A Full-time Life

NATURAL WONDERS -- closer to home

 

Cape Flattery

It's time for some more recent travel pictures  -- and definitely time for some pictures of our beautiful natural world.  Toward the end of last month, we went on a ten-day road trip to Washington State.   The next two shots are from the new Point Defiance Aquarium in Tacoma.

 

 

These are straight from the camera shots -- the jellyfish tanks had the best lighting ever.  

 

 

The jellies were almost hypnotic!   

 

Seattle  Spheres 

 

The Spheres are workplaces for Amazon employees in downtown Seattle.  Seattle's a pretty amazing city anyway, but it is jaw-dropping to come upon these spheres in the middle of it!    (Read about them here.)

 

After great visits with family in Tacoma and Seattle (and as usual for me, too few people pictures) we  drove North to the very tip end of the Olympic Peninsula.   

 

 

These pictures aren't in any particular order  -- just a little taste of what we saw along the way.

 

 

Bill got to indulge in his love of mountain driving on the way to the Makah Reservation at the tip of the Peninsula.     I  got to enjoy a hike through the forest  (on a sometimes iffy board walk).  Beautiful forest views along the way and of Cape Flattery once I reached the top.  

 

 

Roses and hollyhocks -- and hollyhocks and roses!

 

On our way home again, just a little way into Oregon, we stayed at an RV Park in Netarts.  It really was a pretty place  -- with gardens to wander through, the ocean across the street -- and (important to those of us who do old-people camping) a very easy drive to good restaurants.

 

    These lazy elephant seals just across the street from our spot were quiet neighbors. 

 

Olympic National Park

 

Grateful to visit with family -- for the interesting places they showed us  (and this post was just a tiny taste  of those)  -- and for the beautiful natural places we saw when we took the long way home.

 

Linking this week to the following:  Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

SATURDAY CRITTERS;  NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY; MACRO MONDAY   TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; THROUGH MY LENS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  COUNTRY SCAPES;     TUESDAY TREASURES ;  SAY CHEESE;    MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and  FRIDAY  BLISS;      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NUREMBERG (Day 9)

Our tour  guidebook said that our visit to Nuremberg would be a complex and intriguing excursion.     I can't think of a better way to describe this beautiful city.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

  Nuremberg -- old and new 

 

World War II reminders were everywhere on this trip but nowhere more so than here.  That's what we expected to see and learn more about.    Prior to and during WWII, Nuremberg was the site of the huge parade grounds where Nazi rallies and military drills  were held.    Recently, after much debate, a decision was made to preserve  these grounds as a reminder of the country's dark past.  (The grandstands are deteriorating badly and the debate was whether to demolish or repair.)  

 

 

On the day we visited, part of the infamous site  was being used as a temporary campground -- if I understood correctly, many visitors were in town to attend a rock concert.  I'm not sure what to think about that  use, but maybe happy vibes are good.      On the lower left is one of several picture the tour guide showed us as our bus passed the parade grounds.        On the right is my picture of the same grounds.    It was easy to imagine the real and terrible events taking place as we viewed both pictures.    

Our tour guide was excellent --   respectful and knowledgeable.  We did not walk around at this stop, but stopped several times for pictures and  presentations.    

 

 

Imperial Palace

  I was so sure that this tour would be all about World War II that the rest of what we saw and learned surprised me.  The part I did not expect started at the top of Castle Hill, where our the walking tour began.       This is the Imperial Palace, a symbol of the City.    During the Middle Ages, every Holy Roman Emperor  stayed here at some time.   Nuremberg was a walled city with this safe fortress at the center.

Much later in time, the Palace also served an important purpose.    Shortly after  WWII began, an art storage depot was established in the ancient cellars under the Castle.  In this way, the City's most important art treasures survived the heavy air raids intact.  

 

 

 

Although air raids destroyed most of the medieval city walls, around three miles of them with original gateways and watchtowers still remain.                                          

 

 

From the top of the hill we walked toward the City's Old Town.  We had a short guided orientation ending in the Town Center....

 

 

Der Schone Brunen

(The Beautiful Fountain)

.... at this ornate Gothic fountain  which dominates Market Square.  The Fountain is an early 20th Century  replica of the original  built in the 1300s.  It depicts figures from the Holy Roman Empire and the Church. 

We then had some time to explore on our own.   

 

 

We did some window-shopping in the Market Square.     Nuremberg was once known as the toy-making capital of Europe -- mostly hand-carved wooden toys (although my photo obviously shows softer toys).     

It has always been well-known for its famous Lebkuchen — a cookie made with ground almonds and nine spices.  And delicious.  (Okay, it was more than window-shopping at Wicklein Lebkuchen Workshop, where they've been baking since 1613.)  

