A Full-time Life

MAGIC CAMPING VAN GETAWAY

 

Kind of like the magic school bus in children's literature, we had a magic camping van getaway last week.   Trinidad, Samoa, and Manila were only three of the places  where we spent some time   ...  and we were back home in Oregon only ten days after we started.

 

Trinidad, California 

 

And even though all three of those places are actually small Northern California towns, definitely not quite as far from home as the places they are named after,  it really was a magical getaway and we loved every moment of it.

 

 

American Avocets

 

All of the bird pictures in this post were taken at the Arcata Marsh, near Eureka and Arcata  California -- our ultimate destination on this trip.  

 

 

Manila California

 

(This) Manila is a small village -- really not even a town (population 784).   The earth-shelter house was built as a dream retirement home by a couple who were active in creation of the nearby Samoa Dunes Recreation area.  On their deaths, their family trust sold the home and property to the Friends of the Dunes to be used as a public Nature Center for education and support of the Dunes.      

 

Willets - Arcata Marsh

 

Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary on the North end of Humboldt Bay  consists of over 300 acres that include both fresh and saltwater marshes,  acres of open space and miles of walking paths.

 

Samoa California
 

Samoa is an even smaller village than neighboring Manila, counting 258 people at the last census.    We ate breakfast one morning at the Samoa Cookhouse.  It's the last lumber camp style cookhouse in operation in North America.   The building dates from 1893, when the lumber industry was booming and the area population would have been much higher.  Meals are still served family style on long tables similar to how the loggers once would have been fed.  

  

 Marbled Godwit

Whimbrel

 

The town of Arcata and the Wildlife Sanctuary host Godwit Days every April during Spring migration.   Thank you to the birders who helped me to correct this ID.  (It is still true that the Marsh has a Godwit Festival in the Spring.  This bird just isn't one of the honorees.)

 

 

The Marsh lies on a major migratory route, but of course Summer is generally the quietest season for birding.  We did not expect to spot the great numbers of birds we saw on Autumn  trips years ago.  So it was a surprise to see so many of what I think are Willets  -- with a few different birds nestled in there.   Such close quarters!  (There was so much water and so much space --  the crowded conditions must be by choice. )  

 

Gold Beach Oregon (nearer to the start of this trip) 

Beautiful blue Pacific Ocean and blue sky for which we were very grateful.  As we always are, but especially because it meant we were out of the smoky conditions prevailing in much of our area these days.   

 

  THANK YOU to  the hosts of the following for providing opportunities to share the magic!

 ALL SEASONS; NATURE NOTES; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;   MOSAIC MONDAY;  GOOD, RANDOM, FUN;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  FLORAL BLISS ; TUESDAY TREASURES ; WILD BIRD Wednesday;  SIGNS SIGNS;  Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING .

 

SUMMER PHOTO RAMBLE

   

 This week's post is a bit of a ramble, with pictures from various walks over the last few weeks.   We are leaving Saturday morning on a camping trip, so I'm putting the post together earlier than usual.  I'll take my I-Pad, but not the laptop.   I can do almost everything from the tablet, EXCEPT for writing a blog.  Somehow, I have to be sitting at the desk for that.  

 

 

This bouquet is courtesy of our family.  They have the talent and did the work; I just took the pictures.  The rose-of-Sharon bush is  from our daughter and son-in-law's yard (and the plant came from his grandmother).  The other flowers are from their son and daughter-in-law's first-ever garden at the home they bought last year (that's our oldest grandson and his wife).  

 

 

Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers to "steal" (only with photos).   I loved the  pure white one, a color you don't see often.

 

Welcoming sign seen in many yards as we walk around the city.   The signs are being sold as a benefit for the Centro Latino community organization.

 

 

 

Another  of the many murals being created in a big push by the City to beautify the downtown area.  I don't exactly love this one,  but it is colorful -- and it was fun to watch the artists at work on the lift truck.    (It was a hot day too -- probably not the most pleasant working conditions up there.)  

Here's an artist the City hired for a smaller gig.  She was painting a street piano -- it will remain on the sidewalk until the rainy season starts.  Since I watched her work, I've heard a few "concerts" by passers-by as this piano is placed on a block I walk often, near the Library, city bus terminal, and grocery store.

 

 

Nothing but blue sky over the back of Skinner Butte -- and some colorful buildings underneath it.   

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities.  Thank you to all of the wonderful hosts.

NATURE NOTES; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;   MACRO MONDAY;  MOSAIC MONDAY;  GOOD, RANDOM, FUN; FLORAL BLISS; ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS; SIGNS SIGNS;  Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  and SKYWATCH FRIDAY;    

 

  

 

 

 

CASCADES RAPTOR CENTER (and some random shots)

  

 

We are grateful for blue skies with light cloud cover and  the perfect Oregon summer temperatures we enjoyed last week.   The top picture is one of the art installations for Visual Arts Celebration and at the bottom  a crowd scene from the Farmer's Market.   The City sky shots are also from my Saturday morning walk -- the side two from the terrace level outside our door.    

Last month, we visited Cascades Raptor Center in the South Eugene hills.

  

 

This Nature Center specializes in rescuing and rehabilitating sick, injured, or orphaned birds and releasing them back into the wild.   There is a huge flight training enclosure and a hospital on the grounds, but for the protection of the birds these are not open to the public 

 

Sometimes, the birds cannot be released and the Center then provides them long-term habitat.  These birds can be viewed on a self-guided tour of the facility.

 

 

There are about 50 birds in well maintained aviaries.  All are part of the Center's Education Programs and some become 'ambassadors' who are taken to schools and other off-site events for educational purposes.   Each bird  has a sign explaining why it could not be released after rehabilitation. 

 

 

 

 

I forgot to take a picture of his sign, but this Eagle Owl (his name is Dmitri) is such a star that he has his own Face Book Page -- here .

 

The Center began by rehabilitating  raptors found in and around this area, but because of the excellent staff and facilities it now sometimes receives birds for rehabilitation as well as non-releasable birds from other Rehab Centers around the country.

    

 

We watched Pip, the peregrine falcon, being hand fed by one of the staff while she answered questions. 

 

 

Besides the signs telling each individual bird's history, there are also signs like the one above providing more scientific information about each species.
 

 

 

We were glad we visited -- we learned new things and felt good knowing the admission fee goes toward the good work the Center does for wildlife.  Definitely worth a visit (here's a link to their website).   

 

Coming back to the current Saturday morning walk where we started this post, here's my random Farmer's Market shot for the week:

 

Sweet peppers or monsters from outer space?  You decide.

 

 

LINKING THIS WEEK TO  the following sharing opportunities:  Thank you to each of the hosts.

NATURE NOTES; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;   MOSAIC MONDAY;  GOOD, RANDOM, FUN; ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; WILD BIRD Wednesday;  SIGNS SIGNS;  Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING   

 

SUMMER IN THE CITY 2018

 

Busy summer days here in Downtown Eugene.   A month-long Visual Arts Festival kicked off  mid-week. 

 

 

Temporary  street signs like this one  point to the various Festival venues around town.         And then Sunday was the Downtown Neighborhood's  weekend for Sunday Streets.

 

 

Streets normally open to traffic were closed off for walking and different forms of non-motorized transportation.  It's fun to see people taking advantage of the safe streets.  Walking, many kinds of bicycles, a few skateboards, lots of young moms and dads pushing strollers and keeping an eye on toddlers and small children riding starter bikes.

 

 

It's hot again though -- and the happiest kids were probably those who got to splash in the fountain at the mid-city park blocks .... or who got to indulge in a treat  from this people-powered ice cream cart.

 

This Artist was enlisting  the public's help in creating this colorful mural.   People could leave messages on the kaleidoscope-like flower petals and shapes.     The paper sign on the hummingbird says 'please don't draw on the birds'  but obviously some of the passersby couldn't read.   I hope she is able to paint over those 'contributions', while leaving the ones that are where they are supposed to be.      This is the second year of a push to create murals in the City, but we have not been super impressed with most of them.   Honestly this is the first one I've really liked.   

 

 

The mural creation was part of the Visual Arts Festival of course, but these other entertainment venues around town were there because of Eugene Streets.   There was entertainment on most every  corner of the downtown blocks .... as always with street entertainment,  something for everyone.   

 

 

 

And on every corner -- festival or not -- there are beautiful hanging baskets or flower boxes.    Kudos to the City staff who keep these beautiful even in the 95 degree heat! 

 

 

Random Saturday Farmer's Market  picture of the week ---   It's a visual festival every week.

 

LINKING THIS WEEK TO:  MOSAIC MONDAY;  GOOD RANDOM FUN;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS; FLORAL BLISS; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SIGNS SIGNS;

 

THANK YOU to the hosts.

SKINNER BUTTE NEIGHBORHOOD WALK

 

 

Thankfully, our  summer temperatures are back down to where we like them  and so it was a great week for walking in the City.    This one was kind of my version of a penny hike.  That was something  Girl Scouts (or Brownies -- the youngest scouts) used to be able to do -- just some kind of coin toss at the corners to decide whether to turn left or right or go straight.  (I'm guessing not too many kids are able to do that these days.) 

I didn't actually toss a coin, but starting with no particular plan except to walk until I got tired,  I decided at each intersection which path looked the most interesting.   Here are some pictures from along the way:

 

 

 

This is YaPoAh Terrace, the tallest building in Eugene.  It is a senior citizen residence with 222 apartments, some of which are subsidized for  lower income seniors   Even though it is our City's closest thing to a skyscraper, the apartment is located at the edge of an 'urban forest' at the foot of Skinner Butte Park.  Next to the building on the street side are community flower gardens for the tenants.   

The building is 50 years old and according to our local paper, the owners plan an extensive remodeling process later this year.  The paper said that the owners plan to move tenants to temporary housing on a floor-by-floor basis while new windows and other upgrades are completed.   It said that no current residents would be displaced permanently.   But I imagine there is a certain amount of anxiety on the part of the tenants.

 

 

 

My next turn took me just a few blocks further up the hill to the Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House, locally known as the Castle on the Hill.  This  Victorian style home is listed on the National Register of Historical Places.   It was built in 1888 for the first owner and deeded to Lane County by the third.  It is now owned by the City of Eugene and kept open to the public by a non-profit organization.  I'd like to see the inside of the house and plan to take the tour this summer.  (I've had this goal ever since we moved downtown -- this year I am really going to do it!)

 

 

 

I strolled past  a few cute little smaller homes  that made me smile .  I'd be more at home in them than either a 22-story building or a 'Castle'. 

And then as I walked further on a quiet block of older homes with no particular interesting features, I spied what I was sure was a statue of a deer in an overgrown garden ....  

 

 

 

... until the statue noticed me!      

 (I'm not sure which of us was the most startled.)

 

\

And then I saw the rest of the little family!   I checked my step-counter and this home was less than two miles from our apartment -- which makes it even closer than that to the middle of downtown Eugene.     Gotta' love this kind of City life!

 

 

 

A little further on  was  a block of  mostly historical homes.  The architectural details on these homes are always interesting.  If I owned a two-story historical home, I would definitely plant a window box of geraniums!

 

 

All of the  historic homes in that neighborhood are currently occupied; these are some of the signs near their front doors.  In Oregon, there are certain tax advantages for owners who put their qualifying homes into the historic places registry (more information here).  The small print on  the Pironi House sign says 'Craftsman Bungalow.'

 

   

 

This street dead-ended near Skinner Butte Park and I walked along the Willamette River Path in the general direction of home.

 

 

A step-counter check back on our own little corner of downtown Eugene showed I hadn't quite made that elusive 10,000 step goal, but it was close enough to deserve a treat at a nearby bakery.   It was a good morning in the City.

 

LINKING TO: 

NATURE NOTES; MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; TUESDAY TREASURES; ALL SEASONS;  THROUGH MY LENS; WEDNESDAY AROUND THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; LITTLE THINGS THURSDAY; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS.   

 Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

 

THE WEEKEND IN PURPLE and GOLD

   

 

It's hot here in Eugene!  Temperatures were in the 90s all last week (it cools down at night).    Still it's  hot enough that we don't have much desire to go for long walks.  

  

 

But we're urban dwellers here and it is less than half a mile to the Eugene Park Blocks where the Saturday Market takes place every week during the season (April through November).    We can -- and do -- walk that in any weather during the time we're at home in Eugene. 

 

 

 

Beautiful berries are in season ... The top two pictures and the middle (sign) in the bottom row are from Saturday morning's visit to the market   .... But I didn't buy  any of those   ... because we had already brought home  absolutely free blueberries from our daughter and son-in-law's six prolific bushes.  

 

Friday morning we drove out to the country to see them   -- and I'd had every intention of "helping"  by picking some berries while we were there.  But Cyndi had beaten us to the draw and had baskets of berries on her kitchen counter (the ones in the bottom two pictures).  She had already picked  the bushes clean (for a day or two).     I will have to learn to get up earlier!  Maybe.  The company was great and the berries were delicious --without a bit of work on our part.       

 

 

Here is a  cart parked at the edge of the Saturday market.  (It is either a portable potty or a place for Clark Kent to transition to Superman.   I didn't check it out.)   

On Saturday afternoon (after I'd put the tomatoes and salad greens and vegetables away and stuck the weekly flower arrangement in a vase) we decided to drive up the McKenzie River toward the mountains.  It was a good afternoon to get out of the hot valley.

 

 

 

There was a Lavender Festival at a small farm in Deerhorn.    The beautiful plants nestled on flat farmland located just next to the highway between the hills and the river.   Everything looked (and smelled)  wonderful!   I've always wanted to visit a lavender farm, so this stop made me happy.   There were stalls selling food and lavender products and some fairly good music going on, but the best part for me was the U-Pick field.  The picture on the right is the bunch we brought home with us.   (It was still hot out there and I wasn't tempted to pick more than a token ... just so I could say I'd done it!)

