More Christmas Vacation pics

Gulls, Pelicans and sunset over Egmont Key
Gull, shells, sand and the Gulf blending into the sky on Pass-A-Grille
Anyone got a HUGE fly swatter??? Sculptures on the wall of an art gallery in Pass-A-Grille

Stealth egrets

PASS-A-GRILLE, FL - - The fisherman in the background was unaware that he was being stalked by a hungry bunch of egrets looking for a handout. There game plan was to look the other way and pretend they didn't know there were any fish or scraps around. The gang around Merry Pier has the whole scam down pat...bait buckets, cast nets, packets of fresht bait...and anything is fair game.

Soaring, swooping and diving

PASS-A-GRILLE - - Looking for Christmas dinner.

On Alert

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - "The Girls" are on Alert. Santa is coming. Really, as long as the 'somebody' brings kitty treats it could be 'Joe The Plumber' because politics be damned when treats are involved. Since The Princess (left) and the Queen are getting on in years, 12 and 13, respectively, we don't expect too much action from the pair. So when the fuzzy blue fleece cover/blanket went on the bed, The Girls had the perfect observation point. Woe be to the humans when it's bed time because this hard-core duo of sleepers, snoozers and lay-abouts isn't about to move...unless there is the tinkle of kibbles being replenished in the kitty buffet.

Space Shuttle Atlantis launch

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Today's photo is the result of an experiment. I borrowed a 600mm (Canon) lens and added a 2x doubler to our Canon 30D body. This effectively gave me a 1200mm focal length. I added a lightweight monopod to the mix. The downside was that this f.4 lens weighs about 25 pounds. So, you have a great opportunity to get better shuttle launch photos but you're trying to do so with the equivalent of an unweildy concrete block. I felt I managed to overcome the inherent challenges, but sometime after the first pic I must have hit the focus ring and softened things just a bit. Our cameras, like most recent slr cameras, have auto-focus but to make it work you have to pick up the object of your attention before it will focus. Thus, in situations like this you set the lens focus ring at infinity and bang away...which was a lot harder than it sounds.

More Cedar Key kitties

CEDAR KEY, FL - - There are 5 different cats on the two blog posts, but we saw upwards of 20 although color patterns suggest most belong to a long family tree.

Cedar Key kitties

CEDAR KEY, FL - - Our weekend get-away took us to Cedar Key, on Florida's west (Gulf) coast. If you are a cat lover - - as we are - - this is a great place to go. We quickly noticed the feline presence on our first stroll down the town's short shops/restaurant area. Cats were all over: strolling on the sidewalks; hiding under cars/vans/trucks; climbing on cars; on porches; just about everywhere we looked. This may have something to do with this town/area having being a major fishing area. The cats aren't exactly feral, but they are wary. More suspects on the next post

Red Lemur

SANFORD, FL - - The Red-ruffed Lemur is native to the rain forest in the northeast corner of the island of Madagascar. It is also a close neighbor to the Amur Leopard enclosure at the Central Florida Zoo. This individual and the rest of the crew were resting....and then it was group play time to show how agile they were and that they could do their tricks in the hardest part of their enclosure to photograph.

Siberian Spots

SANFORD, FL - - The Amur Leopard, also known as the Far Eastern Leopard, is an extremely endangered species. Only about 50 live in the wilds of the Amur River Valley in Siberia. There are also 200 in captivity in zoos throughout the world. If you want to see this magnificent creature up close (sort of) you are in luck. The Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Sanford has two.

Mt. Dora weekend

MT DORA, FL - - It was the hottest weekend of the year...so we decided to go camping. Actually, we had reservations a month ago and this was the weekend of the Mt. Dora bicycle festival which has been going on for about 25 years. Trimble Park, which has a nice campground, is located 4 miles from town. We had a campsite right on the edge of Lake Carlton. There were plenty of birds around including three peacock at a fancy house a ways up the road who only seemed to come out at dusk.

The Blue Heron above wasn't meant to be soft-focus but this was shot at dusk and looked interesting so here it is. Right nearby but in more light was this Ibis. They usually don't hang out on dock posts but this youngster apparently wanted to be different.

Flowers and a lizard

ORMOND BEACH, FL

First day of Fall, 2009

Today, is the first day of Fall. However, it's 4:33pm; the temperature is 86-degrees; the heat index is 97-degrees and the fronds on the palm trees are still green. Looks like the season change might show up about December. Of course, this is what living in Florida is all about.

