A Snowbird's Life Through the Lens
Life on my own, on the Nature Coast of Florida, and beyond…
I surprised myself by being up early enough to catch the sunrise. Early enough to just go around the block to see it though. I oftentimes forget that I can see the sunrise so close to home.
I’m afraid I’m guilty of thinking that if I lived a little further south then the sunrises and sunsets would be perfect every day. But really they are perfect enough just where I am…
All day the plan was to go to Dunedin for dinner, plus take in the sunset of course. But as the day went on the clouds got heavier and it started to rain. Much too late to go anywhere we saw that the clouds were breaking up a bit, so we went out in the drizzle and got some shots.
Later I saw pictures of the sunset from Dunedin and it was very nice. We missed a chance, but maybe it will work out next time.
It’s not that I’ve lost interest in sunrises and sunsets, it’s mostly that I’m living a more ‘normal’ schedule these days. I used to get up around 4 AM, and after an hour or two of drinking coffee in the dark and quiet I’d get bored and head out for the sunrise. I might be home by 8 AM with pictures in the camera, and editing them and writing a post meant I had something to do that day. And then often times I’d head back out for the sunset that night. But lately I sleep in. If I don’t get up until 7:15 I feel like I missed half the day, but I’m enjoying myself. And I stay up watching TV at night, and most of the time listening to thunder outside close enough to time for sunset that I don’t bother checking to see what I think the sky might be like that night. Which means I miss a lot of pretty skies. But this morning I was up early and back at the bridge over the Pithlachascotee River. The feature photo is the first one I took, and the water was still and the color was pretty. It was early and I hoped for even more color, but eventually it just dimmed to a dull glow. Still it was nice and peaceful to be out, and the coffee tasted good when I got home.
The day was going to be hot, but the sky was quite pretty and we hadn’t been out for pictures in a few days, so we made the drive to Cedar Key yesterday. My last trip must not have been on the weekend because I was surprised at the crowds at the restaurants and shops on the waterfront. Last time I was there I had taken lots of pictures of and in those buildings, but this time the crowds and lack of parking had us moving on. But not before we had clam chowder at Tony’s, which was at least as good as advertised. I was hoping for refills, but no such luck.
There are adorable sculptures in the garden at the side of the library. They appear to be more weather-worn than when I was there before, but still charming as ever.
,Leaving Cedar Key seemed like more of an escape than just a drive. Still on backroads the GPS gave us no clue as to where we were in relation to a town. After we turned into the wildlife area I asked how we were doing on gas, and the reply was that he wished I’d asked that question sooner. To which I suggested that the driver might have been keeping an eye on the gas tank without the passenger’s input. Eventually, like a mirage, a gas station appeared up ahead. And we were advised that if we just drove straight ahead we’d come to route 19 and we could head south to home! A fun day’s outing, with just a little added drama…
I had to go to the bank the other day, and since it’s practically next door to the Spring Hill Botanical Gardens a stop seemed in order. But, unfortunately, the butterflies weren’t very plentiful while the no-see -ems certainly were. Consequently it was a quick trip, but not so quick that I didn’t notice all the changes that they have been making at the garden. First of all this sculpture, which is in progress. At the base of the wing you see a disruption in the tree trunk, which I’m sure is why the tree was sacrificed and this sculpture is being made. A beautiful solution. I hope it will be finished the next time I’m here.
Not everything was new however, just seemingly rearranged enough to make it look new. Namely the castle in the feature photo, I hadn’t ever seen it from that side before. I liked that picture.
By this time my ankles were so itchy that I was ready to leave. I need to actually use the bug spray that is always in my car, but I forget it’s there. I’m hoping that the hot weather will let up soon, it has been keeping me close to home for a while now. I shouldn’t complain, soon we will be enjoying the weather that drew us to move to Florida in the first place…
I have to confess that as much as I enjoyed the butterflies at the Butterfly Rainforest yesterday I did let myself get distracted by the adorable Chinese Painted Quail that were busy scooting around in the underbrush. And sometimes napping on the walkway. Another visitor asked if they were okay, and the workers said yes they were. And added they they are the worlds smallest variety of quail. You can see them in the feature photo, a male and female I would expect.
Actually the fun started right when you walked into the lobby, before you even entered the rainforest. In the lobby was a huge screen on the wall, and when we entered on the screen was a Mastodon and baby, wandering in the lobby. We quickly discovered that if you walked into the area the animal on the screen would start following you, and chasing you. You can imagine how excited the two young boys we saw were as they were chased by a tiger.
Did you know that giant sloths existed years ago? Big! Like 14 feet tall or so. And Dog bears? Not a dog and not a bear, but a dog bear. And did you know that horses used to be small and have gotten bigger over time? I didn’t either. And now I wish I’d taken more pictures.