  

 

We drove on up the Old McKenzie Scenic Highway to the town of Sisters, where we had a good dinner before heading home.   It's always been amazing to me that any trees can grow in these lava fields that we pass on the way up .... the ghost-like dead ones are more what I'd expect. 

 

 

A long view of the Three Sisters across the lava field and trees.   It was a good weekend.  We were glad we didn't let the heat keep us at home.   

 

 

THANK YOU to the hosts of the following sharing opportunities :  OUR WORLD on TUESDAY; NATURE NOTES; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; FLORAL BLISS; WEDNESDAY AROUND the WORLD;  SIGNS SIGNS; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

 

 

OREGON COASTING

     Notes:  please scroll down for  Wildlife van SIGN.     Thanks   to Eileen, Sondra, and Ani,  I have learned that the birds which I couldn’t identify in my pictures below are Pacific Loons. 

 

 

We like to drive to the Oregon Coast as soon as we can after we get home -- just to make sure the ocean is still there after our months away.  Of course, we're never surprised when it is.      But we were a little surprised to find the Pacific Ocean living up to its peaceful-sounding name --  it was much calmer than usual!  We're used to seeing wild waves splashing on the rocks and shore.   That is Simpson Reef above -- it's on the South Central Coast, south of the town of Coos Bay where we stayed overnight.  

 A little way  North  is Shore Acres State Park and we stopped there first because it is one of our favorite places to visit in the area.  Here's a link to an earlier post that gives the history of this Park.

   

 

And here is a bouquet of roses from the Test Rose Garden at Shore Acres Botanical Park.

 

 

Simpson Reef near Cape Arago is  named after the same person who donated the land for Shore Acres.  It was very low tide when we were there, showing off the rocky reef and shore.

 

 

The reef  is  home to a large population of Stellar  sea lions (permanent Oregon residents) and also to California sea lions when they migrate North. 

At this time of year, only male California sea lions are still in Oregon.  The females have gone back home to California where their babies will be born.

We were surprised to see a naturalist from Fish and Wildlife Service (US Department of the Interior)  at the overlook.  We parked next to her scenic van.  She had several spotting scopes and binoculars to loan and seemed quite knowledgeable about the wildlife and the area.  To be honest, I was very surprised to see anything helpful coming from our Federal Government these days.

 

 

 

Some of the people at the overlook were lucky enough to see several whales just past the rocks.  Bill  was a little frustrated because I wasn't able to spot them, no matter how hard he tried to show me.  Sigh.   Maybe next time!  (This is also the time of year when whales are migrating North.)   

 But I sure did see lots of Sea Lions. (It would have been hard to miss them.)

 

 

There were rafts of seabirds out among the rocks, but it was hard to get decent pictures -- just a little too far out.  I'm not sure what this one is.  Probably something common in slightly different summer coloration from what I could find.   ID help is always welcome.

  

 

 

 Back at Shore Acres ... these are the Great Blue Heron sculptures from the pond.   This picture looks almost exactly like the one in the post from several years ago that I linked to above, but it is one of  those iconic scenes that I look for every time.  Seeing it makes me feel like I'm home!  

 

 

 

LINKING THIS WEEK TO:  SATURDAY CRITTERS; RATHER B'BIRDING; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; MACRO MONDAY; OUR WORLD on TUESDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; FLORAL BLISS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY

 

TREE(S) and MOUNTAINS and FLOWERS, OH MY

 

  

We have been home (in Oregon) for almost two weeks and this is the only picture I've taken in all that time.   It's part of a bouquet  from a flower stall at the Eugene Saturday Market where we walked only four days after we got home.  Our empty suitcases were still in the middle of the room, we'd barely stocked up on groceries, and we definitely hadn't caught up on sleep.  But we had flowers .... happy days!  

 

The rest of this week's pictures are from other happy days -- during our stay in beautiful Colorado earlier in June.  

 

 

Above are views from when our Colorado 'kids' took us up into the mountains west of Crested Butte.  Beautiful certainly -- but there isn't enough  snow for this time of year in the Mountains.  (Most of these pictures were taken when we were at 10,500 feet ... in June there should be definitely still be snow up even higher than that.)   

   

 

 Kebler Pass is home to the largest Aspen grove in the State.  Because a stand of Quaking Aspen is  actually only one very large organism rather than individual trees, this stand is actually the largest living thing in Colorado and according  to some scientists a good candidate for one of the largest single living entities in the world.     Info Source:  Denver Magazine  

 

 

 An aspen grove is a clonal colony --  every one of what looks like individual trees  grew from a single root derived from a single seedling.  The seedling reproduces and spreads by root sucker.  With sunlight, suckers sprout up from the roots until a whole stand of what looks like individual trees forms.  This clonal colony covers hundreds of acres and would weigh thousands of tons.  Info Source:  Wiki 

     

Can you imagine how beautiful *this colony* looks in the Autumn, when all those green leaves are a beautiful golden yellow?  I am definitely counting on certain people to visit the stand again in October or November and text pictures to their parents!!! 

**(it was really hard not to write 'these trees' here but I forced myself not to, since I'm trying to cement these interesting facts about aspens into my brain.)

   

 

 

The Wildflower Festival in Crested Butte is scheduled for mid-July, but it looked a bit like the season was going to beat that date.  Again, so beautiful but a much warmer spring than normal.

I am grateful that we had the chance to visit this beautiful mountain area thanks to our Colorado family!    And am always grateful for the opportunity to learn something new .  

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities:   

 ALL SEASONS; NATURE NOTES; MOSAIC MONDAY;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  THROUGH MY LENS;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS ; FLORAL BLISS;  Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY

 

 Thank you to the hosts who do so much to  make blogging fun!

 

HOME AGAIN

   

 It was a triangular, catty-corner cross-country journey home this year.   In a little over three weeks, we flew from Fort Myers Florida to Duluth Minnesota to Denver Colorado to Eugene Oregon.  With some great stops along the way.

 

Here, in reverse order, are just a few memories of our trip.

 

 

View from the plane window as we approached the Eugene airport last Tuesday.   This is Fern Ridge Lake, where we used to stay in our RV whenever we visited Oregon (during the years when we were full-time RVers).

 

  

 

Red-winged Blackbird spotted during one of our walks in Colorado, near where our son and daughter-in-law live.

 

 

Some rare (for me) people shots on a drive UP to beautiful Lake Irwin (10,510 feet elevation) in the mountains above Crested Butte Colorado.  (I think in the center photo Bill and I are congratulating ourselves on just staying alive at that altitude -- it's very high, especially coming from sea-level Florida!).   The top left picture is Lisa and Geoff -- our Colorado family.  

 

 

 

Old-fashioned selfie from a lunch stop at Leadville (down-hill from Crested Butte) -- just another snap to remember exactly how high we were!   The four of us were  on our way back to  Geoff and Lisa's home.

 We really do  need to drink a lot at that high (and dry) altitude -- but find it's better to stick to water (and water-based adult beverages).    

 

 

 

Some quick pics from the colorful and unique mountain village of Crested Butte.   Geoff and Lisa had booked rooms for the four of us in a charming locally-owned Inn close to downtown.   A ski town during winter months, during the summer Crested Butte is transformed into a Paradise for mountain bikers and hikers (them) and slow strollers and photographers (us).  And numerous fun places to eat and drink for all of us -- everybody  had a great time.  

 

 

Our first stop on this journey was in Minnesota -- we rented a car to drive from Duluth to Bemidji, where Bill's youngest sister lives.   It was a family reunion for the four siblings (and spouses).   We are scattered about the country -- from Florida/Oregon to  Arizona to Eastern Washington/Idaho  to Minnesota.    It was wonderful to be together and remember old times.   I took the brother and sister picture  at Lake Itaska -- the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

 

 

 We thoroughly enjoyed this trip -- the destinations were fun and the journeys were uneventful -- we're grateful for the opportunity to visit family and glad they live in these beautiful locations.  And we're also thankful and happy to be safely at home!     There will be more travel pictures later -- and I hope some good pictures of beautiful Oregon -- from the ground.

 

Sharing this week with the following:   

ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;   TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS.

Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

 

 

A MAN A PLAN .... and time for another plan

 

Just one more picture from the beginning of our Winter-Spring Season in the sub-tropics:

 

 

  "A Man A Plan A Canal Panama."

This is the planner on the deck of our stateroom as we began our crossing.  He planned that anniversary-celebration cruise...just as he has planned all our travel adventures (near and far) for over 60 years.     I'm always happy to go along for the ride!  (Or the cruise. Or the flight.) 

And now that this snowbird season is over, we are looking forward to another journey back to our Oregon home.   And (no surprise) "The Planner" has included  some extra stops  along the way.   

 

 

 (Taken from our screened lanai.  The Houses are our cross-canal neighbors.)

 

It would have been nice to have just one more beautiful picture of  Florida birds or skies or sunsets to share in this last post of the 2017-2018 season --  but let us just say that Tropical Storm Alberto has made it a good week to stay indoors.   That is OK though, because there is much to do and it's best not to be tempted to go outside and play.    (It's not a dangerous storm for us here -- just a lot of rain.)  

 

 

 

But we do hope for dry weather before next week, when we'll be off to gather more pictures from more places.    (I'll probably have time to visit blogs,  but don't plan to write any new posts until after we are home and re-adjusted.)

 

LINKING this week to:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday.   

 

 

 

 

REVIEWING THE SEASON

  

Our Florida season is drawing toward the end.  Although we still have over two weeks before we actually close things up here, we've been busy with all those end-of-the-year home projects that seem to add up   ...  and besides that we've had thunder and lightning storms almost every day this past week  (the rainy season has arrived early in SW Florida).   So there are no new  adventures to blog about.   But I have pictures that  somehow didn't get used in previous posts,  especially from the super-busy first part of the season --  and this seems like a good time to use them.

 

 

 

I took (and posted) a million pictures of our November cruise, but most of my posts were about our ports-of-call.  We often  saw these frigate birds  from our room deck but their pictures didn't make it into any of those posts.  (Here's a link to the cruise posts, just in case you missed them earlier.)

 

 

In December, on our first Florida exploration of the season, we traveled to Homosassa and Crystal River.  This owl got overshadowed by all of the colorful flamingos and wood ducks and didn't make it into earlier posts about this trip.   But he deserves  to be remembered!  

 

 

 We saw the New Year in with boat club friends at  Salty Sam's Marina on Fort Myers Beach.  And later in January we caught up with other good friends  and favorite places ... and counted our blessings under beautiful skies.

 

 

We were happy to play hosts to our brother and sister-in-law from Spokane, who visited us in February --  (I'm pretty sure you can tell from the pictures whose brother our visitor is as he poses with Bill.)   We enjoyed seeing  our area through the eyes of these first-time Florida visitors.    These are some pictures that didn't get into the previous post on their trip  -- they were taken at Fort Myers Beach (pictures 1, 2, 3), Six Mile Cypress, and after an airboat ride in the Everglades.

 

 We saw damaged boats like this every time we took our own boat out on the water -- a reminder of the hurricane that visited our part of Florida during the summer (when we were in Oregon).   We were fortunate not to have significant damage to our  neighborhood (or any of our boats).     

 

 

We enjoyed boat club activities every month of the season --boating, beach-combing, exploring, and eating.  Being out on the water makes everybody hungry!  

 

 

Lizards like this one were everywhere on our March car-trip to the Redlands area.    And I took the picture of the little sparrow below on that trip too -- while we were stopped by the side of the road to look at maps.   You  would think that with all the pretty palm trees and other greenery, the poor thing could find somewhere to perch besides a barbed-wire fence.

 

 

Things slowed down a little in April and I don't think I omitted any pictures over the past couple of months (and this post is plenty long enough anyway) ..... 

 It has been another great season in Florida and, as always, we are grateful to be able to enjoy nature and friends here in the winter sunshine.    

 

Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting.  And special thanks to the hosts of these sharing opportunities: 

 

 NATURE NOTES; ALL SEASONS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD Wednesday; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH Friday; Saturday CRITTERS;   RATHER B' BIRDING; and MOSAIC MONDAY

 

 

  

 

 

LIVE ACTION AT HARNS MARSH

 

  We stopped at Harns Marsh in Lehigh Acres on our way to the Everglades Canals last week.

 

 

 

We were watching a few Limpkins who were looking for  -- and finding -- apple snails.   These snails are pretty much the only thing these birds eat.  The shallow water made for easy pickings.   Then Bill pointed out a couple of white heads across the pond from where the Limpkins were feeding.

 

 

 

This bad picture is here on purpose to show how far away we were from the birds.     I'm grateful for binoculars and zoom lenses - you witness  all kinds of wildlife adventures with them.

 

 

 

(This is not the same pair of eagles in the nest near where we live -- we were in a different area.)  

 

The Eagles were taking turns eating their prey and standing guard.  And then suddenly they seemed to go into high alert.  I scanned my camera in the direction they had turned...

 

 

... and saw  this pair of rascals that looked as if they were  planning something nefarious.  And I was right.  In another minute they sidled over toward the eagle's prey.

 

 

 

 

And then this happened.

 

The lower panel shows  one of the  Black Vultures  flying away after snagging a small piece of the prey.    The Eagles made a lot of noise and almost seemed to stomp  their feet as they hopped and flew chasing away  the intruders.

 

 

The two vultures flew back to a grassy area where there was a whole family gathering.   Maybe to report that it was slim pickings out there.

 

 

And the two Eagles went back to their meal.      It's kind of odd that we think of Bald  Eagles as majestic and  Vultures as vaguely creepy.  They are both birds of prey.  But the Eagle, besides eating 'road kill'  will actually catch and kill live prey, while the Vulture eats only things that are already dead.    (Benjamin Franklin wasn't happy that the Eagle was chosen as our national symbol -- he thought they had a  “bad moral character”.)    I think both the Eagle and the Vulture are just doing what they're supposed to be doing -- and both are interesting to watch.

