactly on top of things.  But later on I got my first ever phone call from Cupid, and the day got a little brighter after that.

'scene' along the way, a second look, childhood, memories, nature, perseverance, photography, road trip, travel

Home again…

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When I have a reason to visit my hometown I always make sure to have my camera with me because I just can’t resist a drive through D. W. Fields Park.  The scenery is beautiful in every season, and I know I can count on seeing swans at the very least.  And yesterday I did.  The swan in the photo above spent more time in this upside down position than upright.  They are always so graceful, well, except for this one.

02-11-19swan102-11-19fieldspark602-11-19swan2When I got out of the car with the tripod I attracted a crowd of birds.  I suspect that people ignore the ‘do not feed the wildlife’ signs since the Canada geese formed a welcoming committee of sorts, and the gulls took to swarming in the air.  They quickly realized I I wasn’t going to feed them and did an about face.  I hated to disappoint them, but they certainly didn’t disappoint me.02-11-19fieldspark502-11-19fieldspark402-11-19fieldspark2

I rode my bike through this enormous park when I was a kid. Generations of families brought their kids here to feed the ducks.  Before it was illegal of course.   And it looks the same now as it did then no wonder I feel the need to return.02-11-19fieldspark302-11-19fieldspark

birds, Florida wildlife, natural wonders, nature, Nature's beautiful creatures, nesting, on closer examination, Owls, perseverance, photography

Whoo is that???

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This post came up as a memory yesterday and I’ve been knocking my head against a wall trying to figure out how to republish a post.  I went back again but wasn’t able to get as nice photos as I did this first time.  And now the owls of Philippe Park are feeding babies again, but I’m missing it this time around.  Next time for sure.

Photographers are a friendly bunch.  They freely share information on where to go to see whatever birds you may wish to see.  Upon losing the eaglets my attention turned to the Great Horned Owl nest I’ve been hearing about.  One of my new acquaintances posts info on the current conditions in the various parks around, so I was well aware that Phillipe Park was the place to go to find an owl-ette (?).  I had never been there before, but I was hopeful that I would find the nest.  I asked directions once I was there and was told to go through the 4-way stop and look for the paparazzi, LOL, and it worked.  Well, it got me to the area, but the other photographers had to point out the nest.  One even moved over to give me a better view, and finally I spotted the Mom up above the nest in a tree.  Some of them had been there for three hours when I got there, but I was just in time, they said, because they expected her to move to the nest any minute.  Then it would be feeding time.3-7owls1The Spanish moss that you see was a challenge to shoot through.  It was hanging from limbs between the owls and where we were standing, and it was blowing back and forth.  I had to switch to manual focus because auto focus kept refocusing as the moss came into the viewer.  Then someone yelled that she was in flight…3-7owlsfeatureOnce she landed all you could see was the baby, sort of…3-7owls2And we all scrambled across the way, hoping for a better angle.3-7owls33-7owls73-7owls43-7owls63-7owls53-7owls8And oh by the way, I wasn’t far off with my made up owl-ette.  Siri says it’s actually owlet.  Such a cute face, and quite the wing spread from the glimpse I got of that.  I have no idea what I used to think about before I became a bird-brain…

dogs, finding my way, moon, nature, old dogs new tricks, perseverance, photography, road trip, sky, technology, travel, weather

I’ve gone to the dogs…

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Seriously, Ozzie has taken over my life.  He has always liked going out frequently, and I am required to accompany him outside.  Oh, I can sit in the Adirondack chair with my coffee and he’s happy, it’s not that I have to pay attention to him.  I just need to be there.  Which was okay in the Adirondack chair in FL, but out on the deck on Cape Cod when it’s 7 degrees outside isn’t quite the same.  He likes to sniff the air and make sure that all is well.  It’s his breed, English mastiff, bred not for fighting or attacking anyone, their job was to hold off intruders.  So if you approach the house he’ll look ferocious, and bark, and charge toward you until you stop.  That’s all he wants, just stand there so his human can take over. Or go away.  I have no idea what would happen if you didn’t stop, no one has ever done that before.  But on these cold clear mornings I see the moon and stars through the trees and think it would make a nice picture.  Nicer than this one though.  But my camera was there so I tried it, why not?  It was a crescent moon, and if it wasn’t so cold I’d have gotten out the tripod to make up for the long exposure in the dark.  I’ll try harder next time.  And Ozzie, well, he’s resting up until the next time he feels the need to do a security check…img_6852

a second look, Florida landmarks, learning, nature, old dogs new tricks, photography

Howard Park…

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This post has been sitting as a draft for months and months.  Written long before I ever thought about making the changes in my life that are now a done deal.  I left it there so that one day when I didn’t have a post to write I could use it.  So today’s the day evidently.  Now I’m nostalgic for the photo ops in Florida, not unlike how I was feeling about needing to get back to the people and places I loved in my long ago youth.  I think of my ex-husband telling me that I’d never be satisfied.  I think he was talking about my never-ending list of home improvement projects, but no matter what he meant at that moment I suspect that it was truer than I ever thought…

Long ago my friend had mentioned to me that their favorite place to go when she used to visit this area was Fred Howard Park, in Tarpon Springs.  Thinking of that I brought two of my grandchildren there quite a long time ago now, but I didn’t look at a map and had no idea that there was a causeway and a beach there.  That fact came to me recently when I saw a wonderful photo posted by a new photography friend, and it featured a lifeguard chair with sunset colors. It was wonderful.  And in my photography group it’s been said that studying others’s photos and trying to emulate them is a learning tool, so off I went.  I found the chair, and had to wait while beach goers were rousted off of it by the ranger who was there, and even then it was a challenge to compose a shot because the sun was setting to the right of the chair, darn it.  I did post some shots from that shoot, but I have found more, some on the iPhone.  I need to go back again, it’s a pretty park.6-7howardparkchairHDR6-7howardparkpalms

And from the sponge docks on the way home…6-7teaexchange

'scene' along the way, finding my way, friends, leap of faith, learning, life goes on, live and learn, moon, nature, old dogs new tricks, perseverance, photography, road trip, sunset, travel, weather

Imitation…

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… is the sincerest form of flattery, or so I’ve heard.  As soon as I got to the canal I could see that the sun wasn’t going to cooperate with the photo I had hoped to get.  I’d hoped to recreate a photo I’d seen that had the railroad bridge framed perfectly behind the Bourne Bridge, but with spectacular sunset color in the sky.  Almost as soon as I got out with the camera and started walking to what I thought would be a good spot a walker started chatting with me and showing me some of the pictures he’s taken while walking in that area.  Mark, I think he said his name was, and from Brockton, which we agreed had changed a lot since we both grew up there.

The sun was relentless early on, for pictures I mean.  Then gray, muddy clouds took over the sky as the sunset color would have been developing.  But at least there was the moon, and the almost naked trees.  And if you turned to see the Bourne Bridge from the west side, said Mark, the bridge would turn pink as the color developed, but that didn’t happen, though the glow on the bridge was nice.  There was only one other photographer out there with a tripod, and seemingly going for the same photo I wanted to get.  He suddenly scrambled down and stood on the rocks to shoot, and spoiled my shot, I thought at first.  Now I think he made the shot.  I wonder if he posts on Sandwich News, Sandwich being a place and not, well, food.  That’s where I saw the photo that inspired this stop along the way.  This being out in someplace new and taking photos is addictive.  There is an RV show in Boston this weekend, and a snow storm rolling in…

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