We  were told that it is a Nuremberg tradition to serve three German sausages in one bun.  The price seemed reasonable enough if sausages are your thing.  

 

The guide had told us to be back at the Beautiful Fountain  when it was time to head back to the bus.  It was a great meeting place --  Nobody could forget or miss this spot!     The top middle picture is somebody trying to reach the lucky ring.      Tradition says  your wish  will be granted if you turn that certain ring three times.  Our guide said it used to be gold, but because of all the touching and pushing and pulling it has been replaced several times.

 Back on the bus (and back to the 20th Century)  we stopped at the Palace of Justice, where the Nuremberg War Crime Trials took place in 1945 and 1946.

Palace of Justice, Nuremberg  

 

We joined our guide  in hoping that peace and justice prevail in this world and that we do not forget history. 

 

Linking this week to the following, with thanks to all of the hosts:  

  ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; THROUGH MY LENS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;     TUESDAY TREASURES ; SAY CHEESE;    SIGNS SIGNS;    MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS; 

 

 

 

MUNICH (day 8)

Just after breakfast  the Skirnr docked  briefly at Straubing where guests could board buses for one of two tours -- to the City of Munich (the capital of the German State of Bavaria) or to Regensburg. 

 

 

We had not known before our trip that Munich would be an option, but because we'd heard a lot about it from fellow-snowbirds whose summer (and real) home is there,  we jumped at the chance to visit.        

 

BMW Welt website photo

It was rather a long bus ride into Munich.  On the way, our bus made a stop at BMW Welt -- a gigantic (and ultra-modern) showroom and car museum near the plant where this car is manufactured.  It was more interesting  than most "pit-stops" (and we had almost an hour for  the usual necessities and then to look around).   But I should have asked Bill to take pictures;  I was a little overwhelmed by all the cars and lights and noise and modernity when I had just gotten used to seeing only historical buildings.  So I  didn't take even one picture.  This one is from their website.

 

                                           

City of Munich   

 

Once we got to Munich, most of the walking part of the guided tour was spent on Marienplatz  (Our Lady's Square).  It has been Munich's City Center since 1158.   Both the new and old city halls are on the square ... as well as the famous Munich Glockenspiel Clock Tower.

 

 

 

The Glockenspiel is  quite wonderful in a three-ring circus kind of way.    I got photographer's neck looking up at the action (in the green window in the picture  on the right. .. The other pictures are zoomed and cropped.)   Built in 1908, the tower chimes twice daily at 11 and noon.  When it chimes, life-size figures re-enact two 16th Century stories.  The top half depicts the marriage of Duke Wilhelm -- the action includes a joust with visiting knights.  (Bavaria wins, of course.)    Meanwhile, the lower stage depicts the Cooper's Dance --  there is a myth that there was a plague in 1517 and this dance somehow halted its progress....    When the show is over, the golden rooster in the top cupola crows signifying the end.  

 

 

There were a lot of people in  downtown Munich!   Not for the first time, nor for the last, we marveled at the modern stores in the very old buildings.  Not that I expect all the buildings in these cities to be turned into museums, but just amazed that the buildings have survived through so much and are still being used.  

 

Our tour included a delicious (and huge) traditional Bavarian dinner at the Ratskeller Restuarant, also on Marianplatz.   And after that we pretty much dozed on the evening bus ride back to the boat.

It really was quite a lot of time on the bus and, in hindsight, maybe we should have stayed with our original plan and visited  Regensburg, which was closer to the dock point and would have given us more time to explore.   There are so many historical places in and near Munich  that we didn't have time to visit.   But on the other hand, we are glad to have seen even a little bit of this beautiful and historic City and it will be fun to tell our friends that we at least were able to get a quick overview of their hometown.  

 

So many things of interest, so little time ... but we're always conscious of how fortunate we are to have seen as much as we have! 

While we were away that day, the Skirnr had made its way along the river and we rejoined it at Kelheim just before it set sail for the next stop.   They were also still serving dinner on board -- but for some strange reason, that option was not quite as interesting as it usually was.

 

 

LINKING to the following, with thanks to all of the hosts:  ALL SEASONS;  MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;      TUESDAY TREASURES ;  SAY CHEESE;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   

 

 

 

 

 

OREGON INTERLUDE

In Blog-land, we've been re-living our June trip to Europe  and it isn't over yet.  But in real life we've been at home in Oregon since the first of July -- and it's great to be here.   So this is a little break between Weeks One and  Two of our trip  -- we need to catch up just a tiny bit on wonders that are closer to home.

 

Alsea Falls

 

 

Alsea Falls is a favorite place -- we stopped  for a walk there after a trip to the Oregon coast last month. And were surprised and happy to see this much water at the falls in July.