 

 

 

And meanwhile, not too far away from all the action, this guy was just basking in the sun.    (Zoom lens, remember.)   Unlike most of us, alligators don't need to eat every day.  He had probably already had a meal earlier that week and wasn't hungry yet.

 

 LINKING this week to:  NATURE NOTES; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD Wednesday; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; THANKFUL Thursday; Saturday CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

 

Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

BIRDING IN THE CYPRESS FOREST

 

Yesterday (May 5) we drove out to a couple of our favorite places to see birds, along the Everglades canals. It was one of those Florida Spring days where the weather varies between tropical downpours and bright sunshine (sometimes within the same 20 minutes).   Along  Turner River Road, in the Big Cypress Preserve, we  saw hundreds of Great White Egrets, Wood Storks, and Ibis.    The birds were extremely active probably due to the stormy weather.  The Egrets and Ibis in particular almost never settled down in one place for more than thirty seconds.

 

 

 

Below are some of the birds that did settle.    We had good luck with the weather  -- and were able to get out and walk some in between 'showers'.    And of course in between is when the birds sit for a while to catch their breath.

 

 

Black-crowned night heron

 This loop drive through part of the preserve was the second part of our day-trip.  I'll show the earlier part in another post.   It was a fabulous day for seeing birds.

 

 

Great Egret  

(The only one that was tired enough to land for awhile.) 

 

  Roseate Spoonbill

 

We kept seeing one spot of bright pink among the huge flocks of white flyers.   And of course we knew it had to be a spoonbill.   Finally we saw it land in a Cypress tree.  We never saw any other spoonbills among the storks, egrets, and ibis.   I guess this one just wanted to stand out in the crowd of white!   

 

Wood Stork 

 

Cypress are quite delicate-looking trees.  It always surprises me when these decidedly indelicate-looking storks choose to balance on top of them.  

 

 

We celebrated the end of our birding day by enjoying Mexican Food at a  favorite restaurant  -- it was Cinco De Mayo after all.   And we watched the preliminaries of the Kentucky Derby, because it was also the first Saturday in May.   When we got home, I  read that (without even knowing it)  we had also celebrated Global Big Day for Birding.   Even if we'd known about it first, we aren't into rushing from place to place counting the number of species we see -- and indeed we didn't see any rare or unusual birds at all.  But we loved every one of the usual suspect sightings .... and I don't think we've ever seen as many at one time as we did  here.     

It was a great day for birding -- we're fortunate to live near so many good destinations -- and we are always grateful  for sunshine between  storms.

 

LINKING this week to:  NATURE NOTES; MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS;  THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

   

Thank you to each one of the hosts.

 

SPRING -- IN FLORIDA and in OREGON

   

This is  a morning sky shot taken from our back porch.   It's beautiful and very quiet on the Canal now.  Most  snowbirds have left Florida for their summer homes.

 

 

We are snowbirds too, but we usually come a little later and stay a little longer than most of our friends.  In the sunshine areas that snowbirds frequent, the six-month  season is usually defined as October through April, with the busiest months being January, February and March.  We usually don't arrive until December.

So during the month of May we like to pretend we're full-time Floridians.  Just like the people who really are, we talk about how thankful we are to get around Fort Myers now that there are fewer cars and fewer people.    (And it really is wonderful.)  The weather is beautiful here now, but I do start to  miss Oregon Springtime a little bit by the end of April.  

So I was delighted when our daughter texted a bunch of photos of their yard.   All of the flowers in the mosaic below are blooming in their Oregon backyard right now: 

   

 

The up-side of staying in Florida during May is that we miss the worst month of the Oregon hay-fever season.  The down-side is that we miss  typical Spring flowers almost completely (it's too hot here for most of them).   So I loved the reminder of Oregon springs.    (I've showed the beautiful big Black Walnut Tree in the center picture often,  because we hang out under it a lot during the summer and fall.  But isn't it beautiful in the Spring?  (I had almost forgotten myself.)     

 

Now back to Florida for some Spring birds: 

 

Woodpeckers are our morning alarm clock these days.  They are fun to see and (usually) to hear.   And they are part of the reason why we know it's Spring.    The temperatures don't seem much different now, but the birds know what season it is and we start to see Spring migrants here, just the same as everywhere else in the Spring.      

 

Ospreys are everywhere ... we ate at the waterfront restaurant on the top left last week -- a farewell dinner with friends on one of their last days here.  When we came out this guy was sitting on a telephone pole directly above where our car was parked.  Every living creature has to eat!  

 

 

This is a view of Fort Myers from the dock of a different waterfront restaurant.  We've been eating out with friends quite a lot lately as people finish up their season.  Making more Florida memories to take home until next season rolls around.     

  

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities:   :  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; MOSAIC MONDAY; ALL SEASONS; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; FLORAL BLISS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; Wednesday AROUND the WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

 THANK YOU to all of the wonderful hosts and to everyone who visits!  

 

 

EARTH DAY 2018 - CORKSCREW SANCTUARY

   

All  pictures in this week's post are from our visit to the Audubon Corkscrew Sanctuary earlier this month.   

 

 The dry season is just ending in Florida -- it is a good thing that there is this much water in the swamps. 

 

The words in the two mosaics below this are cropped portions of an informational sign near the start of the boardwalk trail through Corkscrew.  The panel is titled 'History of the Swamp'.     These words are always appropriate, but especially for Earth Day (which should of course be every day).  

 

 

As shown below the next mosaic, things got better after a while, but unfortunately we  have "leaders" at the national level right now that seem  determined to send our country back to somewhere between 1783 and 1953.

    

 Wild iris are one of the very few typical Spring flowers that we see here in Florida.

 

 

FINALLY CAME UNDERSTANDING

 

( I couldn't crop this picture to include the headline  for this panel, but the typed line above is what it says.)

 

We are grateful for the Audubon Society,  for Alt-National-Park,  for the Sierra Club, and for all of the other groups and individuals who are working hard for our natural world -- in the face of opposition.   And we hope these efforts can keep  our planet alive and well.  

      

        

  Immature Little Blue Heron

 

    

 

 

 “Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.”  

Theodore Roosevelt

 

 

Night Heron, Immature 

 

 

Roseate Spoonbill 

 

"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught." 

 Baba Dioum

 

 

 

Grateful we are still able to enjoy these wonders.  Grateful also for nature bloggers who are doing their part to conserve and love our world, to teach others, and to share   ....  you lift my spirits.

 

 

 

 

Linking this week to:  NATURE NOTES;  MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; FLORAL BLISS; ALL SEASONS;  THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING.

 

Thank you to all of the hosts!  

 

TWEEN WATERS

 

Last week we traveled by boat to Tween Waters Marina Resort on beautiful Captiva Island.    There were four boats  and one couple who traveled by car and met us at the resort.   It was another great middle-of-the-week long weekend.

 

 

 

We arrived at the Marina on Tuesday and had a little bit of rain and wind on that day -- but the rest of the "weekend" the weather was blue sky beautiful,  although a little cooler than usual for April here.     (Our friend took this picture as we left the Marina going home on Thursday.)

Bill and I didn't mind the slightly  cooler weather at all because we don't yet have an air conditioner on our boat.  The weather was perfect for us ... we slept well with the light wave action rocking us to sleep both nights.  (Bill said he had to get up in the middle of the first night to re-tie the lines because the boat was bouncing.  I barely noticed!)

  

 

 

Tween Waters is a lovely resort -- marina, hotel, cottages, three different restaurants, a large swimming pool -- and as seen above, beautiful landscaping.   The sign is a little wobbly though -- and that's the way it looks, not the fault of the photographer.

   

 

 Great white Egret

This was not specifically a birding trip -- but we saw a lot of lovely ones anyway.   I always try to take advantage of every  accidental birding opportunity.

 

 

A couple pictures of the Marina dock and the 'crow's nest' which is a great place to sit with morning coffee or evening wine and look over the Bay.

 

 

 Great Blue Heron 

Another frequent visitor to the marina area.

 

 

The whole group at lunch at the Green Flash Restaurant.  This is not one of the restaurants at the resort, but about a mile and a half down the road.  The couple who drove ferried us to and from (a couple of trips each way) because the road between the two is narrow and busy -- definitely not walkable.    (Thanks to our waiter and our friend on whose phone he took the picture.)

 

  

 Brown Pelicans

 

 

 

The beach  at Tween Waters.

Beach-combing by day, sunset watching by evening, eating in between, and all with great company!   

 

Life is good.

   

Osprey with prey 

 

 

I think we actually saw the Green Flash -- (or at least my camera did)!!

 

 

 

Linking this week to OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; FLORAL BLISS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY;  WEDNESDAY AROUND THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.  

Thank you to all the hosts.

 

NATURAL and MAN-MADE WONDERS

 

Last week we took a picnic lunch to  Corkscrew Audubon Nature Preserve and enjoyed  a nice long (for us) nature hike around the preserve.

 

 

We used to see Roseate Spoonbills more often, but  haven't had good sightings this season until this early April walk.    Maybe we just haven't been in the right place at the right time.     On that hike we saw several.   

 
 

 

 These birds were in the garden area just outside the Audubon Visitor Center.   I know that Cardinals are frequent backyard visitors for many, but they don't live  in the Pacific Northwest and so they've never become routine birds for us.   (Actually I can't imagine ever being anything but excited to spot them.)  The two feeder birds on either side of the female Cardinal (top row) are Painted Buntings.  They are certainly the most colorful bird I've ever seen (in person) .... and they are another bird that we never saw until we traveled outside of the Pacific Northwest.

 

 The next pictures are from our March overnight trip to Redland and Homestead.

We visited Coral Castle, a feat of engineering that has been placed in the National Register of Historical Places.   The structures in the Park were built by one man, Ed Leedskalnin.   

An immigrant from Latvia, Ed was a small man, weighing only about 100 pounds at 5 feet tall.  Without any help at all and using only simple tools, many homemade, he excavated, carved, and moved tons and tons of coral rock (which weighs 120 pounds per cubic foot) to create his coral castle. 

 

 

 

To us, it seemed more like he created a kind of strange dream of a magical garden than a castle, but I guess they had to call it something.

Mr Leedskalnin was born in Latvia in 1887 and in 1913 was engaged to a woman ten years younger.  On the eve of their wedding, she told him she didn't want to marry him because he was too old. 

He soon immigrated to the United States and eventually, still broken-hearted about his lost love, began to construct the coral castle to honor her.  Maybe he hoped she would eventually join him, but nobody knows for sure.

 

 

 

He eventually opened his Castle to the public  .... (and he obviously wasn't modest about what he had done).  When asked how he was able to move all of the heavy  blocks he said it was because he understood the laws of weight and leverage.     

 

 

He built all kinds of structures:  thrones, beds, children's play structures, a bathtub, fountains, heart-shaped tables, rocking chairs that weighed 1000 pounds each but can be rocked by one person, a table in the shape of the State of Florida, a working sundial, and much more.    These are just a very few of them.   The picture on the right is me moving the  6,000 pound gate into the grounds.  There aren't any gears or bearings -- it is  perfectly balanced so that it can be turned by one person.

 

 

 This sign was in the small upstairs apartment where Ed lived among bits and pieces of tools and ongoing experiments and very little in the way of creature comforts.   It's probably not a coincidence that he spent his life alone .... but looking back at what he did (from a safe distance of many years), you've just got to love an eccentric genius!   I think the last sentence of the sign means that it has been open to the public under the current ownership since 1953.  We learned on our tour that during his lifetime Ed opened the area to the public on his own schedule (when he felt like it).   

 

Although man-made marvels are fun  and we always learn something,  most of them (Ed's castle included) are a one-time-only affair.   

But we never tire of nature here in Florida -- all of our favorite parks and sloughs are worth visiting time and time again.    (And there are so many where we haven't been at all.)   Finishing up this week's post with one more natural wonder from Corkscrew:  I'll have more from there in another week.

 

Roseate Spoonbill and Little Blue Heron

  

Grateful that we have  time and energy to explore the wonders -- and for digital cameras that allow me to take hundreds of pictures in order to get a few that are worth sharing!

 

LINKING TO:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; MOSAIC MONDAY; TUESDAY TREASURES; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY;  WEDNESDAY AROUND THE WORLD;  SIGNS SIGNS;   THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.   Thank you to all of the hosts!!!

HAPPY EASTER (NO FOOLING)

 

   
 

Happy Easter  to all who celebrate. 

 

And this year, the  Holiday falls on a date that is perfect to remember the English tradition/superstition which says (no fooling):

 

 "a person should say or repeat the word 'rabbit' or 'white rabbit' three times upon waking on the first day of every  month, because doing so will ensure good luck for the duration of the month."  (from Wikipedia)

   

 

 In the interest of honesty (and not  fooling anyone even on April 1) the rabbit pictures and tradition appeared in slightly different form on the first of a different month in a different and earlier year.  But this month's  timing is  too perfect not to repeat them.  The pictures in the rest of the post are more current.

 

 

In March we spent a couple of days exploring  Florida's Tropical Trail (around the towns of Redland, Homestead, and Florida City).  This trip was also when we visited  the orchid nursery/farm shown in  last week's post.

 

 

 We learned about and sampled all kinds of tropical fruits at a park called The Herb and Spice Farm and at a locally famous farm store called Robert is Here.  Both places were interesting and the fruits we sampled were delicious.    But   the couple of kinds we bought to take home didn't quite taste the same.  I don't think we  have the knack of choosing these unfamiliar fruits.  I'm sure we'd get better with more practice (but it's a bit too far to travel for that.  Mangoes are the only ones we see in the stores here).

 

 

 

 It wasn't a birding trip this time, but I couldn't resist making portraits of the sweet purple martins at Robert is Here.   They seemed to love their southern home!

