Category: nature

'scene' along the way, flowers, fun, gardens, Just do it, life, live and learn, nature, on closer examination, perseverance, photography

Succulents…

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I’ve certainly raved over photo ops that come to me in the past, but this one didn’t come to me. No, I had to walk across the street to see it. And I heard it before I saw it. The fountain gurgling caught my attention. A sweet little succulent garden. I’ve been offered cuttings, but my track record with plants isn’t great. Fortunately for my kids and pets I’ve done better with them.

This last one is the flowers that really caught my eye. So sweet, love them.

a second look, adventure, egrets, Florida landmarks, Florida wildlife, life goes on, nature, perseverance, photography, Rise and shine, sunrise

In search of Fred…

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This morning I went out in search of my one-footed, blue-feathered, boyfriend Fred. He let me down though, he failed to show up. When I saw this egret coming in for a landing I got excited for a second, but nope, not him. She did fly off in the direction of the house where Fred is treated to breakfast though, in the far right of the feature photo. Maybe Fred has a new girlfriend. Maybe my imagination has gotten the best of me.

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, friends, fun, Just do it, life goes on, making memories, nature, perseverance, photography, reality check

Photo shoots…

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Most of the time when I head out to take pictures I might have a little conversation with someone or another, but I come away with enough pictures to keep me busy for hours editing them. But not always. Considering how much talking I did yesterday I’m surprised I got even one decent picture at the race track. It was the last racetrack photo shoot of the year, and it was hot, but with a cool breeze that saved us. Or I thought it saved me anyhow, but I will have to buy some more sunscreen and a hat if I’m going to keep this up. Ouch.

a second look, adventure, bucket list, fun, learning, life goes on, live and learn, making memories, nature, Nature's beautiful creatures, on closer examination, perseverance, photography

Riplee…

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All that had to cross my mind yesterday was to think of how long it’s been since I’ve been to the zoo and I was out the door so fast that I got there before they were open. Oh, they’d let you in, but you couldn’t leave the entry plaza. But soon I was looking at the orangutans, of course, but I honestly had a very hard time spotting ‘our’ baby. Mom doesn’t hold him in quite the same way these days, he is expected to hang on for dear life as she moves around their enclosure. I saw an especially small baby who was all over the place playing, including as high as he/she could climb, and I finally had to ask a keeper if the newest baby was allowed to play yet. She said that he wants to, but Mom doesn’t let him, so far. And I finally remembered to ask about the contest they held to name this little guy. With a grandmother named Dee Dee, and a mother named Randee, I’m not surprised that the winning name was Riplee.

I only got a couple of shots of little Riplee’s face.
Randee got up in response to one of the keepers tossing pieces of fruit to the group. There were some really great catches.
I didn’t notice any squabbling when one caught a piece, he just got to eat it and the rest tried for the next piece.
What I thought I saw was this orang race over and pose when she spotted this photographer. He had cameras the likes of which I hadn’t seen before, plus he was accompanied by a keeper, so I suspect he’s an official photographer. I’m telling you, she was posing.
And this one also took up this position in response to seeing the photographer. Posing for sure.
This one is very small, especially to see her all over the enclosure, but she sure seemed to be having fun.
It’s more fun to have a playmate of course, and these two were inseparable.
If we had opposable thumbs on our feet maybe we could also do this, when we are young at least.
I thought this was a loving mother’s face when I took this picture, but then they unfolded themselves and the one I thought was the mom hitched a ride on the actual mom.
I wish I understood their relationships to know who is who, they had me fooled.
Even as I took this picture I thought of all the times that someone came up to us in the supermarket in our dental office neighborhood and started trying to show Charley the tooth that was bothering them. He liked to go out to one of the corner bars after work to relax for a little while, but he was picky about which ones to avoid for exactly this reason.
I did walk the zoo of course, but I just can’t stay away from the orangutans for long. In looking at this scene I told myself that we might see a scene like this if we were in Africa. I wasn’t noticing the man-made structures at that moment though.
'scene' along the way, a second look, birds, blessings, Florida wildlife, life goes on, making memories, nature, perseverance, photography, weather

Raindrops at the rookery…

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I dashed out between raindrops for a little while today because three days of confinement at home was getting to me. I decided that the rookery was the place to go. Only a mile away from home and usually you can get a lot of photos in a short period of time, so if I started to feel raindrops I could run home, but with photos to work on. Which is what happened. I parked at the rookery just as another woman arrived and proceeded to take her ladder out of her car and head across the street. A kindred spirit. It was so nice to have someone to chat with while we took pictures. And she was the first one to notice the gator, and then the second gator! They weren’t all that hard to spot so hopefully I would have seen them eventually. And then we felt raindrops so we said our goodbyes.

Eoodstork chicks, always my favorite, at least when they are little.
Anhingas are the noisiest of the crowd at the rookery.
There weren’t so many Great Egrets in view, maybe they were nesting on the other side of the little island.
I saw one egret baby, and it was far away and tucked in the foliage.
I don’t think I saw the anhinga when I took the picture, I only saw the snowy egret. They are an odd couple.
And another odd couple, but one is behind the other I think.
I had cattle egrets on the brain the other day. I saw a field of cows with lots of cattle egrets doing whatever it is that cattle egrets do. I’ve promised myself that next time I see that I will stop for sure.
'scene' along the way, adventure, family, fun, Just do it, nature, perseverance, photography, road trip, travel

Princess Place Estates…

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The last of my stops in my East Coast of Florida tour was at Princess Place. Of course I hadn’t ever heard of it, but it’s a lovely park with many beautiful live oaks and a water view. There is even a lodge house sporting a porch decked out with rocking chairs for you to sit and enjoy that view. This is a venue for events, such as my cousin’s daughter’s wedding not too long ago.

Here is the lodge with it’s nice porch, and rockers to sit in while you enjoy the view.
I loved all the live oaks on the property, but what really caught my eye in this picture is that vine that is draped from on tree to the other.
A covered bridge was an unexpected, but fun, find.
There are stables on the property. My cousin’s daughter’s wedding party used one of the horse stalls to change clothes on the big day. Which is a while lot nicer than it might sound.
The stables also house this antique carriage.
Keeping up with this small person is what kept us from sitting and rocking on the porch for a little longer. That wasn’t what she had in mind.

Another nice day seeing the area and catching up with family. Or trying to, see above photo!