The eyes have it

FERNANDINA BEACH, FL - - Summer vacation is over. So, what else is new?? Not much. But the weather is getting (a little) cooler and we're hitting the road again for short trips. This weekend it was Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, about 110 miles north. A quaint ocean-side town with a historic district on the inland waterway, is most notably known for being 'the' place in the shrimping business over 100 years ago...and still hauling them in.

This wide-eyed calico feline we found on a side street six blocks from the docks was very friendly and very interested in the camera at just about eye height. Her curiosity brought this picture. We also saw about dozen wild turkeys feeding alongside the road on our trip up, but they scampered off before we could get photos. Click on the link to Lydia's blog to see her take on what else we did find.

Summertime and the living is lazy

More pyrotechnics

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Here are three more pictures of the big Fourth of July show in OB.

Light up the sky

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - The Fourth of July celebration in Ormond Beach includes an approximate 20-minute fireworks display. The pyrotechnics are shot from a barge anchored in the Halifax River. We have a park on the river for viewing one block from our home. Some sky designs (below) look like colored jelly fish.

Read Lydia's blog (click on link) for more info on our holiday at home.

Standing tall

EDENTON, NC - - One of the town square Civil War statues...and Confederate States of America flags...discovered on our part of the trip through the deep south.

Under the water

FLORENCE, SC - - Friday we crossed one of the most unique bridges in the world, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. This engineering marvel, built to allow use of two widely separate shipping channels comprises three long bridges, two mile long tunnels and four man-made islands in the Bay as portals for a 17+ mile long drive over/under water. The bridge-tunnel connects the DelMarVa Penninsula - - which we wandered down from Annapolis - - to Hampton Roads/Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Va.

Coming off a bridge out in the bay to enter a tunnel going under the bay might cause a temporary shortness of breath...of course I'm only speculating that something like that might happen.

Life from a mallard's point of view

EDENTON, NC - - "If I had a boat like that," said the mallard, "I wouldn't have to spend all my time paddling my tail off to make an impression on the the females."

Famous

LUBEC, ME - - The West Quoddy Head Light is quite recognizable and famous. Its depiction graces travel stories and calenders and, probably, tens of thousands of photo albums (prints and digital). The light station is located in Lubec, Maine, at what the brochure calls the easternmost point of land in the U.S. This point of fact is hotly debated by the folks in Eastport just across the bay...but that's another story.

THIS photo was shot in quickly grey-ing weather and at lowering tide. The rock outcrop seen to the right is underwater at high tide. Here, where the Bay of Fundy creates very high (and low) tides, strong tidal currents and unpredictable weather and heavy fog the light and foghorn stand a 24 hour vigil. The light station's signature is: two seconds on; two seconds off; two seconds on; nine seconds off.

The real fuel for travel in Canada

SOMEWHERE IN NEW BRUNSWICK ON HWY. #1 - - Of all the hockey players Canada has produced none has succeeded like Tim Horton. He may not have been a well known star, but his fame lives on years after he left the ice as every day people across Canada hoist one for Tim. Note that the cups are politically correct (by government regulation) with both English and French imprinting.

Whale watching

EASTPORT, ME - - We wanted to take a whale watching cruise...like we did in Seward, AK two years ago...but bad weather and rough water kept us on shore. Consequently, our watching was mostly like this colorfully fanciful dream scene wood carving on the wall of a shop in Eastport.

Catch this

CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK - - One of the great things about traveling along the Cabot Trail is that you keep seeing the lobstermen and women working their catch. Luckily, we came upon these boats pulling their 'pots' near shore. The top two boats are unloading bounty and will then bait the trap and drop it back into the deep.
Double click on the above photo and you can see both Jack and Florrie working. I'm not sure if they saw Lydia and I taking pictures but they made one sweep (below) which looked like they were going to drive the boat right up the rocks at us.

Moose on the run

CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK - - Visitor information proudly states that there are more than 160,000 moose in Nova Scotia. We've seen two. This female? was just off the Cabot Trail roadside in - - where else - - the middle of nowhere.

Catch me if you can

This is either an 'art' shot or a mangled lobster trap which has washed up on the rocks. Your pic.

A picture of the pitcher plant

CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK OF CANADA - - Guess what we spied on our hike along the skyline trail in the park ... a pitcher plant. I got close enough to give it a whiff of human scent, took my photo and moved on.