 

 

 

Flowers collected on walks around our our daughter and son-in-laws country home and on the Willamette River paths near our home here in Oregon.

 

 

There are a few newcomers in that same backyard!   ....

 

 

Oregon Blues!

 

In that same backyard again!  I  picked that colander full of blueberries without moving more than 5 steps.   In July, those bushes were loaded.  The growth has eased off by now --  but their freezer is full and we have been invited to help ourselves as needed.    Those  plums are just coming on.  Blackberries are uninvited guests, but they are good to eat anyway.  (And of course we no longer  have to cut these invasive plants  back every year.   Many homeowners in this part of Oregon fight them constantly.  But in the meantime, everybody picks and eats them.)  

 

 Oregon Scrub Jay

 

Scrub Jays are seen often  in western Oregon -- almost as common as crows and just as noisy.   The funny thing is that in Florida, there is a Scrub Jay that is rather rare.  I can't tell any difference -- to me they look exactly alike!  But I've never been able to get  a good picture of one in Florida -- that is one of my goals for next season there!  

 

 

And here is the ultimate Oregon Blue!  The Pacific Ocean near Waldport on a beautiful July day.  It was a day-trip for us -- we just went to make sure the Ocean was still there.

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities.  Thank you to the hosts! 

SATURDAY CRITTERS; RATHER B' BIRDING ;  NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;   COUNTRY SCAPES; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; SAY CHEESE;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and   FRIDAY  BLISS;      

 

 

PASSAU, GERMANY

 

Morning view from our deck, Day 7

It was exciting to wake up knowing that we would dock in another country -- Germany.    It seemed almost impossible that less than a week ago we were still  in Florida (and still finishing last-minute, closing-up-the-cottage-for-the-season-chores.)   What a week!

The Skirnir docked at Lindau, at 9 that morning.  By a quarter after nine, we were on a bus headed to the City of Passau and a guided walking tour.     (The Viking crew handled tour arrangements efficiently at all our stops, but I was especially amazed at this one because the buses were on the road so quickly after the boat docked.) 

    

Veste Oberhausen

Our tour guide did a good job summarizing the history as we walked through old town  and directing us to points of interest.  

Passau was founded by the Celts more than 2,000 years ago.  In addition to its location at the border between the two countries, it is also strategically  located at the confluence of three important rivers:  the Inin, Ilz, and the Danube.     

The Oberhausen is a fortress founded in 1219.   Situated on the Germany-Austria border it overlooks the City of  Passau .      (click the blue links for more information.)

 

After the guided walking tour, we had   time to explore the City on our own.   Some people visited the famous glass museum or other attractions, some shopped... 

... but our choice was to do as we often do in a new place  .... pretend we’re not tourists* and stroll around as if we were out for a daily walk.  We enjoyed the narrow streets and alleys, seeing a few 'real people'  -- and imagining what it would be like to live in this old, beautiful, and important city.  

*except for the camera

 

I loved seeing the little girls playing a game on their front porch -- totally unconcerned with passersby (quietly)  marveling at their neighborhood.    I think the sign above their  doorway (top left photo is a closer view) says that it was once the home of a butcher (flefchharker), but I'd be glad of any corrections.

That's a lot of pictures of cobblestones, but I wanted to highlight (and remember) what we were walking on during much of our trip.  (Maybe I should have said  'hobbled'  instead of 'walked.'  Bill was glad he had taken the day before to rest.)   We both agreed that it was all worth it though.  The  stones on that one particular street were marked in red paint to show different routes. 

 

 

We kept an eye on the clock as we explored because we had  tickets to attend an organ concert at this beautiful church -- St Stephen's Cathedral -- before it was time to return to the ship.     

 

What a sensory experience to listen to this beautiful instrument  as we marveled at the glorious baroque interior at the Cathedral.

 

Shuttle buses back to our boat had been available all afternoon and after the concert we wended our way back to the pickup spot.  It had been a lovely day and a perfect introduction to the third country of our tour.   

 

ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; THROUGH MY LENS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  SAY CHEESE;    TUESDAY TREASURES ;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and  FRIDAY  BLISS

 

WELCOME TO MELK

While we slept, the Skirnr traveled along the Danube from Vienna --   we woke and breakfasted to views of the beautiful Wachau Valley.

 

The City of Durnstein on the Wachau Valley Riverbank

The Wachau is an important wine-grape growing region; we saw farmlands and  cities, charming villages, castles, and cathedrals close to the shore and glimpsed ruined castles on the hilltops.    Our port-of-call for the day was the city of Melk, at the Valley's base.  It is located at the confluence of the Danube and Melk Rivers.

