No Cabanas Here

Egrets Great and Small

2011-11-25T12:23:00.000-08:00

Turtle in a Tree

2011-11-21T00:54:00.000-08:00

Obviously this little guy climbed there when the water was higher. Looks like the Spanish moss is in better focus than the turtle, still learning how to use this camera.

Sea Turtle Returns to the Sea

2011-10-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

She had been wounded by a shark, and is missing much of her right front flipper.

But the rehabilitation people deemed her okay to return to her home.

There was a bit of excitement when a 4 foot black tip shark was seen thrashing around in the exact spot where the turtles had been being released, but everyone appeared to be all right.

Downtown at Dusk

2011-10-09T03:26:00.000-07:00

Morning after the rain

2011-08-13T05:07:00.000-07:00

Beach Weather

2011-07-20T02:36:00.001-07:00

Sunshine now, but the winter was long

2011-04-02T02:53:00.000-07:00

Space Shuttle

2011-02-27T02:59:00.000-08:00

The Beach, Subzero Temps

2010-12-15T04:30:00.000-08:00

It's that time again

2010-11-13T04:49:00.000-08:00

The grasses are seeding and the morning sun hits them just a certain way.

2010-10-17T05:41:00.000-07:00

Cold morning, steam on the pond.

Sun Shower

2010-08-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of these this summer.

Uninvited Breakfast Guest

2010-07-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

On the front porch. Originally in the watering can.

Navy Vessel

2010-07-08T05:49:00.000-07:00

I believe this is a former Navy vessel that is now used for merchant marine training.

Very Hungry Caterpillars

2010-06-25T04:22:00.000-07:00

Eating my Italian parsley. I am pretty sure they will be swallowtail butterflies.

Mommy Works Here

2010-06-16T06:12:00.000-07:00

The homemade sign is on Fletcher (the road along the beach.)

Pink Sun

2010-06-11T05:51:00.000-07:00

Front Porch

2010-05-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

Elwood's Spot

2010-04-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

Elwood is pictured in the photo that heads this blog.
He died last September and now rests under the roses in the photo below.
I had been waiting for the right plant to present itself.
The roses are small, like Elwood was for a mastiff, but they have a sweet fragrance.
They are climbers and stay green all winter.

Early Morning Visitor

2010-03-19T11:56:00.000-07:00

Such funny creatures. Their vision does not seem to be the best.

Toad Hall

2010-03-11T05:16:00.000-08:00

The weather has warmed up and this morning a young toad found his way into the dogs' water dish.

Fog

2010-02-26T09:10:00.000-08:00

The Big Freeze

2010-01-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

New Dawn

2010-01-02T04:09:00.000-08:00

Leaning Oaks

2009-11-28T02:49:00.000-08:00

Kite Day at the Beach

2009-10-26T08:02:00.000-07:00

Egrets: Before and After

2009-09-15T12:08:00.001-07:00

At rest at daybreak, flying off when the sun rises.

All You Need

2009-09-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

These were just random hearts found on or near the beach.

Storm, Then Sunset

2009-08-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

A Good Omen

2009-08-20T04:48:00.000-07:00

Taken after this morning's rain shower.

'Shrooms

2009-08-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

This one was the size of a salad plate.

Moth on the back porch

2009-04-19T04:51:00.000-07:00

Beau's First Boat Ride

2009-03-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

We went to Cumberland Island. The dunes at the beach there are beautiful.

We could see the wild horses along the shoreline.

At St. Peter's church

2009-02-25T05:44:00.000-08:00

I can see why they have the sign up, there are lots of rolling sidewalks and stairs everywhere.

Beau's First Beach Day

2009-02-08T06:09:00.000-08:00

Purple Haze

2009-02-05T07:19:00.000-08:00

At Seaside Beach

2008-12-22T04:47:00.000-08:00

Cockatoo

2008-12-13T05:39:00.000-08:00

For about a month now, I've heard some horrendous screeching along the lake.
This morning, I met the source. It is a cockatoo. He is scared of Elwood, but quite calm with me. He (or she) obviously was once someone's pet. He seems to be surviving okay, even with the cold.

