Hiding and gliding

 VIERA, FL - - Most of today's subjects in Viera Wetlands were in survival mode.  The Limpkin (above) and this Great Blue Heron were using nature's camouflage to blend in. 

 This Osprey, in full landing mode, used this high perch to zero in on some Coots down below.  He tried dive-bombing them twice without success.  Since Osprey subsist mainly on fish they catch we wonder what the bird would have done if it had snatched at Coot.

Return to the Grand Canyon

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Grand Canyon vista (North Rim), circa summer 2010.

Alaska days

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Talkeetna, Alaska, is a bit like Key West...only with mountains nearby rather than the ocean.  The most notable nearby peak is Denali, at 20,320, the mountain is also known as Mt. McKinley, and is the tallest mountain in North America.  This photo is from May 5, 2007 and the climbing season was already under way.  Today, there are mountain climbers from all over the  world either in town or on the way hoping to add Denali to their list of accomplishments. The chances of reaching the top:  40% over the years are successful.  There were 7 deaths on the mountain in 2011.
      INTERESTING NOTE:  Denali lies at 62-degrees North latitude.  There are over 450 peaks higher.  Nearly all peaks over 20,000' lie within 30-degrees (north or south) of the equator.  Denali is an anomaly.    

Moose hang out

From the archives:  Mama Moose and a not very small youngster.  Along the Alaska Highway.  Late April 2007 on the way to Denali NP.

Go fly a kite

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - We spent Sunday and Monday camping out at Fort Clinch State Park.  Our section of the campground was near the beach which fronts the main drag leading to St. Marys (GA) submarine base.  No subs this time, but if you look closely in the middle picture you can see a large freighter... which looked HUGE when it passed us by.  (but I was in the shower at the time).  Anyway, this kite show (15 different styles including this long tail model; a cylinderical style and a horse and this parrot-like kite)  was a display by a local company taking advantage of a great, steady breeze.
     We also took our youngest cat along with us.  To get the full story about our adventure with Princess, click on the link to Lydia's blog on my site.

Sunrise at Sunrise Park

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Everything was just 'ducky' for Mr. & Mrs. Mallard just a few minutes after sunrise at Sunrise Park in nearby Holly Hill. 

Food Fight!

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Lydia And I headed to Merritt Island NWR and a new location this morning...Biolab Road, which runs a bay on one side and wetlands on the other.  It's late in the year for most of the migrating birds to still be around, but some were and there were plenty of locals.
     When the tide is low, the scramble for food is on and the species mingle.  This solitary Great Blue Heron wasn't sharing his meal of fresh caught snake...the GBH used it's powerful beak to make sure the snake was dead before swallowing it whole (See Lydia's Flicker account link for a sequence).  This group of American White Pelicans, one lonely Roseate Spoonbill and a couple of Ibis were taking the slow approach to food finding.  The early morning colors came together nicely for this solitary White Ibis in the final picture, but probably didn't help his hunt for tasty morsels.

Lily, dahling

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - The colors of the flowers, like this lily species, which just 'pop up' in our very natural back yard are sometimes very vivid.  No high end, high $$ camera used here.  Canon SD1100 IS point and shoot, set on macro for close-up photography.

Daylight Savings Time?

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - I lost an hour of sleep last night!  Guess I better go back to sleep and see if I can find it.

Breakfast splash

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Windy and rainy conditions  have turned this weekend into dismal photo conditions with our usual suspects hiding out somewhere.  Fortunately, last weekend's foray to a nearby park on the Halifax River provided plenty of action.  The Tricolored Heron in the shots above was splashing around the 'breakfast buffet' snatching tasty morsels with almost every strike.

Shapes and colors

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - The wind, rain and snow - - with some additional help from Mother Nature - - have sculpted these shapes in Bryce Canyon National Park.  (June 2010)