Watching the Skirnr's arrival was a different experience this time.  We were glad we were up and awake to watch this adventure.  Melk wasn't a big city dock --the boat pulled into the shore out in the middle of (what seemed like) nowhere:

 

 

There was only a short "T" dock, and the boat had to be tied to bollards on the bank.  In the picture above, one deckhand tosses a weighted rope to another man who is standing on the rocky bank below (you can just see him on the left between the rails).  The rope missed him (or he missed the rope) a couple of times before he caught it....

 

... First, the guy on the ground had tried to catch the line as he stood on the safer grassy bank (left picture)  but that didn't work and he had to scramble down those loose rocks.  We held our breaths for him!   Fortunately, he did  catch it and tie us off  without injury to person or boat  (maybe it  was because a certain someone was there to supervise the efforts?)   
  

 

The excursion destination for the day was the 900-year old Benedictine Abbey which overlooks the town of Melk from its hilltop location.  There wasn't anyplace to park near where the boat was docked, so we had a walk through a woodsy area to the bus that would take us there.   

 

 

This is the Abbey as seen from the parking area.    This was kind of a throw-away zoomed-in shot as we boarded the bus, because of course I thought I'd get a better one when we arrived.  (There was some kind of white tent in the corner of the parking lot that I couldn't get away from.)   However, when we arrived at the top, the huge Abbey so dominated the entire hilltop it was impossible to get far enough away for a picture of the whole building.   

 

 

We weren't quite at the top of the hill yet at the end of the short bus ride.  We still had to climb this  elegant staircase to get to the Abbey.  Translated (so I'm told) the words  on  the  steps read   "Melk Abbey" and then  'Listen  and You  Will    Arrive".   That quote is part  of  the  Benedictine  Rule.  

 

 

I  guess it is another way of saying  quiet your mind and you will eventually understand.   Or maybe just shut up and pay attention (it was and still is a teaching abbey after all.)  

 

 

 The grounds are beautiful and the views of the city from the hill top are amazing.   We were divided into small groups inside and the tour guide was excellent.    Here is the article from Wiki which gives the history  -- reading isn't as much fun as it was hearing it from the guide, but  is more interesting than it would be if I tried to repeat what we learned.

We  saw the  awe-inspiring library, which includes priceless medieval manuscripts.   There were ornate sculptures and beautiful frescoes  throughout the building, and a chastibule that contains relics of Saints.   One of the chapels had an amazing  tromp'l'oil  painting on the ceiling that made the flat surface appear to be a dome.   

Sadly, we were asked not to take pictures inside and I obeyed that request.  Although it appeared that not everyone did ... I think cell phones are making that a difficult rule to enforce. 

 

 

 Here are a few close-up examples of at least parts of the building's Baroque architecture.  And an interesting factoid (not personally verified by me) -- the Abbey has 365 windows, one for each day of the year.  Melk Abbey was founded in 1089 and it has been in use as an Abbey for that whole time.  The Abbey building of today was built over a period of years in the mid-1700s.  

 

 

We had been told that while we were on the tour, the Skirnr would leave its  tie-down in Melk and that we would meet the boat at a different location.  That morning Bill had elected to stay on board the boat and forego the Abbey tour.  Perhaps because he wanted to continue supervise those deckhands -- or perhaps because he had walked miles and miles on cobblestones on the previous four days and his bad foot needed a rest.

In any case, it felt a bit surreal to board the bus at the foot of that staircase and be driven through new and different territory (a lot further than the short ride getting to the Abbey).  I certainly hoped  we'd meet the boat (and my traveling companion) as planned ...

 

 

... and was happy when we did exactly that!    The top row are views from the bus window as it traveled from the Abbey to the port at the city of Ybbs.  We didn't see anything of that town except the dock, but I just loved the name and don't want to forget it, hence the pictures of the sign.     

And there's the Skirnr pulling in to pick us up.   My bus did beat the boat by a few minutes, which was excellent timing, because it was fun to watch it motor along the river from outside!  

As soon as everyone was on board,  the Skirnr departed for its journey to  a new port of call.   On the following day we would awaken in Germany, the next country we would be privileged to visit.

 

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

ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  TUESDAY TREASURES  ;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  SAY CHEESE;     MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  and FRIDAY  BLISS;   

 

 

VIENNA (part 2)

 

We met Jacob and Maya  after breakfast on the second day that the river boat was docked in Vienna.   Our fellow Viking passengers were preparing to board the usual tour buses for their day's events, but we were excited to meet our grandchildren for more of our own special time on this second day in the City.  (Vienna Part One is here). 