  

 

 

Grateful that there are  new things to see and learn and that we are able to get out and find them.    Thankful too for the hosts of the following sharing opportunities and for all of you who visit  -- and especially for those who take the time to comment.

 

Linking this week to:  SATURDAY CRITTERS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  SIGNS SIGNS;   THANKFUL THURSDAY and  RATHER B' BIRDING

 

 

 

 

SPRINGTIME IN FLORIDA

     

Spring flowers are different here in the subtropics.  Sometimes I miss daffodils and violets which don't bloom here, but oh the bright and beautiful flowers that do thrive in this climate!  We visited R F Orchids in Homestead last week and what a wonderful flower fix it was.

 

 

 The sign works for me!   

 

 

 

The photos in the  first and last mosaics were all taken in the  outdoor gardens. 

 The close-up shots are of orchids that were blooming in the shade house.

 

 

 

 

It is not necessary in this climate to have a glassed-in greenhouse for these plants.  The shade-house roof was open when we were there, but there were slats for plastic or shade cloth as needed.

 

 

They had very color and type of orchid imaginable. 

 

 

 

The center of this one almost looks as if a butterfly landed there.

 

R F Orchids was  more like a park than a  store. 

Especially for people like us who no longer garden. 

We are lucky  that they didn't charge us for taking pictures. 

 

 

 

   There was even a wedding gazebo and outdoor events center.  

 

It really was a happy place!  

 

 

 Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities.  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES;  FLORAL BLISS; MACRO MONDAY; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; IMAGE-IN-ING; THROUGH MY LENS; SIGNS SIGNS, THANKFUL THURSDAY; FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS, and SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

 

 

CHECKING IN WITH THE EAGLES

     

E-10 and E-11, this year's  two (no longer) baby eagles,  are practicing for the soon-to-come day when they'll leave their North Fort Myers nest for good.  

 

  

 

My timing was perfect when I stopped at the pasture last week.  Right in front of where I parked in the next door church lot I saw one of the two perched on this snag tree which is closer to the parking lot than it is to the nest tree.    Wings were fluttering and so was my heart as I tried to fumble the camera into position (using the strongest zoom lens position I have).

 

 

 

But I made it .... camera ready.... there was about ten more minutes of fluttering and hopping before E-10 finally flew off the snag.    

I learned later that this was the first 'long-distance' flight either of the two had made.  They'd been flying or hopping to higher branches in the nest tree for a while, but this was the first time either of them had actually left the tree.   

 

 

 

 

 Here's (s)he is  ..... flying gracefully across our cloudless blue sky and then smoothly gliding into the nest with landing gear extended. 

 

 

 

Once more back home  (s)he appeared to try to poke her less adventurous sibling awake.  Who knows, maybe narrating the tale of the first flight adventure.  Eventually she succeeded in the sibling jostling match   -- and both flew to the 'attic' branch just above the nest.

 

 

This,  though, is my favorite part of the story.   The whole time E10  had been gone and while all the action in the nest was taking place, their Mother (Harriet) was perched on the next branch up.  With her head resolutely turned away.     Can't you just hear her mom thoughts?     "I'm not going to pay one bit of attention to you ....    but  I'm right here if you fall."    It will only be a matter of a few weeks before Harriet and her mate M-15 will once more be empty-nesters.   Every season they handle this  transition beautifully.   Instinct is a wonderful thing.  

 

 

 

 

Here's a better view of the adolescent pair. 

E-10 hatched on December 26 and E-11 on December 27.    

Every year, we winter resident birders are grateful that nesting season corresponds so perfectly with Snowbird season here in North Fort Myers.  Hatch happens right about the time people start arriving .    The babies fledge during the main part of our season  -- and  those of us fortunate enough to stay late in the season will still be here when they leave the nest for good.   

 

 

Beautiful Harriet. 

(I think she was calling Dad telling him to bring home some dinner  -- or maybe she wanted him to take over the nest watch.  Although by this stage, Harriet and M-15 sometimes leave the youngsters alone for brief periods of time.

 

We live about a mile and a half from the Eagle pasture which is on a street that we drive pretty much every time we leave our RV resort.  But most of the time, like fans of the eagles everywhere, I check the progress on the Internet.     

Here is the link to the North Fort Myers Live Cam website where there is also great information about the history of this nest.   

 

THANK YOU to the hosts of the following sharing opportunities:    

 

OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES; IMAG-IN-ING; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY;  Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING.  

 

GRAND CAYMAN ISLAND

  

 The busy port  of George Town on Grand Cayman Island was the last shore destination of our Panama Canal cruise before it would end a couple days later at Fort Lauderdale Florida.

 

 

Our first impression of this island as our ship docked  was of a cheerful and prosperous port city -- and that was confirmed when we got off the ship for our day on the island.  

The Caymans are a British Territory -- all three of its small islands take up only 102 square miles.

 

 

 

The Islands  are about 235 miles South of Cuba, and Cuba is less than 90 miles from Key West Florida.  So it wasn't too surprising that we began to feel almost at home here as we neared the end of our cruise.

 Downtown George Town looked a lot like a combination of Fort Myers Beach and Key West -- the same plants and flowers, the same beach condos and hotels, the obligatory roosters strolling the sidewalks ... and the downtown mall was even called Bayshore -- which is  the name of the main street near our Canal Cottage in Florida.

 

  

 

Very much the same -- except there were a LOT more banks.   (Grand Cayman Island is known as an offshore banking haven.)   I didn't try to  take any pictures, because banks aren't very interesting (unless I suppose you are someone who has hidden -- I mean deposited --  a lot of money in them), but there is one I caught accidentally in the background behind this pretty flowering bush.

 

   

 

We soon wandered off the downtown streets to the beach where we enjoyed the tidal pools and the views.  We didn't patronize the Paradise but I had to smile at the sign.  "Please dry off before entering" seems a fair request for a beach bar and grill. .. nobody wants to be dripped on as they drink.  

    

 

A little more off the beaten track we found this sign outside a small storefront restaurant.   I think it's fairly  obvious that this one catered to locals -- and I wish we'd been hungry enough to try it.    (That is the trouble with having all that good food on board ship -- food you've already paid for since  meals aboard ship are included in the cruise cost.)

 

 

These are some sky moods  from ship and shore.  The  top left photo is a view of the long dock ... we boarded the tender shown in the center to get to shore.  

 

 

We had enjoyed every day of our cruise from one ocean to another and at the same time, we felt fortunate to be getting close to our winter home -- knowing our weather would be much the same as we had enjoyed on this day.  (Most of the people we met on board ship would be going home to more harsh winter weather -- quite an adjustment.)   

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities:  Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; THROUGH MY LENS; FLORAL BLISS;  Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PALM ISLAND FLORIDA by boat

 I'm posting about a boat-trip again -- but this week closer to real time, in a (much) smaller boat, and (much) closer to home than the cruise ship trip I posted about last week (and earlier).   We traveled to Cape Haze/Palm Island toward the end of February. 

 

 

 

 

This is   Palm Island Marina where we spent a mid-week long weekend recently.  (And if you know what a mid-week long weekend is, you are probably just as retired as we are.)   We were a flotilla of three  from our RV Park, cruising down the Caloosahatchee River and then across Charlotte Bay to Cape Haze -- about a 60-mile boat trip.    It is a beautiful Marina facility with a good restaurant, outdoor kitchen/coffee facilities, swimming pool and hot tub.    And a water taxi that ferries you across to a private island where the only form of land transportation allowed is golf cart.   There's a good restaurant there too and a few of the requisite beach shops (souvenirs = nah  .....   ice cream = oh yes).

 

This is how we collect shells these days.

 

On docking overnight at the Marina, we received a guest pass that allowed us to use the private beach over on the island -- we beach-walked first and then rented a golf cart to access some of the more remote corners.  (And enjoyed looking at the private vacation homes and condos as we tooled along.)   

    

Ibis Tree

The  more remote private area that we golf-carted to is called 'Shark's Tooth Beach' and we found a few of those teeth (I did keep a couple of those -- they are small.)   That is also where I spotted a dead tree that, from a distance, looked like it had white flowers growing on it.   This is the view as I got closer.    The Ibis were not disturbed at all.

 

 

 

A little while after I walked past the tree, I looked up from my shell collecting and saw that the time for resting in the tree was over -- now it was time to eat.

 

 

 

We saw several of these big old guys -- the Gopher Tortoise is on the endangered list in Florida, but they appear to be doing well on this island.  And that is undoubtedly because there are no cars, which are definitely not a friend to these slow-movers.

 

 

 

I think that these are Willets in winter plumage.  But shore-bird ID is always hard for me.   In any case, like all shorebirds, they were fun to watch as they raced up and down the tide edge looking for things to eat. 

 

 

A long-shot across from Shark's Tooth  to where some people were enjoying the sand and waves.  I include it mostly because I love the way it shows the colors of the water.   The river where we live is usually muddy looking (the tourist brochures call it 'tea' or 'coffee-colored'.)  It's from tannin and polluted discharge from Lake Okechobee.   So it is nice to see water that is actually the "color of water" as it should be. 

 

 

Grateful for good friends, beautiful scenery, warm weather --

and for the time to enjoy all of that.

 

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities:   THANK YOU to all of the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; NATURE NOTES; ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.   

 

 

 

CARTAGENA COLOMBIA

  

The day after the Panama Canal transit (here) the cruise ship arrived at Cartagena and we were all rested and ready for a shore excursion.  While the actual Canal transit was an experience of a lifetime, we experienced it all  from the air-conditioned comfort of our home-away-from-home-at-sea.  So we knew it would be good  to set foot on land again and to do some walking.   We disembarked as soon as we could after the ship pulled into port at 8 a.m.  

 

 Our ship approached the dockyard using the same route as Sir Francis Drake traveled when he attacked this Spanish port in 1586.     After    repeated such attacks and looting by both English and French invaders, Spain decided to construct (at great expense)  gigantic fortresses which made Cartagena a stronghold that could not be broken.

 

 Castillo de San Felipe fortress 

 

I must confess that when we first learned  Colombia was included on our cruise itinerary, I was a little scared  -- I remember lots of old news articles.  But Bill reminded me  that a well-traveled grandson  (and granddaughter -in-law) had told us about how beautiful and safe Cartagena is nowadays.

 

 

Taking their word for it,  I was happy to agree Bill's suggestion to tour Cartagena on our own via the City's hop-on/hop-off bus.     The bus was super comfortable -- it came with a tour guide and speaker phones.  We always rode on the top deck -- I love double-decker buses.   All the stops were well-marked.  We were a little sad that a stop at McDonald's was given as an important destination   -- we did NOT stop at that one!    We did stop at the beach on the way back, but we spent most of our time walking in town. 

 

 

We hopped off at the Clock Tower  -- the main entrance to the Old City.   This walled historic center of Cartagena is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.    It was a perfect blue-sky day for a walking tour.    But most days in Columbia  are probably  just as perfect  -- the country  is situated so close to the equator that it doesn't really have seasons.  The average temperature is around 80 degrees F.  

 

 

 

Stone walls and Spanish Colonial architecture line the winding streets.    The middle picture in the bottom row is part of Las Bovedas, which were military dungeons.  They are now the homes of boutiques, bakeries, and touristy ‘shops’ ... not a great way to commemorate their sad history, but better than tearing them down.     The fortress-like Cathedral  (bottom left picture) was partially demolished when the city was first raided.  It was rebuilt and stands today as it was when completed in 1602.  

 

 

 

Whether selling fruit, hats, or other souvenirs and whether in costume or not, Cartagena's  many street vendors provided lively  entertainment and were not pushy (at least toward us -- perhaps we didn't look like good customers. ) But apparently we were the exception ... we heard that these vendors come out in force on days when cruise ships are in port.      It's actually a completely modern city -- I saw one costumed lady answer a cell phone which was in her apron pocket.        Outside of the old town, we also noticed a lot of construction and maintenance projects ... things looked to be booming  from the little that we saw. 

 

 

There were so many places that would have been fun to explore at greater length .... but so little time.   One day was not enough.  But one day was better than no days and we are grateful for it!  

 

 Back on ship -- this was the view from the window.

A perfect ending to a beautiful day in Cartagena.

 

 

LINKING this week to:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; MOSAIC MONDAY; ALL SEASONS; TUESDAY TREASURES;  WEDNESDAY AROUND THE WORLD; THROUGH MY LENS; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY.   

Thank you to all of the hosts.

VISITING THE SWAMPS AND SLOUGHS

    

We've had company .... and we took them to the swamps and the sloughs.  Whoever said we weren't great hosts?   Our brother and sister-in-law are visiting from Spokane (the Eastern half of Washington State) where they left frigid temperatures and deep snow.    So we've had a great time showing off our Florida sunshine. 

In addition to getting warm again (at least for a while), they really wanted to see alligators -- and we knew just where to go.   And of course we saw lots of beautiful Florida birds too.     

 

 Egret keeping an eye on a fellow denizen of Big Cypress Swamp  

 

 

Anhinga

 

 

 Birds of Prey

 Osprey, CaraCara, and Red Shouldered Hawk (I'm sure about the first two -- I think on the hawk)

   

 

Green Heron -- trying to hide as he preens

 

Still in hiding!

 

 

X

 

Little Blue Heron

 

 

And some more shots of what our company wanted  to see!

(And of course  I know nobody would believe we were actually in SW Florida until I posted my annual alligator pictures.)

 

Not a lot of words this week because we're still busy seeing the beauty and fun of our area through new eyes.     It is so good to see family!  Thanks for coming Rik and Lyn!       

And thank you also to the link hosts who give us an opportunity to share with virtual friends  even when we don't have company in real life:  

SHARING  this week with:  MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD Tuesday; NATURE NOTES; ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS;  WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY;  Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

 

 

PANAMA CANAL TRANSIT

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On Tuesday, November 21, we transited the Panama Canal, going from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea during one amazing day aboard our cruise ship.   

