Blood Moon pic #2

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - After a bit of computer work in the iphoto program, I came up with a somewhat better photo than the one on the following post.  In this one, once you click on the pic to make it larger, you should also pick out some stars....or maybe dust on the lens.

The bloody moon

Get your magnifying glass...it's there

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - It was pretty hard not to be caught up in all the hype.  Wolf Blood Moon!   The photos from last year's spectacle were spectacular (and I realized, shot with a mega-long lens).  So what if it was taking place at about midnight. 
      I was up at 11 ready to head to a nearby pier on the Halifax River for an unobstructed view.  But there was no need as a big splotch of light was shining through one of our skylights.  All I had to do was just look up.  No problem.
     In reality, the moon looked like a pencil eraser once it started to go red-ish.  It was also almost straight overhead...not too bad for viewing, but pure hell trying to put a long, unwieldly camera/long lens on it.   And, according to news stories I read, 400 times smaller than the sun.   Plus the closer it got to being the full eclipse, the harder it got to find in the viewfinder...like photographing a red spec of dust.
     But, hey, that's half the fun of trying something new.

The lineup at the Alligator Farm

Toucan breakfast (a bit grey when shooting through the enclosure)

"So you think you've got problems at feeding time?"

Some of us like to play in the sand

ET had a brother?

"I am much better looking than my cousin in the top photo."

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - January trips to St. Augustine's Alligator Farm are always about seeing 'old friends'.  The crunch for good nesting spots doesn't begin until early March.  Still, there always things to catch the eye...like the roseate spoonbill and ibis (apparently) comparing the shape of their beaks.  Or the alligators seeking out any spot in the sunshine.

Viera wetlands reflections

The morning mist

Great white heron and roseate spoonbill on breakfast watch

Morning dew coats a spider web

Green heron camoflage

The vultures are waiting

Waiting...and watching in the early morning mist

A turtle carcass provides an appetizer

OEMOND BEACH,FL - - A large group of vultures have taken up residence in Viera Wetlands. They seem to  know this is the nesting season for the great blue heron and anhinga.   These groups, along with others,  return to this wetlands reserve each year to hatch the next generation.  It's hard enough for the chicks to make it to full grown status without an added enemy.

How many cats are too many?? (Updated 1/18)

2012:  The Queen (top) and the Princess 

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - I've noted before that we miss the two furry kids who were our companions for 17 years.  On the other hand my brother (in upstate NY) now needs a calculator to keep track of his tribe.
      It all started about two years ago with his regular feeding of stray cats (and birds and squirrels, etc.) on the back deck of his house. Eventually, he took pity on one of the friendlier cats and she repaid the kindness with five kittens.  So, one by one, my brother had the five spayed or neutered...and of course they moved in.
     So that they could go in and out at will without waking him in the middle of the night he installed a pet door in the garage downstairs.  This Fall, he installed another pet door...this time so they can get into the house for food and water and warmth.  He has called me numerous times to note he is sitting on the couch with five growing feline buddies.  I've mentioned to him that pet doors could prove troublesome.
     This evening (Thurs.) I got a call:  "I got up this morning and counted heads and tails like I usually do" he told me.  "I want to make sure we haven't lost anyone to the raccoons or coyotes.  Not only did I not lose anybody, but I gained two!  Now I've got seven instead of five.  It seems the gang of five 'taught' the other two how to climb through the pet doors."
     I was waiting for the next line:  "Are you sure you wouldn't like a couple."   
     UPDATE:   Friday evening (1/18) we got another call, "Guess what," said my brother.  "Now there are 9 cats.  They all get along although I think it's more because it's cold and snowing than because they like each other."
      Any bets on what the next population build up will be?  The weather forecast notes there might be as much as 12 inches of snow by late Sunday. 

On a lazy Sunday afternoon

Color and shadow

Stop in

Hoping to catch Sunday dinner

Two sailboats head south on the Halifax River

The colors of speed

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Saturday I  headed  out to Daytona International Speedway,( where I spent 18 years listening to the sounds of speed)  to  check up on old friends and get  a (small) dose of the 'rush' of racing.  A pre-race testing session for the upcoming Rolex 24 (hours) sports car  race was taking place.
     The photos were shot with my Canon point-and-shoot so they are opportunity shots rather than racing ones.

Is it Summer yet? No, but it is 85 degrees!

What global warming??