 

Statue of Empress Maria Theresa in front of Natural History Museum

We visited Maria Theresien Platz.  A monument to the Empress is the center point of the huge plaza which includes two almost identical  buildings that house the Vienna Museum of Natural History and the Art Museum.  There are also four fountains, other sculptures, and lovely landscaping.    Our 'guides' told us that at Christmas the whole plaza is transformed into a world-famous Christmas Market -- it sounded amazing!

 

 

The Empress Maria Theresa governed Austria from 1740 to 1780.   What I remembered was that she was the last of the Hapsburg line of rulers of the Austrian empire, that she led major educational reforms, and that she was the ruler in actuality rather than (as would have been expected at the time) ceding complete rule to her husband Francis,who was a royal in his own right from another line ....  And I remembered that she had 16 children!  I went to Wiki to check my memory, which was not wrong (but certainly not complete) -- she definitely deserves to be commemorated.   Here is the link to the wikipedia page.

 This World Heritage monument is huge!  The entire monument is over 60 feet in height; her statue alone is 19 feet. At the corners are statues of four of her Generals on horseback and carvings of other notables are around the bottom of the monument.   

The upper left and lower right pictures in the collage are two of the corners of  the Museum of Natural History.   They were meant to represent the  continents as they were imagined at the time ... the one on the top left is America. 

  

 

 

We got around the City  underground  -- on the subway/tube ..... our private guides were experts on the system (and the language!)   We had fun pretending like we were locals rather than tourists on a bus.   This picture is where we're exiting the Schonbrunn Station to return to the City Center. 

 

 

These pictures are of the grounds at the Schonbrunn Palace. ( (There is a picture of the Palace on the previous post.)   It was hard to get pictures of the buildings without a lot of people -- we were in Vienna on Ascension Thursday,  a Holiday for schools and many businesses were closed.  We certainly weren't the only ones who were enjoying this beautiful place.   

The center photo is (the top of ) The Gloriette which was built in 1775 during the reign of  the same Empress Maria Theresa and Joseph.      It was meant as a place for the royals and visitors to take in the views.  Now it is open to the public .. the Gloriette Cafe is housed on the lower level.   

 

 

Many elaborate sculptures and garden buildings grace the  grounds of the Schonbrunn, which was once the summer residence of the Hapsburg royalty.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

 

 

Even with our private guides and a one-on-one tour, our one evening plus one full day gave us time for only an overview of the wonders of Vienna.  But we loved every moment of it -- and we learned so much.  What great memories!  

 

 

We are grateful to have had such a special time with our grandchildren in this beautiful city.   At the end of our day, Jacob and Maya went to board a train to Slovakia, where they would visit her family before flying to Finland  (where they now live).  We headed back to the Skirnir in time for its departure to the next port of call -- Melk, Austria.  

 

 

Linking to the following: 

ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  TUESDAY TREASURES  ;  SAY CHEESE;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;  and SKYWATCH FRIDAY.  

Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

LEAVING BUDAPEST; SEEING SLOVAKIA; ARRIVING VIENNA

 

Bratislava Castle (Slovakia) as seen from the boat.

 Our river ship departed Budapest at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday and would arrive in Vienna at about the same time the next evening, making Wednesday one of the longer days spent aboard the boat. 

We were looking forward to seeing  Slovakia, the next country we'd pass by.  That's where  our granddaughter-in-law Maya is from -- we would be getting together with  her and Jacob when we reached Vienna.    We'd pass through one of our first locks just before we arrived at that part of the river. 

 

Our ship was waiting to lock through

We didn’t dock in Slovakia, but at the top of the lock,   I was able to reach out from our deck and touch the ground.    (I'm not totally sure the boat was actually passing Slovakia at the exact moment we exited the lock,  but I really really want to believe that at least I've 'set hand' in that country.)

 

Slovakia from the Deck -- and requisite emergency drill

 

We boated past Bratislava, the country's capital city and more of the Slovakian countryside --  we saw the castle shown in the top photo and other castles as well, old stone fortresses, and scenic river shores.   So, whether I actually touched land there or not, we did definitely see and admire this part of Slovakia, if only from the middle of the Danube.

Wednesday was  the requisite safety meeting on the top deck. We had to learn where to go in case of emergency and how to put on our life vest (some people actually did have trouble).  It was funny to see every person on board wearing their  "Mae Wests" while many of them continued to take pictures of the beautiful scenery.   It's really hard to take your eyes off  it.

The day on board went by quickly --besides the safety drill,  there were program talks and of course breakfast and lunch on board -- and always that scenery!   The boat docked in Vienna as scheduled and we disembarked as soon as possible to meet our grandchildren. 