Most of these pictures were taken from our cabin during the passage through Miraflores  -- the first of  three  Panama Canal Locks.  We watched the transit through the second one (Pedro Miguel) from the upper decks  while we ate brunch  (and didn't take as many pictures).   

 

 

Our ship entered the Panama Channel very early in the morning  -- and at around 6 a.m. we passed under the  Bridge of the Americas.   

  

 

 

Just before this, two  extra pilots and 25 workers (Marinos) embarked onto the ship  to assist with entry into the locks.  Pilot boats like this were used to bring them aboard.

 

 

Approaching the first lock (Miraflores).  The Orange and Green Arrow tells our Captain to use the chamber on the right.  

 

 

More views of the approach to Miraflores and a container ship in the adjacent chamber.  It would have had a left arrow.

  

 

 

 Ships use their own power to transit through, but four of the machines shown here hold it in the center of the lock.  They are called mules.   The Marinos who boarded our ship helped to make sure it was fastened tight.

 

 

 

Rowboats are used to carry the light messenger lines from the ship to the mules.  They can't use a motor for fear that the lines might get tangled in the engine.  The messengers are then used to pull sturdy cables to the ship.

 

 

This shows how close our ship was to the edge of the lock.  The man in the foreground is on the balcony below us and the two men on the right are workers in the lockmasters building. 

 

 

 

One of the many tugboats we saw.  They are there in case any ships in the canal have problems.  Later in the transit that container ship in the adjacent lane broke down and the tugboat had to push it through until they got the engine started again.

 
 

 

Entering Gatun Lock after traveling across Gatun Lake.  This is the last of the three locks where we began the descent back to sea level.  The pilots and Marinos disembarked and at about 4 p.m. our ship entered the Caribbean Sea and set course  toward Colombia.

 

 

We learned a lot about the history of the Canal (there was an on-board guide).  And we  have pictures of some  of the pretty scenery as we traveled across the Lakes in between the locks.  But this post is mostly to help us remember our actual passage and how the canal works as it saves time and costs in transporting all kinds of goods.    (Cruises are an extra for the Canal -- one that we were grateful to be able to take advantage of.)  The day was  a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

 

 

LINKING this week to:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; MOSAIC MONDAY; ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;   SIGNS SIGNS;  TRAVEL PHOTO THURSDAY  and THANKFUL THURSDAY .    Thank you to all of the hosts!  

 

 

 

AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

  

Almost in real time for a change, today's pictures are from a couple of days out and about last week -- right here in SW Florida.      

 

 

The beautiful evening skies along the river were an unexpected bonus when we went for a boat ride one day last week.    It was meant to be an afternoon trip to enjoy the O!Zone and  late lunch at this river-front tiki bar    ...  but  service was really slow.    ('Tis the height of the snowbird season.)     We got fed before I starved to death though and  sunset on the way home was super.

 

 

 

 

 

On another morning we drove to Six Mile Cypress Slough where the sky view was a little different.      We were glad to visit one of our favorite  nature walks for the first time this season.  This park sustained some damages from Hurricane Irma and was closed for a couple of months after.  It looks just great now, thanks to the Park District and volunteers.

 

 

 

 Red-bellied woodpecker before, during, and after lunch.

 

   

 

 

It was a little cool that morning and the song birds were flitting around like crazy -- not many photo ops.   But sometimes it's good just to see the old familiars.  At the viewing platform, we heard a lady exclaim about the beautiful big bird with the huge feet.  She meant the Great Blue Heron. 

And we realized that our old familiars are exotic and wonderful and different for some visitors ... and that we are fortunate to see these beauties often ... and shouldn't take them for granted. 

 

 Happy to see  cypress knees again too.  This group looks like a little swamp family.

 

 

Thank you to the hosts of each of the following sharing opportunities ... and hello and thank you to the lovely lady who spoke to us just before we stepped on to the board walk.  She and her husband are snowbirds from Germany .... she reads the blog and somehow recognized us!   We talked a little bit about Costa Rica (the last FT-Life blog post at the time)  and about how lucky we all were to be here in beautiful (and warm) SW Florida.    They were, I think, returning from their walk while we were just starting and we didn't see them again,  but wow ...  I was completely flabbergasted to be recognized -- and pleased to know they enjoyed the blog.

 

 

LINKING this week to:  ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY;  Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

 

 

PUNTARENAS, COSTA RICA

 

 Puntarenas was the fourth stop on our Canal Cruise and it was the very next day after our on-shore day in Nicaragua.   This was the first and only time on the cruise when we had two on-shore days in a row.  When we started, I was afraid we'd get tired of the at-sea days, but instead we found  we missed the day of rest and relaxation between excursion days.   (Might have something to do with the fact that this cruise was booked to celebrate our 60th Anniversary.... and the age that necessarily goes along with that momentous occasion.)

 

Morning view from our balcony

 

However,  the small part of this country that we had time to see was so beautiful that we soon forgot about being tired.  It was a one-hour drive to our first destination, but we  had  a  knowledgeable and entertaining guide and the travel time went by quickly as we learned so much  about the history of the country and present-day life.

 

 

 

 We spent most of our day on shore at Turu Ba Ri Eco Park.   This is a 650-acre park in Costa Rica's tropical rainforest.    

 

 

 

 

Beautiful orchids grew wild.  Not absolutely sure, but I think the one on the left is a Cattleya which is the national flower of Costa Rica.

 

 

 

We boarded this gondola for an aerial view of the rainforest. 

 

 

 

 

 

This picture is badly distorted by reflections because it was taken through the gondola window, but I wanted to keep it as a reminder of the view of the forest and the Turrubares River.  You can see other gondola cars in the upper left corner. 

 

 

 

There are over 25 species  in the Tura Ba Ri  Butterfly Sanctuary.  These are a few of them.

 

 

 

 

We visited a farm to learn about Costa Rica's agricultural economy in the present day and historically.  There was a demonstration of the way sugar cane was milled in early days.  The patient oxen turned the mill which ground and pressed the juice from the cane.

We  sampled  raw cane, the juice and rum made after the juice was cooked to a syrup. 

 

 

 

 

After our gondola ride back up from the valley floor, we enjoyed a traditional Costa Rican lunch at the Park Visitor Center.  But first,  of course, everybody had to visit the lav.  And of course I had to take a picture of their way of directing visitors to the one they wanted.

 

As with all cruise stops,  we know we had time to sample only a small corner of this beautiful country ... but we are glad to have seen and learned as much as we did.  We treasure the memories and know we're beyond fortunate to have made  them.  

 

 

 

 

LINKING THIS WEEK TO:  ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; WEDNESDAY AROUND THE WORLD; FLORAL BLISS; SIGNS SIGNS;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  and SATURDAY CRITTERS .  

Thank you to all of the hosts!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRAVELING, CLOSER TO HOME

   

Today's pictures are from two recent overnight trips... one by boat, one by car.      We are fortunate to have so many interesting destinations near our winter home.         

  

 

I'm convinced that  Southwest Florida is blessed with some of the most beautiful skies in the world.  The above pictures were taken on our New Year's Eve boat trip.  We stayed two nights (on the boat) at Salty Sam's Marina on  Estero Island. There were fireworks on the beach at midnight  ... but honestly, they couldn't rival the earlier sunset.

  

 

Earlier in the month we traveled by car to the Crystal River and visited Homasassa State Park.   A large population of flamingos calls  the Park home. 

 

 

Amazing to observe these beautiful birds from the boardwalk ...  Wonderful whether they were awake or asleep -- and whether standing on one leg or two!  It really was usually on one,  just like picture books and cartoons always show them.    

 

 

Skipping back  to the start of this post (or ahead in time) to our New Year's boat trip.  We had a pleasant boat ride getting there and a lovely time while docked at the Marina.    This picture (above)  is the OH! Zone -- our boat -- across from a somewhat larger one.  The boat behind ours belongs to friends  from our RV resort ... we traveled with two other couples.  It was great to spend the Holiday  with our boating friends in this beautiful location  ... and definitely a time to give thanks for our mild winter weather.

 

 

Pictures from the Marina --  in the center is a sailboat mast decorated for the Christmas Holidays ... it must have been quite a feat to climb up that high with those lights!   The third boat on this trip is in the lower right photo.      

 

I've been posting for a couple of months about our recent longer trip on a bigger boat to get home this season -- and  here in blog-land we haven't even made it through the Panama Canal yet, so there will be more cruise posts to come.  But in real time we're happily at home in our corner of the world collecting more memories.  And we're more than grateful that we can do that.

 

 

Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities:     OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.  

 

 

 

SAN JUAN DEL SUR, NICARAGUA

This week's update from the present, here at our winter home:  The weather most of last week was lovely, but this weekend it is chilly again. 

(Not cold for the rest of the country, just chilly for part-time Floridians, who are admittedly a bit spoiled and not used to having to wear coats.)   

But we are well and busy -- enjoying the outdoors, the wildlife, and the human activities here in our neighborhood, both indoors and out.  

This is a recent picture of an  egret silently waiting to catch dinner.  Just a small taste of Florida nature, which I will eventually post about again ...

But for now, here in blog-land, we're still cruising.  

    

 

 

On the eighth day of our Cruise home to Florida we docked at San Juan Del Sur, on the Pacific side of Nicaragua. Nicaragua is the largest country in area in Central America and has a population of 5.8 million.    

  

 

Nicaragua is sometimes referred to   as "The country of lakes and volcanoes."     Above  are pictures of each taken during our time on shore.

 

  

 

 As we'd happily become used to, blue skies and beautiful scenery greeted us as the cruise ship anchored.  The port here was too shallow for this large a ship, so we went ashore on  tenders (like the red boat on the top right).  

 

 

We really wanted to see the active volcanoes, so  here we opted for a  cruise-arranged bus tour because they were quite a long ways from the port.   It was  amazing to see the volcanic field and worth the long drive.   

 

 

 

On our way, we stopped at a small village -- unfortunately I don't remember the name of it -- where we visited the Market and walked around a bit.  Almost every home in the village and along our route had a pig tethered in the yard.    The red bus on the lower left is local transportation, not the bus we traveled on.

 

 

 

Pictures really can't capture the feeling of looking at the volcanoes.  I kind of stuck volcano pictures  here and there on this post, but all of them were taken during our one stop at the Volcanic field.   We had plenty of time there to hike around and take pictures although each busload was given an allotted amount  to keep the area from being overrun with too many tourists at once.

 

 

 

After the volcanoes, we stopped in the town of Granada.  This historic city was founded in 1524 .  We visited a  couple of the ornate Spanish churches and had a very good lunch in a lovely courtyard at Hotel Granada.

 

 

Our day in Nicaragua gave us only the tiniest glance at this beautiful and varied country, but of course that is all that can be expected from a cruise stop.   We loved what we saw (and heard and tasted) ... and feel  fortunate to have seen and learned as much as we did.

 

 

Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; MOSAIC MONDAY; ALL SEASONS; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS;  WILD BIRD Wednesday; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

 

 

HUATULCO MEXICO

 

  Update from home:  We're starting our second month at the Florida Canal Cottage but I am still blogging about our trip to get here.   Here in  SW Florida we had lovely weather for both Holidays, but it turned quite cold on January 2 (cold for Florida, not for the rest of the country).  You can tell the people who just arrived from 'up North' because they are outside in their shirtsleeves, while those of us who got used to Florida warmth before this cold spell are huddled in Winter coats.  (It's been 35 to 50 mid-days, much colder at night and early morning of course.)  It has warmed up as I prepare to post this though and is supposed to continue to get better.  We are grateful for that.

 

The second port of call on our Panama Canal cruise was Huatulco.  This is one of those places in Mexico that is sort of made-up for tourists and ex-pats.   Here's what Wikipedia says (and variations of this are on all of the travel sites I found): 

"Huatulco is a resort region in the Mexican state of Oaxaca with white Pacific coast beaches. The region is made up of 9 bays, including the popular cruise-ship port of call Santa Cruz Bay. Tangolunda Bay is home to upscale resort hotels and a golf course. In the inland community of La Crucecita, there are restaurants and shops around a central plaza."

 

 

 

The port is certainly beautiful and the blue skies and white sand  inviting for scenery and beach lovers.  It was lovely to watch from the deck in our room as we docked and then from the windows of the  top floor of the ship  as we ate breakfast.    We aren't really beach people or souvenir shoppers though, so instead of opting for a day on the sand or in the village we chose a tour that we hoped would show us a little bit of nature and what the area was like before its touristy make-over.

 

 

We hopped off the big boat and pretty quickly onto another much smaller one (a Panga) that took us on a shortish river cruise to an island reserve.  If we understood our guide correctly, the families who have always lived on this island have formed a cooperative in order to protect and preserve their homelands.  The  State of  Oaxaca is in partnership (again if we understood correctly)  to preserve native plants and animals.  And, not incidentally, to market the area to eco-tourists.   

 

 

 Eco-tourism is a big thing nowadays because the national governments of most countries recognize the importance of nature.   In our own country, I'm just grateful that there are individuals fighting for the environment.  Definitely can't say the same for our government right now.

 

 

 

 La Isla preserve is a home for many green iguanas -- our guide said a threatened species due to loss of habitat and other causes.  (Although we see these here in Florida where they may or may not be invasive species.)  Note:  These were big fellows, not the iguanas that were falling out of  trees in North Florida during  the recent cold snap.

 

 

At La Isla, there was a sizeable population of crocodiles and  alligators and a species of very tiny deer that (obviously) are hand fed .... they liked cabbage and so did the iguanas.  We thought the deer were probably the same variety as the tiny Key Deer that we've seen here in Florida .   

 

 

It seemed like the people running the preserve were doing good work.  Because many of the animals we saw were being hand-fed, our sightings weren't exactly the same as seeing animals in the wild, almost more like a really good open zoo or animal park.      But it was an interesting tour and, for us,  definitely more enjoyable than spending the day lying on the beach, no matter how beautiful that beach was.  

