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)

Falling water

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Digging deep into the archives, I came up with this pic from a trip to Canada in 2004.  Takaka Falls is located in Yoho National Park near Field, British Columbi, Canada.  Here, in OB, it's sunny; nearly 80-degrees and Speedweeks is over.

600th post

 ORMOND BEACH, FL - - For the 600th post of my blog, we have the Viera Wetlands Presidents Day edition of:  A Hooded merganser  staring; A Caracara eating breakfast road kill and a Great Blue Heron trying to manage the windy conditions.

An old favorite

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - The Royal Household:  The Queen (top) and The Princess share a sunny spot on the carpet.   This photo, from 2010, caught my eye as I was browsing my photo library.  What makes the photo special to me is that "The Girls" never get this close...unless there's a sunbeam involved. 

Weekend Update #2

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - On Sunday morning, with the temperature a bit below 40-degrees and a wind blowing off the Halifax River, the locals were trying to stay warm.  For this snowy egret that meant one-foot-at-a-time in the water.  (Actually, they stand on one foot a lot of the time).  This pigeon was also 'footing it.'  And there is always someone who doesn't mind the wind or cold water...like this  merganser (duck).

Weekend update

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Lake Woodruff NWR didn't have much activity this weekend.  There were lots of Glossy Ibis...with a few regular ibis and a snowy egret thrown in to make the flight pattern look nice. Note the hawk (bottom right) playing flight controller.
     Then there was 'papa' sand crane out looking for food. (See mom, pop and two soon-to--be little cranes on Lydia's More Pics link).  To add a bit of color we had a cardinal stop moving for a moment.

Black & White

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Things look different in black and white...one of the 'toys' which my Apple MacBook Pro has in the Aperture photo application.  So we have a heron and its shadow; a snowy egret posing with breeding plumage flowing and a great blue heron keeping an eye on things from a roof top. 

Going, Going, Going...

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - When we moved in to our house 16 years ago, we had plenty of shade trees.  The trees were old and big,  with wide canopies...nature's version of air conditioning.  Now, we don't have so many.  They've been lost mainly to old age and/or a beating with nature's help.
     When we arrived home this Fall from our Summer job in Glacier NP, our big bay tree in the side yard look fine.  Recently, it became apparent that the tree was dying right before our eyes.  Laurel-wilt disease, a fungal disease carried by beetles from Asia invaded Florida in 2005 (and many other areas) decimating the bay trees.  There is no cure, but injecting a fungicide into (what appears to be) our other healthy bay tree may save it.
     The four pictures above show the Tree Guy way up near the top of the highest limb cutting and then easing down a big limb section via rope.  All we have now is a six-inch high base where the tree once stood.

Flying, landing and looking good

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - These Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks put on a good air show, but not whistling while closer to the ground the Great Blue Heron clan were nest building at Viera Wetlands.  Closer to home we found this Snowy Egret with the breeze ruffling his breeding plumage.

Pelicans splash, heron reflects & woodstork has an appetizer

Happy New Year...only a week late

 ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Today's visit to Lake Woodruff NWR was all about the color red in various shades and configurations (top to bottom).  First we have a red head; a red stripe on a lost bobber; a red-headed sand hill crane; a red shouldered hawk and finally, sunrise on Lake Woodruff

Christmas Day 2011 in Ormond Beach

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - The sun is shining.  It's 80-degrees.  It's Christmas Day. The tourists are happy.  This is the weather they've come south for.  We're happy too, but we wish it was a bit (60-degrees) cooler.  In the past. we've gone to Fort Desoto Park (near St. Pete on the other coast) to camp.  This year, it's stay home and feed medicine to the elderly royal household - - The Queen and The Princess.

So, we've been out and about near home lately, but not too much is happening. Even the usual flocks of migrating birds seem to think it's too hot to be winter so they've stayed away or gone some place else.  Of course, we do have a few Royal Terns looking for snacks and plenty of butterflys out for nectar.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - From our home to yours, a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.  Thanks for reading and following the blog.  2012 and new adventures are just around the corner. 

Thanksgiving Weekend

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Wandering around on Thanksgiving weekend:  (1) St. Augustine Lighthouse; (2) Sunrise on the Halifax river in OB; (3)  Great Egret on the St. John's River near DeLand trying to find the right place to scratch...without sticking itself.

Back to work

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - The Princess casts a long shadow

 Egret in the bush at Merritt Island NWR

Pelican lift-off: Port Canaveral