 

 

We caught up with their busy life  over a scenic walk, dinner and dessert -- Sacher Torte in one of the city's classical coffeehouses.  According to what we learned on board about Vienna's cafe society, coffeehouses  have been a tradition in Vienna since 1683.  They wouldn't have been considered complete without red velvet seating and magnificent chandeliers.   Since most people lived in small crowded apartments, coffeehouses were considered to be second living rooms, where people could linger over coffee and conversation.    That last part seemed to still be true today.   At least it certainly was for us!  

 

Schonbrunn Palace -- the next day 

 

The ship would be in port the whole next day ...  and Jacob and Maya had a hotel room just down the street.    I'll show more of what these talented  (brilliant and good-looking)* guides to Vienna showed us in the next post. 

*  I'm a grandmother -- what can I say?

 

LINKING this week to the following, with thanks to all of the hosts:

ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  SAY CHEESE;   TUESDAY TREASURES ; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  and  FRIDAY  BLISS

 

 

 

 

 

 

WILDLIFE BREAK

 

Taking a little  break  from our Grand Tour 

with pictures from familiar places.

(See the previous two posts for the first two chapters of our trip.)

 

 

 

 This Green Heron was perched in a bare tree at the Delta Ponds near our Eugene apartment.   It was just a short neighborhood walk during the first week we were home.  Not really even looking for birds but very glad I had taken the little camera anyway.  Nice welcome back to the neighborhood.

 

 

 

The week before that we were in Colorado with our son and daughter-in-law, our Colorado family.  Toward the end of our stay,  more-or-less recovered from jet lag and travel weariness,  we spent a day with them in one of our favorite places --  Rocky Mountain National Park.  As always, we had a great time with Geoff and Lisa -- and as always on our Colorado visits we saw beautiful scenery and wildlife.

 

 

The Moose (Mooses?  Meese?) were having a lovely splash in what was really just a large puddle.  (The background photo shows what it looked like from where we stood -- without our binoculars or zoom lens.)

 

LINKING to    WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY ,  NATURE NOTES;  SATURDAY CRITTERS, and RATHER B' BIRDING .  Thank you to the hosts.

 

 

ON BOARD IN BUDAPEST

Budapest Hungary was the first  City on our river cruise vacation.

We cleared customs  at Brussels Airport and then transferred to Belgium Airlines for the final hop to Budapest.    Viking had arranged a car to transfer us to our River boat, the Viking  Skirnir.    It seemed like it had taken a long time from Fort Myers  -- we transferred at Newark before crossing the ocean to Belgium and we were a bit jet-lagged.

But  we arrived at the boat mid-afternoon  Sunday and had the rest of the day to get organized, check out the boat (eat and relax)    -- and  even take a short guided walk in the fresh air.    

 

Chain Bridge (between Buda and Pest) 

 On our brief walk that first day, we saw with our own eyes  that the Danube River divides the two parts of this great  city -- Buda and Pest.  The Boat would be docked here all of the next day and until evening the day after that, so we knew we'd have more time for sightseeing in this beautiful City. 

 

The Skirnr docked in Budapest near the Bridge

(Not a great picture of the boat, but it shows how close we were to the Bridge and town.   Great location for walks -- but in this picture buses like the one at the left were lined up ready to take passengers on the panoramic tour of the  city - the one we took on the second day .)

Back on board that first evening, there was a welcome talk , with a brief overview of what to expect on the voyage.  We would be traveling along three different rivers -- the Danube, the Mine, and the Rhine.   The reason these rivers are relatively easy to navigate is because of the lock system.   Locks work by raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels.  This system  makes a river more easily navigable or allows a canal to take a more direct line across a country that is not level.   

We would be locking through the first of these very soon after the ship set off the next day.

This chart from an on-board book in our cabin  (also sent to us as an E-Book) identifies the twelve  locks through which our ship would pass between Budapest and Passau Germany.   The gray bar represents the elevation at which the ships enter the lock, the red bar the height the ship would rise or lower while in the lock.   In all, during the entire journey on the three rivers our ship would navigate through 68 locks.

 

 

Parliament Buildings on the Danube

The picture above and those following are from the  bus and walking tour we took on the second full day.  This overview tour was included without additional cost -- a feature that was  available at each city where  we docked.   Optional excursions at a cost were also available instead or in addition, depending on the length of each stop.    

Castle Hill

 We walked through narrow streets and shops in Old Town -- many of the buildings dated from medieval times. We visited the Castle Districts and Matthias Church .  We were pleased with the historical overview our guide painlessly provided.  And also that we were given  some time to explore on our own as well.

 

View as the ship left Budapest

This beautiful City was a  grand start to our "Grand European Tour."   

 

LINKING this week to the following, with thanks to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  SAY CHEESE;   TUESDAY TREASURES;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  and FRIDAY  BLISS;   

 

 

 

HOME AGAIN --- with memories!