 

 

 

This United States Coast Guard ship  had been moored beside our cruise ship when we left for the day and it was still there when we returned in the late afternoon.    Everybody wondered why -- and had plenty of guesses -- but we never did find out for sure why it was there.   It's good to know there is  still some cooperation between our two countries though.

 

 

This post is linked to:   Nature Notes; Mosaic Monday; Our World on Tuesday; All Seasons;  Through My Lens; Wednesday Around the World; Signs Signs;  Thankful Thursday; Skywatch Friday; and Saturday Critters.  Thank you to the hosts.

 

CRYSTAL RIVER FLORIDA

    

It’s really true that we are at home in the Sunshine State for the season --  and I'm taking a  break from posting about our sea-to-sea journey to get here in order to show some "natural Florida."   These pictures were all taken on last week’s car excursion to the Crystal River area.   It's a couple hundred miles from our 'Canal Cottage'.   

    

 

There were a LOT of wood ducks on the river!   I was so excited.     This beautiful duck had been on my birding wish list for a long time .  A couple of years ago, I finally did see one in Oregon and then another off in the distance near Fort Myers -- but both were very long-distance views.  So then my wish-list changed from 'see a wood duck' to 'get a good picture of a wood duck.'  

 

 

This is the way we spotted them at first -- and I was pretty happy just to witness this interesting vignette.  Mr and Mrs Wood Duck were swimming along with a mallard -- which seems huge in comparison.   We watched the trio for a while and then walked on  -- and that was when I spotted some more of these ducks up closer.   While we were watching them  (the first picture here was taken then) the trio came along again going the other way.    They seemed happy to be together -- we spotted them a few more times as we explored.   Kind of made us wonder what that was all about. 

 

 

We saw tons of other birds   -- including pretty much every  species of Heron known in these parts.  Here are a few of them.     I'll probably post more pictures of at least some of these guys again -- and I will definitely be showing pictures later of some other amazing  birds we saw at Homosassa State Park during this trip .....   

 

 

.... but today's post is really all about the Wood Duck.   I feel like I can definitely check this bird off my wish list now, because I honestly don't think I could possibly get any better pictures of one.  But  I’ll  certainly never get tired of seeing these beautiful birds and I hope we get to see them again.

 

Grateful for the opportunity to see these wonderful birds and thankful to be where it's warm and sunny this time of year.  Thank you for visiting our FullTime-Life.  Special thanks to the hosts of these sharing opportunities:    SATURDAY CRITTERS;  NATURE NOTES; ALL SEASONS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY;  Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

 

 

WARM CHRISTMAS WISHES

 

Season's Greetings from the Canal Cottage.

 

 

 

 

The  weather isn't typical  .... 

 

 

 

.... but the Christmas spirit is the same.

 

 

 

 

It is surprisingly busy here in our resort --

we retired people don't let the lack of snow and cold stop us from celebrating  the Season.     

 

And in our Full-Time Life  (for real and here on the blog) we're still trying to catch up after our trip  ... and I need another short blog break.

 

(Back soon with more cruise adventures and, hopefully, some new posts to prove that we really are in Florida!)

 

Have a wonderful Holiday Season!!   

 

 

Comments  are closed (for this post only).

 

Linking to:  ALL SEASONS and OUR WORLD on Tuesday.  Thank you!!  

 

 

 

A DAY IN PUERTO VALLARTA

 

  (We're settling back in at the Florida 'Canal Cottage' in real life -- but still cruising here in blogland.) 

 

Every morning I tried to take a picture or two  of what we saw from the ship.  The buildings are the tourist resort town of Cabo San Lucas at the south end of the Baja Peninsula, which we 'sailed' past on one of our first two  at-sea days before reaching our first port-of-call.

 

 

 

More 'sail-by' pictures near Cabo.

 

The third morning we were  up early and  out on the balcony to 'help' the Captain dock the ship at Puerto Vallarta.  Well, one of us  paid attention to how it was done.  The other  one of us admired the views.     Probably you can guess who did what.

 

 

 

  

The top two pictures above are from ship before we disembarked.   At left, tour buses lined up at the dock for passengers who had signed up for a guided adventure ...  and, on the top right,  dock area construction..   Puerto Vallarta docks have room for three cruise ships at a time.  I don't know if this work was to add more docks or to add to the amenities (shops) around the area.   

Because we'd visited PV before, we decided to explore  on our own rather than take a tour -- the bottom row of  pictures is  from the cab we took   to our destination.      The City has really grown since our previous visit (back in the 1990s).   The City is a popular retirement destination for US and Canada citizens and there is way more condo and commercial development now.

 

 

 

 

 

Puerto Vallarta is situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahia Bay.   It is one of the larger cities  in the Mexican State of Jalisco.    Unlike other travel  hot-spots in Mexico (such as Cabo San Lucas),  PV is a 'real town' with a real history, not a place that was developed mainly as a tourist destination.  There is agriculture, some industry, and families who have lived and worked in the city and surrounding area for generations.   But the weather,   beautiful location and cultural history have made tourism a major part of its present economy.

 

 

 

With limited time to spend,  our destination was The Malecon,  the interesting and walkable center of the old part of the city.    This area is basically a long sidewalk/espalande bordering the Pacific Ocean with shops, plazas, stores,  restaurants, hotels and housing across and along side streets on the other side.   Beautiful ocean bay views,  sidewalk entertainment,  sculptures, food and drink,  people watching, shopping if you're into it (we weren't).  Our idea of a pleasant way to amble away the day.

  

 

 

After a while, we realized that not only did we need to sit down and rest, but we also needed sustenance before continuing our exploration.    (A couple of days on shipboard with food available on-call had spoiled us.)   We strolled some back-streets until we saw a place that didn't look too touristy.

 

 

 And we were happy with our choice as we enjoyed a great meal.    I don't usually  take pictures of what we eat,  even when the food is delicious (and this was)... but I snapped the picture of our empty Margarita glasses on purpose, because I wanted to remember drinking the local liquor.  Of course we've enjoyed  margaritas in Mexican restaurants everywhere in the states.  But it really is the local drink here in the State of Jalisco, because nearly all tequila is actually produced here.   Tequila is made from native agave plant.   

Our waiter also brought us a sample of mescal which is also made from agave.  He said he lived on a farm where families grow it and where they make the liquor for local consumption.  He told us quite a bit about the process.    I thought maybe he was going to want to sell us some, but he just seemed to enjoy answering our questions.    (The restaurant wasn't real busy as it was late afternoon ... after lunch but way too early for dinner, especially in Mexico.)  

 

 

 

After lunch, we walked a little more along the waterfront, but it was getting toward time to head back to the ship.  And we were ready, late afternoon naps being another thing we had become used to after our two on-board days.   

As we joined the line for reboarding, I snapped the obligatory shot where we were trying to decide which stateroom was ours (up there above the lifeboats somewhere.)   

 

We enjoyed the day and it was good to step on shore and find that we still  had our 'land legs'.   (Though that was really no problem at all on this calm voyage.)

And, as always, grateful for the voyages of life... whether on land or at sea. ... or at home or away.

 

 

LINKING this week to:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; MOSAIC MONDAY; ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  SIGNS SIGNS;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and THANKFUL THURSDAY

Thank you to all of the hosts! 

HOME and HOW WE GOT HERE THIS YEAR

   

We have been at the Florida "Canal Cottage" for a week (since Sunday November 26) .....

and  this year we came by boat:

 

 

 

Actually it was a ship ... the picture above is the Ruby Princess, a sister to the one we took; it left the port at San Pedro (Los Angeles) about half an hour before our boat (Island Princess).  It was on a shorter cruise, to ports in Mexico.

 

 

We sailed from Los Angeles California (a short flight from our Oregon home) to Port Everglades Florida (a short drive to our Florida cottage) ... going from sea to sea through the amazing Panama Canal.... a fifteen day cruise.  This sign on the ship's promenade deck showed the route and the ports of call.   

   

 

Here Bill is re-boarding after one of our port days later on the cruise.   The other pictures this week are from our first day, but I wanted to show 'our' ship. 

I'm still sorting pictures from the days on shore ... there will certainly be more  cruise blogging to come.  Of course at the same time we're whipping our cottage into shape after being away for half a year.  (And re-adjusting to little things like having to make our own beds and our own coffee .... you get spoiled for regular life after two weeks on board a cruise ship. )   

 

 

 

 

Here are just a few snaps of the  ship's interior -- from the atrium and lounges, a couple shots of  the balcony of our stateroom and one  of the room itself -- on the first day before we'd even unpacked.  The orange things on the bed are life jackets... we were waiting for the obligatory drill which is the first activity of any cruise.  Then we put them away on a closet shelf and forgot about them (fortunately).  (The weather was calm and beautiful and this ship is so big you hardly know you're at sea.)

 

 

 We loved the Canal Crossing and our adventures at each of the ports of call,  just as we expected to do.  But I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed the days on board.  There was a lot to explore, plenty of time to relax of course -- and if we got tired of that, there were always activities (and things to eat and drink)....  and it is nice to be spoiled sometimes.

 

More to come, but linking quickly this week (as we adjust again to real life).  Grateful for the journey and the destination  .... and for the hosts of these sharing opportunities:

ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  THROUGH MY LENS;   SIGNS SIGNS; and THANKFUL THURSDAY  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEASONS END

  

 The summer/fall season always goes  by way way too fast.  

 

 

 

 

 

And  it is even shorter than usual this time, because we're leaving soon for a bit of an adventure on the way to our winter home in Florida.   We love to travel, but I often wish we could be in two places at once, especially for the Winter Holidays.

 

An early  Thanksgiving get together at our daughter's and son-in-law's country home helped.     It was a perfect day for a perfect celebration.    Our oldest grandson has a self-timer camera and so he took the picture and then posed as if he'd been there all along.  Pretty cool.   

  

I'm linking this week to  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  ALL SEASONS; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY.    I'll visit blogs this week and later if I can -- but won't be posting for the rest of this month.    Back in December with (I hope) lots of pictures.

AUTUMN CATCH-ALL

  

 It's a catch-all post today, because last week was just that kind of week. 

 

     

The sign above made us laugh.   This high-rise student apartment sits across a very busy street on the edge of  the University of Oregon campus.  Some of those students have been working hard emptying those window decorations.   (There's an excellent brewpub on the other side of the street, which was why we walked to that neighborhood.  It serves better brew than comes in those cans.  But we are old and can appreciate the difference.)

 

 

 

Another beautiful day, another beautiful walk.  The Fifth Street Public Market always does a nice job of seasonal decorations.

 

 

 

 

Taken from a third-story window while waiting at the  Doctor's office.  Just there for a routine checkup -- and for the view.  

 

  

 

We went for a drive to the Mountains last Monday  and took a short easy hike to Salt Creek Falls.  It's the second highest waterfall in Oregon.  That is snow in the bottom left picture!!  The roads were completely clear, but the rain we had in the valley the previous week was snow up there.  It was a beautiful walk.  And the mountain drive was lovely too ... although we found that there is more color down here than up there.  The native deciduous trees are mostly all yellow in this part of the country, so all the reds we see in the neighborhoods are from decorative trees. 

   

 

On still another day, we have a turkey stare down.   Daughter and I were driving down her road on the way to have lunch and we had to stop the car to let a flock of these birds cross the street.  They pretty much owned the road there for a while.   Apparently they aren't too worried (yet anyway) about becoming someone's Thanksgiving dinner.

 

 

 

 These  are some more shots from our son-in-law and daughter's place.

 

 We are grateful for beautiful Autumn color  and beautiful  blue-sky  days ...

 and for time to enjoy them!

 

LINKING this week to:  ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL Thursday;  SKYWATCH Friday; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING. 

And I'm grateful for the hosts of each of these great sharing opportunities.  Thank you.

 

 

SYMPHONY OF COLOR

 

 

It's a symphony of Autumn color everywhere these days --

IF you can get outside to enjoy it between rain showers.

 

 This week's pictures are from two different days last week -- one in the country (around  our daughter and son-in-law's 'backyard') and the other on a two-mile loop around our downtown home.    

  

Country Gold 

 

Though you might not guess it from the blue sky above their barn, it had poured down rain the night before and it rained again later in the afternoon the same day I took this picture out at Cyndi and Jeff's.    

 

 

 

 (I'm not sure what this sweet flower is, but it is so perfect even this late in the season that it almost doesn't seem real.)  

 

Earlier in the week, on a day when we stayed home, it rained hard all morning but cleared off just in time for a late afternoon walk. 

 

 

 City Gold

 

The sun had come out for its last hurrah --   brushing everything it touched with gold.  

 

I am grateful to have the flexibility to choose my walking time -- especially this time of year -- you never know  when the sun will shine. 

 

 

 Country red

Out in the country again for the picture above --  jumping around for the sake of arranging everything by color tone.   Those are a couple of the blueberry bushes that were so prolific during the summer months.  And are still  beautiful without requiring daily picking.

 

 

 

City pink -- and purple 

 

Some of the home gardens  that I walk past seem to specialize.    One has fall crocuses (croci?) everywhere, one still has roses blooming, and another has a riot of pink and lavender.   The golden flowers in the first collage are both in another yard.  

 

 Even the weeds  are beautiful in Autumn color.   This is a wild blackberry bush.   

 

 Linking this week to:   ALL SEASONS; THE BARN COLLECTIVE; NATURE NOTES; MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; THROUGH MY LENS;  FLORAL BLISS;  MACRO MONDAY; Wednesday AROUND the WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

 

THANK YOU to all of the hosts.

 

 

 

SATURDAY MARKET

  

We're still transitioning between Summer and Fall here in the Eugene area.  And  that transition is most colorfully showcased at the Eugene Saturday Market.

 

 

   The flower stalls are at least as lush as they were in July.   

