Category: ‘scene’ along the way

'scene' along the way, a second look, cats, dragonflies, Just do it, perseverance, photography, road trip

Around this neighborhood…

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It has taken me all this time to notice that the kids on the playground in this neighborhood get to teeter-totter on a dragonfly. How fun.

The usual suspects seem to line up in anticipation of the sunrise every morning.
My plumeria cuttings are benefitting from my gardening skills, better known as benign neglect. There were three cuttings in the right hand pot, but two didn’t make it. The third one is holding it’s own.
This kitty was feral, but she has adapted to family life very well. I think she knows something is up as we pack our bags for a trip north to a wedding. But she loves her kitty-sitter so she won’t miss us too much.
'scene' along the way, a second look, attention to detail, foggy sky, fun, Just do it, moon, perseverance, photography, Rise and shine, sunrise, unintended consequences

Neighborhood news…

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I usually try to stay under the radar, for the most part. The fact that I write this blog is something that I’d have bet money against myself ever doing, if anyone had suggested it when I was young. I suppose the fact that I can write in the dark and quiet of a morning while I drink coffee is what makes it feel anonymous, and therefore allowable. So imagine my surprise to discover that my household has been the talk of the neighborhood lately. There has been some comings and goings at my house for the last week while I had a minor bathroom remodeling done at my house. While the handy men worked on the bathroom I unloaded various and sundry items that have resided in my shed since I bought the house, making room for my trike so it doesn’t have to live in my car all the time. Twice a week trash pick up was a blessing. It took both pick ups last week to get rid of all that I put out, and then sweated out whether they’d take it and if they didn’t then what was I going to do. Only they were terrific, they took everything, including the toilet that has driven me crazy ever since I bought the place.

Have you shopped for a toilet lately? You have so many choices these days. Round bowl or elongated? Slightly higher seat, or not? Able to make an entire bucket of golf balls disappear in a single flush? Or if that’s too much you might choose the one that will send 6 billiard balls into the sewer system. I would think that either of those last two options might have a tendency to backfire on you, but that’s just me. I now have a nice, level floor with fake marble tile on it, plus a toilet that flushes just what’s necessary and no balls of any kind. I am a happy camper.

So while I was home I got myself out for some sunset and sunrise pictures, taken with my camera and also my iPhone. But since I didn’t have my computer with me I never looked at the photos from my camera until today, and I had already posted iPhone pictures from those outings. But I found a couple I could use, as I get myself and my camera ready for the next adventure.

A foggy morning at Bayport, taken as an HDR in the camera and it couldn’t be worked on until I got back to the computer.
There was a nice moon out that morning so I took a picture of that too. Since the camera was set for HDR it took the three shots even though I have never had Lightroom actually process a photo of the moon into HDR before. I’ve tried many times. It usually says it can’t be done, the images aren’t identical or something. But this time it worked.

The neighborhood news was that it was suspected that I was having my house worked on because I was going to sell it. I hope they weren’t looking forward to getting rid of me because I’m not selling. I might even think about working on the kitchen, I’ve always wanted to ‘do’ a kitchen…

'scene' along the way, a second look, Bayport, boats, brainstorms, Florida landmarks, foggy sky, fun, Just do it, moon, perseverance, photography, sunrise

Foggy sunrise…

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It was back to Bayport this morning. I was amazed at how light the sky was as I drove the half hour to get there, but I knew I was going to be at least 20 minutes early for the actual sunrise. There was a haze hanging low to the horizon, but my faith in how Bayport never disappoints is still firmly in place.

There was drama to the actual sunrise, but the reflected colors made for pretty scenes too.
Lots of boats were setting off for a lovely Sunday on the water. Or until the afternoon storms blow in.
I think we need the photographer’s version of this fishing wagon. Less avid fishermen (or women) were sleeping on chaise lounges, while others played their music and cast their lines,
A foggy pastel scene, complete with moon.

Getting out for the sunrise is such a lovely way to start the day.

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

Port Richey sunset…

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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.
'scene' along the way, a second look, birds, ducks, nature, perseverance, photography, storms, sunrise, weather

Sunday sunrise…

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I woke up to the worst situation possible on Sunday morning. No internet. I had my coffee, but no Wordle, Quordle, or Octordle (two versions), to distract me. Most of the way through my first cup it dawned on me that it was early enough to go out for the sunrise, something I’ve been neglecting to do lately. See the above distractions. The feature photo was taken right from the front door as I stepped out, to a muggy morning. But a bluer sky than I expected to see, and clouds that I told myself were puffy and white. Kind of promising, I thought. Off I went…

I was tempted to stop and see what I could see in those interesting clouds. The one on the right looks like a doggy to me.
The birds were there. Little birds in the trees were chirping, the ducks on the pond were quacking, and some crows were making a racket, yelling at me I think.
I finally saw some pink in the sky, along with an ibis heading in to spend the day.
At this point I was still trying to tell myself that more color was coming. I liked that the ducks were in the only bright spot in the water. The pink never did get any pinker.
Oddly enough this is the view as I returned to the house. The most pink that I saw in the sky was toward the west, a reflection of what might have been a pretty sunrise, at least along the horizon.

The weatherman predicted that our rain would start coming in the morning rather than the afternoon, starting today, and it did, off and on. Giving my plumeria cuttings a nice drink. Any plant of mine needs to learn to survive on its own, my track record as a gardener is abysmal. Maybe there is hope for the sunset tonight, but the internet is back on so I may be distracted…

'scene' along the way, adventure, attention to detail, birds, friends, fun, live and learn, nature, perseverance, photography, rain, sky, storms, weather

Summer in Florida…

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My friend announced that he wanted to go to Clearwater yesterday, which made me think of the nesting birds that we hadn’t gone looking for so far. I was sure it was now or never to find the chicks before they fledged, so I sort of hijacked his trip by suggesting we go a little bit farther and see the birds first. Only they weren’t where we found them last year, requiring a plan B. Our second stop was going to require feeding the meter before we even knew if they were there, so he parked while I hurried down to the beach to see what I could see. And I did see several adult birds in a roped off area up the beach a ways. But I began to hear thunder which caused the lifeguards to being sounding their whistles to get swimmers out of the water. I had my cell phone with me and thought I’d get a beach picture before I left, but looking behind me I saw quite the sky.

At first we were amazed at all the lightning we were seeing on the drive home. The claps of thunder and the lightning were almost simultaneous, so we knew the storm was right over us. But when it began to rain we couldn’t keep driving, we had to pull over and wait it out. My friend never did get to run his errand in Clearwater, but I had told him that lunch was on me. And then when we were finally almost home I was amazed at how dark the skies were, but some of the clouds were lit up and looking amazing against the dark sky. We have a photo walk to go to tonight and similar weather conditions are on the menu. But that will be the story for the foreseeable future here in Florida, my adopted home.