 

Traveling from the Florida Canal Cottage to Oregon was a bit different this year.  It was an amazing 'detour.'  We're home now and  still sorting out our memories ... and our pictures from the trip.     To get started while I finish that project, here are just a few favorites.  There will be more later.  

 

Budapest

We were on a Viking River Cruise for 15 days -- boarding the boat in Budapest.  The boat docked in a different port almost every day -- we visited twelve cities in four different countries, traveling along three rivers to Amsterdam where we disembarked.     

 

Bill in Ghent 

 

After that, we stayed (all on our own) for two weeks -- spending more time in the Netherlands and adding the countries of Belgium and Luxembourg.  We had a wonderful time -- the whole trip was a triumph for the travel planner (who is pictured above, in Belgium).  

 

With Jacob and Maya at Schonbrunn Palace and also enjoying Sacher Torte in old-town Vienna

Hopping backwards to our time  on the Viking  -- we enjoyed and learned from every one of those twelve stops ... sometimes we went on the   tours the ship offered and sometimes we went out on our own.   The very best guided tour of all though was our own private one during our two-day stop in Vienna.  Here we were met by Jacob and Maya, our European grandson and granddaughter (in-law), who flew to meet us.  It was  wonderful to see them and without doubt we had the best possible tour guides in the world, as Vienna is a familiar city to them. 

 

Castles and colorful villages on the Rhine

One of the best parts of a river cruise is that there are wonderful sights to see almost every minute of daylight.  These rivers aren't wide and the views from our balcony or on the top deck were  amazing.   The pictures in the above collage were taken from the boat on one day's travel --  between Wertheim and Koblenz Germany.

 

Wachau Valley 

 

Every morning of the whole trip, I woke up amazed ... the  boat, the cities, the food, the scenery all really were the stuff of dreams.    But I think even more than anything the  charming views out the window of our room enhanced the dreamlike quality.

This post barely touches the seventeen cities in six countries that we visited, not to mention the scenic points between!   Needless to say, there will be more!   ...   it was a wonderful trip and it is also wonderful to be home!  

 

Back in the USA - Colorado

To get here, we flew from Amsterdam to Colorado where we spent a week with our son and daughter-in-law --mostly decompressing, for which we are enormously grateful.  Then home to Oregon, where our daughter and son-in-law kindly retrieved us from the airport.     Because I always include a picture of the first mountain sighting when we return from low-land Florida -- and since we our trip was about the low  countries of Europe -- Colorado once again has the honors!   The picture is from a walk on the greenbelt near where our family lives.  

 

LINKING this time to:   ALL SEASONS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS ; TUESDAY  TREASURES ; SAY CHEESE;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS   

 

Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

 

 

 

 

FLYING AWAY

 

We're flying away for a while.

 

 

 It's hard to flap your wings and blog at the same time, so .... FullTime-Life will be on vacation for around a month.

 

Thank you for visiting!  See you all when we're grounded again.   Comments (for this post only) are closed.

BABCOCK RANCH TOUR

 

It's getting close to time to leave the Canal Cottage for the season.   So Saturday morning I probably should have been scrubbing stoves or cleaning  refrigerators or one of the million other last-minute things that have to be done to get ready.   But instead I went to Babcock Ranch.

 

 

About eighty percent (0ver 90,000 acres) of this  huge historical ranch is preserved as open space, nature reserves, and agricultural use.  It is owned by the State of Florida and Lee County.    (Part of the ranch was sold to a developer and contains the new planned development city of Babcock Ranch that I have blogged about before.)         We toured several habitats -- open lands, farmland, swamps, and lots of watery spaces.  

 

Barred Owl

Every habitat had its unique plant and animal life.  The above  in one of the swampy areas was my favorite sighting.  The barred owl was a first-time bird for me!   He (or she) was calling its mate -- I wish I'd taken a video to share that distinctive sound.  

 

Great Blue Heron 

 

Some of the (too) many feral hogs and one of  the (few) Florida cracker cows that make their home on the Ranch.   This now-rare breed of cattle was brought here by the Conquistadors.  They are hardy and well-adapted to the Florida climate.   The ranch is still a cattle operation, but according to the tour guide modern methods allow them to raise more familiar breeds nowadays.   (I assume  -- for better or worse -- that means fatter ones.)   They will still breed and raise a few of the Cracker Cows because of the historical value.

Feral hogs cause many problems to farms and parks and they are trapped or hunted.  (They were brought to Florida by DeSoto in 1539; they adapted well, and breed rapidly.  It is estimated there are currently over 500,000 in the State.)

 

 

Snowy Egret

 

 Soft-shelled Turtle

 

Osceola Turkeys 

Limpkin

 

More alligators than I've ever seen in one place -- one area was called Alligator Ridge and I counted over 15 in the water there. 