 

 

Market produce is a multi-seasonal riot of color and taste.  Tomatoes next to squash, pumpkins next to corn; melons next to peppers, apples next to summer berries.   It's all here this month... and will be until the first freeze (or the middle of November, whichever comes first).   

The fellow in the middle picture is roasting hot or mild peppers which he and his wife sell in freezer bags.... it smells amazing when you walk by .... and they taste wonderful.

 

   

 

 

The Farmer's Market occupies one square block; the craft market across the street is even larger.  I don't often take pictures of the craft booths because it kind of seems like stealing the artisan's ideas.  But I thought the purposefully simple sign on this tie-dyed wares booth was so appropriate I just had to snap.   Real hippies started the market in 1970 and there are still a lot of booths honoring those beginnings.  (And  still a lot of real hippies around here for that matter.)

 

 

 

There is planned entertainment every hour or so on the Market Stage and street corner entertainment everywhere as you approach the Market blocks.   Quality varies, but it's all fun.

 

 

 

 

If you get hungry as you wander around, there are at least two dozen food carts and booths.  Ritta's has been there since the 1970 beginning.

 

  

 

Let's end with a few more flowers, because I have a feeling these may not last too much longer.   This weekend was partly sunny (chilly in the mornings), but the weather report says that cold rains are coming back later this week.  I feel like the flowers may be the first to go --  I'll certainly miss bringing home weekly bouquets. 

 

 

 LINKING to:  ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY;  FLORAL BLISS; WEDNESDAY AROUND THE WORLD; and SIGNS SIGNS. 

 

 Thank you to all of the hosts.

October at KIRK POND

WILD IN THE CITY

    

We're starting to get a little Autumn color here in Eugene -- even if part of it is reddish algae on the Delta Ponds.

 

 

 

 Delta Ponds is a 150-acre waterway, consisting of  ponds, channels, and wetlands.  The whole area is owned by the City of Eugene and  is just downstream from the area's largest shopping mall.    

 

 

Great Blue Heron on the hunt

All of it used to be part of the Willamette River floodplain, but the present ponds and channels were formed by gravel extraction in the 1950s and 60s.  (The gravel was used to build the Lane County portion of the  I-5 Freeway and other roadways in the area.)  The City bought the area from the gravel company in the late 1970s and has been actively restoring and reclaiming it since 2004.

 

  

 

Maybe this guy was tired from building the beaver lodge we saw across the pond.  He appears to be napping.

 

Great Blue stare-down.

 

 

I'd taken the bus  to meet a friend  at Valley River Center (the mall mentioned above) .    It was way too pretty a day to stay indoors, so after lunch we headed for the path around the ponds.   (It's good to have friends who would rather take a nature walk near the mall than shop inside it!)

 

In fact, the weather was so lovely, I decided to walk  all the way home.   (We live a little over three miles from the mall.)    Every year I think I'll take this walk oftener and every year I  almost forget.   

  

 

 

Just a slight detour on the way home took me through the City's Rose Garden.  Again,  I should have visited in July when the roses were at their prime.  But there were still lots of beautiful flowers. 

 

 

 

Pretty much every stage in the life of a rose here on this one bush.

 

 

 

LINKING my urban walk to the following sharing opportunities, with thanks to all of the hosts for providing them:

 

OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; FLORAL BLISS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; SIGNS SIGNS; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

 

 

HAPPY FALL 2017

     

Because this is the blog's 10th Anniversary year and the picture is so appropriate for the season, here is a re-run photo used in our very first Full-Time Life post around this time of  year in 2007.    

It was taken  on  our first RV trip to the East Coast (in 2003).  So it was already old when I  used it in that first post.         (We first blogged to keep in touch with family and friends when we spent Spring 2007 in  London.  A while after we came home, I  decided to start another blog about our adventures in this country.)   

     

 

 In most parts of the USA, 'Fall' is the word for the season between Summer and Winter.   I actually prefer to use 'Autumn' .... but 'Fall' is funnier.  

 

   

 

The next two pictures are also old  because we don't have much Autumn color here yet.  The one above is in the Ozark Mountains, on a different trip.

Instead of beautiful colors, the last week of summer here in Eugene brought rain and for that we are beyond grateful.  The moisture has cleared the air of wildfire smoke that permeated the Willamette Valley for much of September.  We hope for continued rain and snow in the mountains because it is needed to  put out all of the fires completely.   I will not even think of complaining about rain this year!   

 

 

 

The marigolds and matching butterfly are also from the Vermont trip.    I could pretend it was more recent, because it could be from an Oregon flower bed -- or lots of other  places -- but we don't believe in fake news or fake pictures around here.

 

Meanwhile,  some  current pictures from here  in Oregon  --  (more current than the above pictures, but not from last week ... because ...   did I mention it's been raining?):

  

 

Out in the country while visiting  our daughter and son-in-law, I took some pictures of Parker -- their big puppy (half  McNab and half Mastiff).    (When we left for Florida in November a year ago, he was a tiny ball of fur.... now at not quite a year old and still growing it's a different story.)    

 

We are  easy to entertain --  the dog and the house birds always provide a show.       (Two different house birds here   -- a couple of house wrens and a house sparrow.)

 

And, in between showers, late summer is great in downtown Eugene:

 

 

The sculpture of Rosa Parks waiting for the bus (and for her place in history) is appropriately situated on the plaza in front  of the Lane Transit District terminal,  just a few blocks from our apartment.  People love to give her flowers -- she is almost always holding a fresh bouquet.  The pictures on the right are flowers (and a few things to eat) purchased at the Saturday Farmer's Market.  

 

 

 

 We don't have to worry about parking,  because the Market is also within very easy walking distance.

 

LINKING  this week to:  

 

OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; FLORAL BLISS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; SIGNS SIGNS;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS;    RATHER B' BIRDING and THE BARN COLLECTIVE.

 

 

Thank you to all of the hosts!

 

DEAN CREEK DISTRACTION

9

 Every year before we leave Fort Myers for the summer, "we" install hurricane shutters.  Here's Bill finishing up that job last June -- just before we left on our cross-country road trip back home to Oregon.  We never doubted that it was a necessary job even though  Hurricane  Irma is the first one to hit the area since we bought our 'Canal Cottage' ten years ago.   Definitely no doubts now!  

Reports from  management  are that there was no significant damage to any homes within our resort.   There is still no electricity so we are  waiting for more detailed information as soon as they are able to check further.   All of our friends who live there year-round evacuated safely and have not yet been able to return.    

It was surreal watching and waiting from all the way across the country.  Our thoughts are with all of those in Florida and the Caribbean who were harmed by this terrible storm.  

It seemed like we spent every minute for several days watching Fort Myers TV on the station's website (an odd experience watching local Florida news when we're in Oregon --through the wonders of the Internet.)     But to distract ourselves, one day we took a short drive to Dean Creek, near Elkton, to view the Roosevelt Elk herd that lives there.  

   

The Roosevelt Elk is Oregon's largest land animal.    These Elk can be found along the Pacific  Coast  from British Columbia to  northern California.  A herd of about 120 ranges along  Dean Creek.    Fall is the best time of year for viewing them.  

At first we spotted only a couple of large groups of females and young and just this one young bull who was hanging out alone and quite far away from the rest of the herd.

 

 

 

There was some light coastal mist and not much color in the sky -- but the air was fresh and clean along this coastal creek.  It was good to be away from the Willamette Valley where the air still smelled smoky (it is a bit better this week).  And of course it was good to think about something besides our Florida house. 

 

 

 

After a few minutes of watching we spotted this magnificent bull -- obviously the Alpha male of the herd.    He was taking it easy as his harem grazed, until that smaller bull started to move toward the females.   

 

Then he let the youngster know who was boss. 

 The young bull wisely turned around and went the other way -- so (happily) we didn't see a fight.

 

 

 

 

The bull then began herding his cows and calves into a tighter group, but he stopped for this tender moment!  This young one didn't seem to want to get up and move, so he got a few gentle nudges from his pop until he got up and joined the rest of the herd.

 

 

Our visit to Dean Creek was a happy distraction from what turned out to be not such bad news as we had feared. 

 

Linking   to SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; and THROUGH MY LENS.

 

Thank you to all of the hosts.

SMOKE and MEMORIES

 

The picture below is an un-edited photo of the sun near our apartment last Tuesday evening  -- around 6 p.m.   While it makes a rather pretty sky picture,  the reason  is not at all good because the dramatic tones are due to smoke from wildfires... and it has severely socked in our valley.  

 

 

According to an article in our local paper (The Register-Guard, Thursday, August 31), wildfires in Oregon are burning an area equivalent to half the State of Rhode Island, affecting air quality throughout the state.  There are two dozen fires in southern, eastern, and central parts of the state that have scorched a total of 571 square miles.  

Because of the bad air quality, we have done no playing outside this week --  the rest of today's pictures are 'look-backs' and memories.

Our  weather/climate problems are of course as nothing compared to last week's devastating hurricane and unending heavy rains on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.    Damages are horrendous and the aftermath continues.     

During our RV travel years, we spent several winter seasons in that part of Texas.  The collage below shows just a few of our memories of those stays: 

 

 

We stayed twice in Port Aransas and once in Fulton/Rockport, where Hurricane Harvey first made landfall.  (The coastal towns are on opposite shores of  North Padre Island, near Corpus Christie.)    From what we have seen and read, it looks as if both  are completely devastated and will take years to rebuild.

 

 

Our traveling home at Water's Edge RV Park, Fulton Texas, Winter 2006-07

 

As full-time RVers, whenever we stayed in an area for three or four months, we always considered ourselves to be residents.  Of course, it isn't the same as it is for people who have spent their whole lives in an area, but it was long enough that we  would felt at home and get to know the community far better than one would just passing through.   North Padre  was one of our all-time favorite areas and we have wonderful memories of both towns.  

Travel certainly taught us a lot about our country and brought  much joy  -- but it also makes losses such as the one from this horrible storm more vivid as we recognize places  being destroyed and remember them and the people we met.    

Our thoughts are with all those in the affected area.    

   Our current road-trip vehicle

 

The bird below is a more recent memory, but was also on the Gulf Coast -- of Alabama .  We saw this bird on our road trip home to Oregon this past June.    I included it then in a collage of pictures from an evening walk we took where we stayed (Gulf Shores State Park).  And I didn't even try to ID it ... but Eileen, our Saturday Critters host and my (blogland) resident bird expert  told me in a comment on that post that it was a shrike!    Thank you Eileen.   (Most will know already, but Eileen's blog is VIEWING NATURE and it is HERE.) 

 

Loggerhead shrike

 

Many years ago on a camping trip  Bill showed me  evidence of the way shrikes impale their prey, and I probably saw the bird too -- but that was long before I became really interested in birding -- so I'm definitely calling this sighting a first.  

 

 

The flowers below came from a walk around  town that we took when my sister and brother-in-law were visiting last week (after Eclipse Day)... they're part of a wall of hanging baskets in front of a Nursery.

 

 

We are hoping for more dramatic flowers and fewer dramatic smoky skies in September.    

 

 

Thank you for visiting --  and special thanks to the hosts of 

 the following sharing opportunities:

 LINKING THIS WEEK TO:   SATURDAY CRITTERS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;   MOSAIC MONDAY;   NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; FLORAL BLISS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE EDITION

     

The eclipse started here on the Oregon Coast and reached complete totality in parts of the State.   At one point last month it was estimated that over a million visitors would arrive in Oregon for this celestial event.    

We really wanted to be in the path of totality and knew that it would pass through the next county over from ours, but we didn't want to end up watching from a blocked freeway somewhere.   (There had been a lot of hype about how terrible traffic snarls were to be expected.)    So the family travel planner (that would be Bill) did the research and found a  route that would keep us off the freeway. 

We took an exploratory drive last month and located a  Linn County Park called Roaring River, near the tiny town of Scio.  It was about an hour and a half from home on a pretty back-road country drive.   The Park was a large open meadow with some trees around the edges.   We thought it would be perfect, as long as it was a clear day with no clouds and no smoke from forest fires (there was a fairly strong possibility of either problem in this Oregon summer).   We held our breaths.

 

 

 So on Eclipse Monday we got up at half-past dark, left Eugene at 6:00 and arrived at Roaring River exactly as planned in an hour and a half.  There was light traffic -- more  than would usually be on that road at that hour I'm sure  -- but nothing that was a problem at all.   We parked the van, set up our chairs and picnic table and had a pretty good breakfast picnic while watching what seemed like a normal  summer day dawn.   

 

 

(The moon started to edge over the sun a second or two after 9 a.m. -- just as we finished clearing up breakfast.  The maximum eclipse happened at 10:21 and remained at total for a  couple of minutes, then the moon started to edge out gradually.  The partial eclipse ended at 11:45.)  

 

My sister and brother-in-law are visiting from Seattle -- in fact, it was they who alerted us to the coming disappearance of the sun way back last Fall.  So we'd been thinking about this for a while and planning on the lovely company.    But until we got home to Oregon this summer, we really had no idea of the excitement and hype that would herald this celestial event.  

The top two pictures and the  middle in the bottom row are of course Bill and Pat and Mary Jo.  The other two on the bottom row are just to show that there were enough other people to make it seem like an occasion but not so many that we felt at all crowded.    

 

DISCLAIMER:  In the interest of not contributing to the modern epidemic of fake news please note that all of the rest of the pictures in this post are distorted by an inadequate camera and lack of time and planning on the part of the photographer.

 

 

 

 

Without special filters, my  little camera really wasn't able to begin to capture the wonder.   I couldn't see to take pictures as the eclipse began and progressed because of course we were wearing our special glasses to watch the sun.  You really can't see anything else at all and weren't really even supposed to point your lens at the sun.      When the eclipse reached the point of totality, we could take our glasses off and then I was able to snap a few pictures.   