Seasonal Changes

2008-11-03T05:54:00.000-08:00

psychedelic berries

2008-10-17T04:36:00.000-07:00

Felix's Fernandina

2008-10-13T04:32:00.000-07:00

7 in the morning

2008-10-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

North Florida Fall

2008-10-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

Swallowtail

2008-09-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

I had caterpillars all over my parsley plants. Then I had a chrysalis or two or three.
Now I have swallowtail butterflies.

Banana Spider

2008-09-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

The spider's body was probably as long as my pinkie. The web was huge.

Yesterday Morning

2008-09-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

Buzzed

2008-08-17T05:30:00.000-07:00

They ignore my hummingbird feeder, but love the tubular pink flowers I have on the front porch.

Living in the Marina

2008-08-14T06:19:00.000-07:00

This boat is 100 years old. Whenever we go by, she is well-guarded.

We left, we walked the field, we arrived back home

2008-08-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

All before the sun really got all the way up.

This is not a snake

2008-08-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

It is an Eastern Glass Lizard.
We came upon it swimming in the shallows alone the shoreline.

Glider at the Beach

2008-07-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

Glistening Web

2008-07-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

Ferns

2008-07-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

For as long as I have been aware of plants, I've loved ferns.
They have this primitive quality...yet they are intricate.
They don't have flowers, but they cool, refresh, and and soften a garden,their unfurling fronds add a quiet grace.

When I was a little kid in northern California,the woods behind our house were full of ferns. We'd hide in them. I loved their earthy smell.
Inside the house, I grew as many ferns as I could in Colorado, but outside, growing perennials was a bit of a struggle. Late frosts would shrivel the first fiddleheads coming out of the ground. Japanese painted ferns would flourish for a year, then die back, never to return.
Since moving to north Florida, I have been in ferny heaven. I've got them inside and out: rabbit's foot fern (it grows little furry "feet"), bird's nest fern (named for the fuzzy brown stuff in the middle) maidenhair (delicate) staghead fern (looks like antlers) and so on.
One of my favorites is a fern that has been with us since we first moved to Florida.
It was just this tiny little 8-inch from Target when it first joined our household. It went from house to house with us in Port St Joe, then finally made the big move here. I repotted it twice, then found the perfect spot for it outside: it gets any rain that falls, plus a bit of afternoon sun. It's taller than I am now. I guess that's why they call them tree ferns.

Various Winged Creatures

2008-07-09T09:33:00.001-07:00

Along came a Jewelled Spider

2008-07-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

Every morning the kid and the husband walk right into the side of this spider's web. (I am a couple inches shorter and miss it, plus I usually go out the side door anyway.)
Our spider is a trooper and she just goes back and does a quick repair job.
Jewelled Spiders

Froggy Went A'Courtin'

2008-06-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

I finally put up a bird bath, but I have not yet seen a bird use it.
Several times now, instead, I look out in the morning and see a frog in it.
The frogs here are very vocal at night, calling to each other.
I wonder if it is a female laying eggs or just a fella enjoying a swim?

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2008-06-19T05:10:00.000-07:00

Caught in the Rain--But Only Just

2008-06-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

Elwood and I arrive at the beach at about five minutes after 6 in the morning.
The sun has not yet topped the horizon. When I look to the south, I see a rainstorm lumbering over the waves.

When I look east, it is dawn, and fairly clear.
I figure we have time for a half-hour walk.
We do walk for half an hour. The rainclouds slowly coalesce.

The sun is just peeking up above the ocean when it begins to sprinkle.

In it comes, at the very end of our walk.

Red Sky at Morning

2008-06-04T03:47:00.000-07:00

More pink than red. But we did get some rain later that afternoon.

Girasole

2008-06-04T03:43:00.000-07:00

These sunflowers are an Italian variety.

Off to see the lizard

2008-06-04T03:40:00.000-07:00

Ladybug, Ladybug

2008-06-04T03:39:00.000-07:00

Red-shouldered Hawk

2008-05-30T00:40:00.000-07:00

I try to appear non-threatening when we walk down by the retention pond.
I look up, but it is always hard to see the hawk, he sort of blends into the foliage. Yesterday I literally stared at him without seeing him, while approaching "his" tree. He then flew to a higher spot, which is when I noticed him.
He scolded us a bit.

He left behind a feather, which I brought home.

Roseate Spoonbills

2008-05-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

These birds feed by moving their bills from side to side. They eat tiny bugs and crustaceans and fish.The photos were taken in brackish water where the ocean mingles with the river.

