pigs – A Snowbird's Life Through the Lens

'scene' along the way, a second look, go with the flow, perseverance, photography, pigs, sunset, weather, Wind in my hair

Port Richey sunset…

July 15, 2022 naturecoastimagesblog

The race was on. My friend reported that the thunderstorm that had just pummeled his neighborhood was heading to my neighborhood. But from the look of things at that moment I thought it was worth the couple of minutes it would take me to get to the pond in my park andwatch. I thought maybe the clouds would light up for a few minutes, but the whole scene grayed over and I headed back to my house. And then the sky did show some pink so I turned the car around and went back. Those thunderstorms did arrive eventually, but I’m happy they held off as long as they did.

To get the head-in view of the color and reflections I have to walk along the water into someone’s backyard. But that house is shuttered up for the summer, so no one home to get annoyed with me there.

Happily the clouds that were coming in reflected the color of the sunset.

The wind was picking up and I began to feel some raindrops, so it was time to head home shortly after I took this picture.

a second look, adventure, birds, boats, dolphins, Florida landmarks, friends, fun, making memories, nature, perseverance, photography, pigs, road trip

Seafood on the menu…

May 2, 2022 naturecoastimagesblog

When our visitor visits Florida she likes having a drink while over- looking the water, and if there are boats in the scene that’s a plus too. Which explains how we wound up having lunch on the boardwalk at John’s Pass on Sunday. We stopped to see the scenery when we first arrived and found lots of birds near the pier where people were gutting newly caught fish and tossing the trimmings to the milling pelicans below. Among a few other scavengers.

Here we have a snowy egret surveying the scene.

She got a bit up close and personal for a minute or two.

I thought these two pelicans had found a worm of some kind, but I was told this is entrails. I had quite a few pictures of the battle, but the victor finally flew away with the entrails still wrapped around his beak.

The atmosphere is old fishing village, I find it charming.

Lots of boats, large and small, pass by.

Some require a bit of adjustments as they pass.

'scene' along the way, adventure, chickens, courage, exploring new places, friends, fun, history, just imagine, making memories, nature, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, pigs, road trip, travel

Oconoluftee Visitor Center…

October 18, 2021October 17, 2021 naturecoastimagesblog

This feature photo needs a title. How about “The Little Outhouse in the Smokies?” We were still on our first full day of our trip, and we had heard that this visitor center had a great farm display, as well as occasional visits from elk. We thought we could plan our trip, acquire some maps, and, hopefully, see some elk. We didn’t see them that day, but stay tuned because we did eventually see them. I look at these scenes and think of how hard life must have been in those days…

Here you have the farm house, amazingly devoid of tourists. Like us! LOL.

The house again. It was explained that the owner split the logs and used the halves on opposing walls. A skilled technique.

Further signage pointed out that pigs were essential on a farm in those days. They had large litters of piglets and they provided sustenance.

This rooster really did seem to be ruling the roost, but he did tolerate all the visitors well.

I liked this view of the barn from the walking path better than any of the other photos of it that I took.

Here we have the barn and some of the equipment that might have been used. The fencing surrounded the corn crop, another essential to the quality of life in those days.

More farm buildings, those are corn cribs in the back.

Another objective of the trip was to practice using filters to improve your landscape photos as well as to photograph falling waters and make the water appear more silky. I was new to long exposure photography, but I did manage to get a couple of pictures. I had to toss most of the ones I attempted to take. It seemed that every bend in the road revealed a scene that made you want to stop the car and take pictures. And we were still on our first day in the park.

It will take a lot more practice to figure out this technique.

There were rocky little waterfalls in every stream along the roadside. Many opportunities to take even more pictures.

backyard visitors, go with the flow, nature, neighbors, photography, pigs, simple things, unintended images

The Wilbur Effect…

February 17, 2018 naturecoastimagesblog

My only hope, I thought, as I walked out of work on my ‘day off’, was that maybe a photo op would come to me in the back yard, because I didn’t know if I had a trip out in me. And that’s exactly what happened. Okay, Zoe actually came to the rescue when she went to the back gate and Wilbur came over to say hello to her. They snuffled each other through the fence. Ozzie, on the other hand, acts like a savage beast, but the effort is lost on Wilbur. He just snuffled through the fence, totally unimpressed with Ozzie’s mean killer dog act.

So I let myself in the gate to say hello. I thought he’d frolic and I’d take pictures. His hair is so wiry, not a cuddly creature. Then he laid down so I could rub his belly. And there was so such thing as watching him from afar, he likes things up close and personal. I sat down on a paver to get a better angle, but that gave Wilbur a better angle also. He came over, wet snout covered in sand, and proceeded to snuffle my feet, my legs, and my pant legs until I was wearing more of the sand than he was. It felt like I was being sandpapered. I haven’t been that dirty since I was a little kid. I call it The Wilbur Effect. Now excuse my while I toss those pants in the wash….

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dogs, nature, neighbors, old dogs new tricks, photography, pigs

Meet my new neighbor…

December 29, 2017 naturecoastimagesblog

I have a new neighbor, his name is Wilbur. He’s short, and his wispy hair is quite wiry. He moves pretty quickly, darting around the yard and digging holes. He also likes to lean up against just about anything and scratch himself. He likes to play with the dogs, in fact my neighbor is sure that he thinks he is a dog, and not just because he uses the dog door and likes dog food. She says he is better behaved than her dogs are. Zoe didn’t seem to notice anything unusual about him. Maybe she has just learned to expect the unexpected when she goes into my neighbor Sue’s yard. After all, both dogs quickly accepted the chickens when they arrived, and pay no attention when they visit us in our yard. But Ozzie hasn’t met Wilbur snout to snout yet. I decided to let him think about it for a while before we take that step.