 

 

 

But they don't capture the way it looked or the way it felt.    It was very quiet and still as the sun disappeared.   Nobody talked.   We were surprised at how chilly it got outside -- from a warm sunny day to cool evening temperatures instantly.    

 

 

And as soon as the sun started to return -- even with just a little sliver -- the temperature returned to normal.     

 

 

These are after the sun started to return.  The little moon shapes are reflections through the trees on the edge of the meadow.  A man who was sitting  near us used his binoculars as a pin-hole camera to reflect the rising sun on our lawn chair. 

  

 

 We had a perfect location and great company for the viewing.  Although I don't have the words or the pictures to adequately to describe it, this once-in-a-lifetime experience couldn't have been better. 

 

 

Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities:    SKYWATCH FRIDAY; ALL SEASONS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; NATURE NOTES;  and THROUGH MY LENS;  

SIGNS OF SUMMER

   

 

Either the priest or the gardener at this  beautifully landscaped church in Salem has a good sense of humor.   We were there to attend the funeral for Bill's Aunt Rosemary.  This lovely lady, who lived to her late 90s,  was the last remaining member of our parents' generation (on both sides).  Not that there was much doubt before, but we're certainly officially members of the senior generation now.

All of the rest of the pictures in this post are  from walks around the neighborhood here in Eugene.

 

 

  I love hydrangeas in all their colors and all their stages.  It's hard not to stop for pictures when I'm out walking. These are some I've "collected" from different yards all through my walking area

 

 

But even these lush blue bushes can't rescue this poor old house.   I first noticed it when I walked past when we were still here last October.  And at first I thought it was decorated for the Halloween season (the bushes of course were brown and withered then, adding to the haunted appearance). There have been no apparent changes to the structure since last Fall.   Abandoned homes always make me wonder about the story behind them.

 

 

The old house is about six blocks away one direction from our  apartment -- we are right on the edge of an older Eugene neighborhood (mostly with well-kept homes -- the one above is an exception).  

But when we walk the other way, we are in the middle of downtown.    We strolled around on the  First Friday Art Walk, listening to music and looking at some of the street art.  

 

 

It was hot though, so we spent most of the evening in an air-conditioned theater watching an Instant Ballet (the dancers, members of the Eugene Ballet Company,  take suggestions from the audience to put together a ballet based on a pre-determined theme and music.  

 

 

 

 The City installed this colorful piano in the middle of one downtown block.   It gets a lot of use.   Sometimes you get a concert.  And then there are the other times  ....    

 

 

 

 Eugene might be the only place in the world that would have this sign on the front of a City Bus.    We like it!

 

 

 Linking this week  to:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS;  NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS;  MACRO MONDAY; FLORAL BLISS; TUESDAY TREASURES; and SIGNS SIGNS 

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BEAUTIFUL TACOMA

  

You  know you are a born road-tripper when you jump in the travel van and drive North to Washington State only a few weeks after settling in at home after a  long cross country trip.   (It's a 250 or so mile trip straight up the I-5 freeway to Tacoma .)

       

Mount Rainier in the alpenglow 

 

We had some  non-photo-worthy things to do further up the freeway, but the  days we spent in Tacoma made up for that.   Our oldest son and his family live there and they always find interesting things for us to see and do whenever we visit.

 

 

 

   

Entry to Point Defiance Botanical Gardens, Tacoma 

 

 

 

We always appreciate a clever sign that reminds people how to behave without using the words "No" or "Don't."

 

 

 

It was a good time to visit the gardens .... roses and lillies and other summer flowers were in bloom,

but so were dahlias and mums. 

 

 

A nice view of Puget Sound  from this spot at Point Defiance

   near where we saw several black-tail deer.

 

 

 They were used to people and unafraid -- we got fairly close.

 

  

Lilies and hydrangea

 

 

Most of the flower pictures I took were in my favorite color palette.  

There was floral beauty there in every color of the rainbow, but a lot of the time we were walking and talking and I was not taking pictures.

 

Brown's Point 

A view of Mt Rainier from a different vantage place.

 

My photos never capture people -- or good conversation -- or good food!  But they do capture some of the experiences we shared --  memory makers and memory keepers.

 

 SHARING this week with MACRO MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS;  FLORAL BLISS; ALL SEASONS;  SIGNS SIGNS;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS.

 

 

 

 

Thank you to all of the hosts.

THE END OF THE TRIP AND HOME AGAIN

      

Yes, our annual summer migration is over.... in real life we've been home since the very end of June and, with this early August post, the trip will be over even in blog-land.    (It was a long trip, but not quite as long as it's been here on the blog.)

 

 

 

 Since our ultimate destination (our Northwest home) was Eugene Oregon  ....

 

 

.... I'm tempted to say, in the words of local icon and world-famous  author Ken Kesey "What a long, strange trip it's been." 

 

But although our home city might be a little  different -- "left of normal" (and we're all proud of that), our trip itself was actually a great one, with nothing strange about it.   We explored new places and favorite old ones, had not a speck of trouble on the road, and arrived safely.

 The above pictures are from around town, close to our apartment.   The Eugene Parade was held about a week after we got home ...  we were watching on a street corner less than a block away from our upstairs terrace apartment  -- where the street noise doesn't reach,  but the street excitement is  close by. 

  

 

 

Here is the road-map for the last part of our trip -- from Longmont Colorado  (where we stayed with our son and daughter-in-law) to Eugene Oregon.   The map for the first part of the journey (from our winter home in Florida to Colorado) is HERE.    Because we always break up the trip with a lovely stay with our Colorado family, I've called that our half-way point, but  that's not at all accurate.    (We drove 2,159 miles from Fort Myers to Longmont and then 1,222 miles from there to home.  A total of 3,381 road miles -- not counting side-trips  (mostly in Colorado and Utah).   

 

Abandoned -- along a back-road somewhere  --- Wyoming or Utah or Idaho  -- but the poppies don't know or care.

 

We did not necessarily take the shortest possible route on either 'half' of the journey  and we do not drive long days.  We never have enjoyed that kind of travel -- even when we were younger.    We also took a little longer on the second part of the trip because, while we were in Idaho, we read that temperatures of over 100 F were happening in Eugene.  So we decided to play on the road a bit until it cooled down some at home.

 

Onion seed field somewhere in Idaho

 

Temperatures in the triple digits do not make for good moving-back-in-weather.    And we knew that, this being western Oregon, the extreme heat would not last for long.   Happily it did soon cool down a bit and we arrived in good time for the family picnic on the Fourth of July:

   

  

 

Here are two members of the clan who do not mind having their pictures taken one bit.   We were in the "woods" .... the far back part of the boys' grandparents place.   (Their grandparents are our daughter and son-in-law. We are proud to be the 'GGs' ... the great-grandparents.)  

I took the bird pictures below a couple of days before the Holiday, also in our daughter's yard (closer to their house.)    I was meant to be unpacking our travel van, which we leave out there (we have a small generic car for city use) -- but it was more fun to sit and chat with the family while watching the birds.

 

 

I'm not having any luck identifying this amusing 'little brown job'.  We used to call all our brown feeder birds "LBJs" but that was years ago .   Now it bothers me not to be able to name all the birds we see and I'd love any help I can get with a name for this one.

 

 

Seen in many yards in Eugene 

 

It's good to be home on the West Coast.  We like it here!

   

LINKING this week to:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; SIGNS SIGNS; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

Thanks to all of the hosts for providing these sharing opportunities. 

 

SCENIC IDAHO

 

This week's pictures, nearly the end of the road-trip,  are all from the State of Idaho.   We've spent quite a bit of time in that State  over the years (both of us grew up in a tiny town in Washington State that borders  Northern  Idaho) and we have camped in  and traveled through parts of it many times in our life.     But surprisingly on this trip we found several new and interesting places to explore.

 

 

This is Shoshone Falls on the Snake River near the town of Twin Falls.   I love waterfalls and Shoshone Falls was stunning.  We don't know why we'd never visited  before, as we have driven through that town several times in the past.    The contrast between the swiftly flowing water and the rugged Idaho landscape was fascinating.

 

 

The Park area above the Falls was donated to the city of Twin Falls by the ranchers who owned the land, for the purpose of public enjoyment -- and of course we were not the only members of the public doing just that on this day.

 

 

Among all the other tourists there was also a group of plein-air painters set up at various points around the Falls.  It was fun to sneak a peek over their shoulders to see the various artistic interpretations.   (I'm more than happy to let my camera interpret for me.)

 

 

We saw these petroglyphs  in the Snake River canyon near the tiny town of Melba. Humans have lived in this area for at least 10,000 years.   We walked the trail to try to see some of the etchings left on the rocks.  They are quite faded and hard to see and the trail was fairly rugged, so I'm sure we missed a lot.

 

 

We visited the World Center for Birds of Prey near Boise.  Naturalists at the Center are among those working to re-introduce California Condors into the wild.  This vulture, the largest flying bird in North America is also the most endangered bird on our continent.  Although ancestors of the bird were alive during prehistoric times, by 1982 only 22 of the species remained.  All of these were placed in captive breeding programs at that time.   Most of the young condors born here in Idaho are released near the Grand Canyon.   

Today, the greatest danger to the newly wild condors are lead bullets.  Because the condors eat only dead animals, they may ingest particles of lead in animals left by hunters.   There is a push to stop the sale of leaded bullets, but I believe they are still being sold.   In addition to breeding condors for release, this Center also treats sick condors for rehabilitation.

 

 

 

This pretty little Kildeer was among several wild birds we saw on the grounds of the Center.   At 9 inches or so, it looked awfully small  after we had just gazed at the Condors which have over a 9-foot wing-span.  

 

 

There were lots of reasons to be glad we spent some time in Idaho on this trip.  And this amazing rainbow upstream from Shoshone Falls was definitely not the least of them.

 

 

LINKING this week to:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; MOSAIC MONDAY; ALL SEASONS; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; SIGNS SIGNS; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.  

 

Thank you to the hosts for making these wonderful sharing opportunities available to all of us.

 

DRIVE-BY WYOMING and a STOP IN UTAH

 

   

We've been happily at home in Oregon for over three weeks, but I'm still road-trip blogging -- because there are still  fun pictures and experiences we don't want to forget .  

After  we left Colorado on our way to the Utah stop I showed last week, our route took us across southern Wyoming.    We don't drive a lot of miles in a day, so we did stay overnight in Rawlins,  but, as it's been on most of our cross-country trips,  Wyoming was pretty much a drive-through State.    

 

 

Blue sky, green grass and red rocks when we first hit the Wyoming border -- outside of Laramie -- but it wasn't  many more miles before we began to see the landscape that defines this part of the State ... endless miles of sagebrush.

 

 

 It gets monotonous, but Sagebrush  is an important part of the ecological system ....

 

(click for easier reading)

... as the above sign (at a highway rest-stop area)  explains.

 

 

 

In the mosaic above, one farm animal behind the fence and some wild animals in the open are browsing that sagebrush.    We always lose count of how many pronghorn we see when driving across Wyoming.  I think there might be more of them than there are people.  

Among the 50 States, Wyoming ranks 50th  in population but is the 10th largest in area.  According to Wikipedia there are 584,000 people populating just over 97,000 square miles.  (That leaves a lot of room for sagebrush and the wildlife it supports.)    

 

 

 

We stopped in Kemmerer for lunch.     It is in this tiny town that James Cash Penney founded his first department store in 1902.   This, the "mother store" is still in the same downtown location where it all began.   Nowadays, you would almost always  find this national chain store in malls.   (If you found it at all, the way things are going these days. )  That very morning, we'd read yet another story about how brick and board stores are rapidly declining as more and more of us do our shopping on line.    

 

We arrived at Bear Lake  (on the Utah/Idaho border) that afternoon and that was where we took the bird pictures I showed last week.   That State line is one of the few in the country (in our experience)  where you actually notice a difference in terrain and landscape almost as soon as you cross into the next State.   

 

 

  Bear Lake Valley  as seen from Logan Canyon Scenic Byway, Utah

   

 

LINKING THIS WEEK to OUR WORLD on Tuesday; MOSAIC MONDAY; ALL SEASONS;  NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; SIGNS SIGNS;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS.

 Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

BIRDS OF BEAR LAKE

  

  On our way home to Oregon, we spent a couple of nights camping at Bear Lake.  The Lake, which straddles the Utah/Idaho border,  has been a favorite stopover  for years.  

 

 

 

It is one of the prettiest, bluest lakes ever -- though I never seem to quite capture that technicolor blue in pictures.   We always see birds when we stay there and again we weren't disappointed.    On this hot summer day we didn't see as many as on past visits which were in the Spring or Fall, but we had one sighting that made the stopover oh so worthwhile ... 

 

 

 

The American Avocet wasn't  a first-timer because in our previous  (pre-retirement)  life, we used to see them sometimes when we went camping in Eastern Oregon.  But that was long before the days of digital cameras (or blogs).   And even though I know these birds hang out sometimes in Florida as well as in Oregon, it had been years since we'd seen one.    So I was delighted with this sighting.   

 

 

 

Above are some other birds near where the Avocets were hanging out.   I am guessing that the top birds were Wilson's Phalarope, but am more than willing to be corrected.  And we saw quite a few White Pelicans -- it always surprises me to see them on inland waters.   

 

 

 

This yellow-headed blackbird watched the water birds from a fence post and sang loudly to let them (or us) know he was claiming the territory.  

The red-winged blackbird below is from when we were back in Colorado earlier in the trip, but included because it is interesting  to compare the two blackbirds.... 

 

 

 

...and also because this picture  was taken by Geoff (our son) and it's a much better blackbird picture! 

 

 

 

Here are a few more shots of the Avocet  --just because it was so nice to cross this beautiful bird off my photo wish list!  (I'd still love to see them again though -- anytime, anywhere!)

 

LINKING this week to :  MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; OUR WORLD;  ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING.  

  

THANK YOU to all of the hosts.