Out on the water

2008-05-25T13:10:00.001-07:00

We Are Not Amused

2008-05-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

This cat is never thrilled to see us, but he appears to have been stuck in the morning rain and was especially displeased today.

Full Moon

2008-05-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

I planted moonflower seeds a couple months ago. They took off right away, but weeks passed as they climbed, and no buds formed.
I kept track of their progress, and noticed a few buds last week. Moonflowers only bloom in the evening, so I had to remind myself to go out and check. Just in time for the full moon, they bloomed.

Margins

2008-04-25T10:44:00.001-07:00

Our little neighborhood is bordered by woods in a few places. Sometimes Elwood and I explore them a bit.
The woods are thick enough, yet with some open, flat spaces, and people do camp there. They usually don't stay long.
Every now and then, I will happen upon these people, especially if it is early in the morning. Mostly I just come upon their stuff. In one spot, there was a pan and a spatula hanging from a tree.

Sometimes I come upon stuff and I wonder how it got there. I figure maybe people bring things in. We came upon a little decorative heart, hanging from a tree, and some impatiens growing next to a bunch of trash.

Winter into Summer

2008-04-04T05:39:00.000-07:00

A week ago I was wearing a warm jacket while walking the dog, now I am in a t-shirt at 7am and flock after flock of cormorants are frantically heading north.
Meanwhile, vultures raid the dumpster behind the grocery store.

Miscellany

2008-03-06T07:09:00.000-08:00

Lone pelican, flower, sunrise oaks, a pair of whales.

Pink for Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T04:58:00.000-08:00

At Jasmine Street beach

Beach Moon Lake

2008-02-03T05:42:00.000-08:00

2008-02-03T05:41:00.000-08:00

The Pinapple House at dawn.

Downtown

2008-01-18T03:14:00.000-08:00

The marina was pretty quiet when I was there--but it was rather chilly.
The Farmer's Market is every Saturday morning, and that's where everyone seemed to be.

Across the Lake

2008-01-09T04:40:00.000-08:00

When we walk by the lake most mornings, all of the giant egrets and herons are roosting in the pines in one area of the east side of the lake, and the smaller egrets adjacent to them. I've counted as many as 50 great egrets.
Between 7 and 7:30 in the morning, they all begin to stir, wake up, and depart for the day.
We had a recent cold front.
The freezing temperatures lasted two days.
Both of those days, all of the birds came over to the west side of the lake, where the path is. It must have felt warmer, but I'm not sure how that worked.
Was the wind not hitting them or something? I can't figure it out.
Anyway, they were much closer and easier to see during those two days.

Dawn on New Year's Day

2008-01-01T09:04:00.000-08:00

Egan's Creek

2007-12-15T07:31:00.000-08:00

In the rec center parking lot at the trailhead:

This sign made me somewhat apprehensive. A guy born and raised here told me he mostly sees very small gators, but once saw one that was between 10 and 12 feet. This guy was pushing a stroller and walking a tiny Yorkie, so I don't think he was too worried.

Jasmine Street Beach

2007-12-14T08:00:00.001-08:00

Surfin' Santa

2007-12-12T06:30:00.001-08:00

The temperature is in the 70's, but it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. A cold front is on the way, though.

Sea and Sky

2007-11-26T07:05:00.000-08:00

The sky almost looks green in the middle photo.
When we arrived at the beach, it was barely light and the shoreline was empty, but 45 minutes later there were people setting up chairs to watch the sun rise.

By the Lake

2007-11-12T10:55:00.000-08:00

There is a patch of rainbow in the first lake photo, this is a reflection of a rainbow cloud up in the sky. Supposedly this is light filtering through at just the right angle, and it can happen when the sun is very high or rather low.

All That Is Left Behind

2007-11-03T06:43:00.001-07:00

Last month we were walking along the local pond and saw a young, dead raccoon right at the water's edge. I wondered how it had died: was he hit by a car and staggered the 50 feet or so? If he was bitten by a gator, his body would not be lying there.
Anyway, in no less than ten days, all that was left was his skull and jawbone.
I've seen several turtles and fish in the pond; I think at least some of the turtles are snappers.
About three quarters of a mile from our little pond is an empty field which is slowly but surely being developed. Out in the middle of nowhere is some sort of vine, either quash or watermelon, I am not sure which. How it got there, I really can't say.