Purple and yellow power

KEJIMKUJIK NATIONAL PARK SEASIDE ADJUNCT - - Would you believe orchids growing in the wild in Nova Scotia. Here's proof. This is a marsh orchid. It looks pretty good considering the 50's temperature, the wind and overcast sky. We saw quite a few of them on a hike we took. We also saw, but didn't think to photograph some 'picture plants' which are similar to the venus flytrap in that they are carnivorous. Lydia would have really liked to get a pic of me with my fingers being munched by a plant.

SwissAir 111

HARABOUCHER, NS - - The memorial to the 229 who died in the crash of Swiss Air Flt. 111 on Sept. 2, 1998 are two carved messages on polished granite stones. The flight crashed after catching fire and plunged into the ocean 5 miles (equidistant) off the coasts of Peggy's Cove and Bayswater.
Nearly 11 years on there are still stuffed toys and artificial flower arrangements left to adorn the memorial. Peggy's Cove is on the horizon a short distance away.

THE unwritten code of the sea for fishermen in this harsh Nova Scotia environment is to help any and all in distress. The crews from The Cove and Bayswater played a large part in recovery operations.

Sea Side Campground sunset

GLEN MARGARET, NS - - Not too bad a view from the side window of our camper VW in Sea Side Campground. The name should be 'cove side' but that won't attract guests like 'sea side' does.

Found it

PEGGY'S COVE, NS - - We finally found it...the sun, the scenery and lots of solitude. Of course since the last blog we've also migrated north into Nova Scotia via a three hour ferry ride from Bar Harbor. Photos of Peggy's Cove are used in publications to show everyone what they may be missing if they don't travel to NS. Trust us, there are a lot more desolate/bleak roadways than the scenic beauty you see here. But, when you get to an area like this all the long miles are forgotten.
THIS is being posted from The Bike and Bean coffee shop/bike shop in a nearby town. Normally we try to avoid the tourist-y areas at all costs. In NS, you end up looking for them because those area are the only ones which have stores, places to eat and campgrounds.

Scene on a foggy day

Boothbay Harbor on a foggy afternoon. Very quiet.

Lunchtime

BAR HARBOR, ME - - Lobster, it's what's for lunch. Along with steamer clams and an ear of corn. This was what we had in Haraseeket, ME. We've since ended the longevity of another two lobsters. Weather still iffy; but it was sunny on Saturday.

On the road

FREEPORT, ME - - Here we are, sitting in a bagel shop in Freeport, Maine, and watching it rain. So how did we get here? Two hard days of driving (600 miles per) to get to Poughkeepsie, NY, for a family visit. Then, after two days, we headed toward Maine. The areas are scenic in different ways from Canada and Alaska and the Southwest, but that doesn't matter if you don't get to see the sun. This is a good try-out for our recently purchased 2003 Volkswagen Eurovan with a pop-top for camping. It's dry inside, lacks some of the space we have in the Honda Element but then we can't sleep in the element. The lobster and steamer clams are great, if a bit expensive. Now we head toward Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.

Chin up

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Ever have times when you are so tired you can't hold your chin up. Happens to The Queen a lot. Her remedy: Leaning her chin on a cross member on a leg of a computer stand.

We're home now without summer occupations in far away places and indoors - - because of the heat and humidity - - that we spend too much time looking at all the silly things the cats are doing. Probably a reverse form of up north 'cabin fever.'

Blending in

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - This past week's rain - - anywhere from 20 to 27 or so inches depending on the source of the measurement- - has upset the feeding habits of our local feathered friends. This heron is doing his best to blend in with the scenery about 6 feet off the sidewalk directly across from the OB library.
Using the average of 10 inches of snow for 1 inch and taking the lowest measurement of what has dropped from the sky of rain you can calculate we might not be able to find our house under 16 feet of snow. Although with all that white stuff things would probably be somewhat compressed....say only a depth of 10 feet of snow to worry about.
In any case, the flooding of streets and homes in low lying areas continues.

Boxed in

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Why buy toys for the Queen and Princess when they ignore them. But leave an empty shoe box from a recently bought pair of sandals around and it becomes a 'favorite spot' to take a nap. So, here we have a 16 pound cat crammed into a small shoe box and enjoying it. Most of the time the Queen's tail is also in the box.