Migrating Monarchs

2007-10-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

In October, monarch butterflies as well as other species such as viceroys and painted ladies migrate through north Florida. Apparently, some of them never make it to Mexico, and not merely because they may have splatted on someone's windshield. There is also a little spot in south Florida where they winter. A couple of these amorous butterflies took a break in the tall grass.

More Pelicans, and hatched eggs

2007-10-16T18:13:00.001-07:00

The hatched eggs were old and washed up on the shore.
I do think they were turtle eggs, though--they were the size of ping pong balls and had little hexagon-type markings on them.
The rainbow was last weekend, a welcome sight after all the storms.

State of Emergency

2007-10-01T05:39:00.000-07:00

We not only have Red Tide, we also have a nor'easter churning with flood watch advisories.
Nassau County has termed our situation a state of emergency.
Dead fish, lumber, and other assorted stuff is washing up at the shoreline.
The wind is gusty and the low clouds blow in and out.
We saw a dead seaturtle last week, which is always sad.
There isn't much shoreline because the tide is so high. Supposedly 6 to 9 feet seas.
Meanwhile, it is pouring rain with the sun brightly shining.
Just another day in paradise.

Cumberland Island

2007-09-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

We took a boat trip to Cumberland Island; we are very close to the Georgia border.
There were feral horses and a ruined mansion to explore. The second to last picture is of the former greenhouse. The place was mind-boggling when you visualize its former glory.

Neighborhood Kitties

2007-08-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

Some are pampered pets, some are feral. One is stone, tucked in a quiet green corner.
Lily is the white one, she winters here and summers in Chautuaqua.
The black one, a female I think, is feral. She lives with her brother or sister, not sure which. The sibling is also black with a bit of white, and it is much more timid than she is.
We see them all over the neighborhood. I've even seen the black one hunting a squirrel in a tree in our front yard.
I think that the black and white one with the alien-looking eyes is a pet, but I am not sure. The orange one is a pet.
The tabby is my little Willow, who used to be feral.

Dying Shearwaters

2007-07-31T14:23:00.000-07:00

Shearwaters are dying.
Biologists are not sure why, but all the birds have appeared to be emaciated, and perhaps had a rough migration. No muscle tone. Apparently some are being rescued, but most are too far gone. If you see one that might have some hope, you can wrap it in a towel and try to take it to the proper wildlife authorities.
It's really sad. I have come across two birds that were already dead, but this one was still alive. He raised his head up a bit and seemed to try to look up, then let his head fall back down. He was gone.

UFO, Passion Flower, Magic Mushroom

2007-07-18T05:50:00.000-07:00

These were all seen within about five minutes of each other.

Lofty pelicans, tiny lizard.

2007-07-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

Tortoise and the Hare

2007-07-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

We see the bunny most mornings.
It freezes, then sometimes dashes into the brush.
The gopher tortoise was trundling along at a fairly rapid pace, perhaps trying to get away from the roar of the generator, or maybe trying to escape the vibrations of the earth-moving equipment.
Regardless, I think her habitat was disturbed and she was on the move.
I released her (I think it was a female)in a nearby undeveloped area.

Amelia Island: Still No Cabanas

2007-06-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

Sunrise Pelican Patrol

Last Photos At St. Joseph Bay

2007-06-04T10:21:00.001-07:00

Sting rays, heron,osprey, full moon.
Next pictures will be from Amelia Island.

Two Crabs, One Shell

2007-04-13T05:31:00.000-07:00

Making a living on the beach: a pelican lifts up and takes off, an immature bald eagle makes off with the remains of a catfish, a hermit crab shares his shell with both some sort of mollusk as well as another small crab.

Red-Shouldered Hawk,Elwood's Friend Emily, and Elwood's Footprint

2007-04-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

2007-03-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

Shoreline

2007-03-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

Bone(catfish?)Crab,Baby's ear, Striped coquina,Paper fig, Cat's paw, Jellyfish,Starfish,Mussell fragment

2007-02-21T08:50:00.000-08:00

Sunrise/Sunset

2007-02-18T06:35:00.000-08:00

Beach Bonfire

2007-02-13T15:05:00.000-08:00