 

 

This smiling guy soon slithered  into the culvert and the pond. 

 

 

More pictures of the Barred Owl --

just because he was my favorite.

 

Thank you to the hosts of each of the following sharing opportunities, where I'm linking this week:    

NATURE NOTES; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;   ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  SAY CHEESE;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MAGIC ON THE PLANET

 

 

 It is the wet and warm season in Southwest Florida.   Very wet and very warm on an afternoon walk at Six Mile Cypress Preserve last week.

 

 

 The magic of water was much in evidence. 

(And not a lot else.  It was too wet and hot for most birds and most people.)

 

 

So for another kind of magic,  in honor of the day this is being posted, from the archives here are pictures of some of Nature's Mothers:

 

Burrowing Owl Family, Cape Coral Florida

 

 

Wood Stork Family, Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Fort Lauderdale

 

Great Blue Heron feeding baby, Wakodahatchee

 

Eagle Pasture, North Fort Myers 

And from "our very own" Eagle Nest down the street, the beautiful Harriet and two of her eaglets.

 

 

 

And finally:   Florida sky, water, and birding magic, from our  March trip to Ten Thousand Islands.   

 

 

 

 

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

 

 NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  SAY CHEESE;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

 

 

SAME BUT ALWAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT

 It's quiet around home these days as nearly all of our fellow snowbird neighbors have flown North.   It's a good time to get things done.  With friends gone and activities over for the season, there aren't as many tempting interruptions.   And traffic outside of the resort where we live is so much lighter it's faster to get places and faster to accomplish whatever it was that you wanted to do.   The standard joke in this area, where much of the winter population are 'senior citizens,' is that the lines at the pharmacy counter are much shorter when the winter season ends.    

 

Our "street corner" ... the Canal going out to the Caloosahatchie River

We are snowbirds too of course, but our season is slightly different from most others.   This time of year, we pretend we live here year-round.   At my dental checkup the other day, the hygienist said how nice it was "now that they're gone" she has cut 20 minutes off of her commute time.  I just smiled.

 

 

I snapped these flowers and the panorama shot above with my I-phone.  I'm trying to become more familiar with what my smart phone can do.

 

Red-Bellied Woodpecker (top three and lower center).    Northern Flicker, lower left and right.

I don't think I'll ever be able to take pictures of birds with the phone though.   I have enough trouble with the small camera I almost always carry.   This collage shows the Red-bellied Woodpecker that I saw on the ground under a live-oak tree (top three pictures and center bottom)  and two pictures of a Northern (red-shafted) Flicker that I took on the same day.  

I am used to  the red-bellied on trees or poles;  this season for the first time I've seen several foraging on the ground.  I often see Flickers on the ground.  At first glance, their markings are a little bit alike, but it's easy to see the difference when you compare the two.  The Flicker is a larger bird also.  

 

Hibiscis

 

Warning:  The snake phobic may wish to avert eyes while scrolling past the next collage.

 

 

Across the streets from the Canal, homes in our resort back on to wetlands areas that are tropical- jungle-like.   An RVer who stayed awhile had either a whimsical or an evil sense of humor.   They transformed a strangler fig behind  their space into a pretty good replica of a Burmese Python.    It will be interesting to see whether the resort management leaves their artistic endeavors for another season.  That space is for temporary visitors; someone else might not appreciate the view!   

Further warning:  One of these pictures  is not like the others.   The one in the lower left picture is a real (but no longer living) Burmese Python.  Someone had rather unkindly laid it out on a railing at a wildlife viewing spot near the Everglades. (That picture is from last February).    It was a good thing that somebody killed it because these snakes are  invasive and create serious problems in this part of Florida.  I just wished I hadn't almost put my hand on it.

Back to the pretty stuff:

 

 

Skies this week have been interesting.   It continues to rain hard at least for a short while almost every day (usually with lightning).   But  there are also always times when we can go outside.    It never rains all day long.    

The  picture below is from way earlier in the season.  It was forgotten on my phone and found when my practice photo at the top of this post (and about a million others I threw away) were downloaded.   

 

Pink Shell  Beach,  January 2019

An oldie but a goodie!

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

 

NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY;  MACRO MONDAY , THROUGH MY LENS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  SAY CHEESE;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

 

THE WEEK THAT WAS

In the middle of another "cottage improvement" project, so we stayed close to home  this week.   The weather was perfect -- sunshine and warm (but not too warm).    We are grateful.  

 

Another week, another owl ....

because Saturday errands are fun when they include a stop to look at Burrowing Owls.

 

Willets (maybe); Pelicans, and Roseate Spoonbills

On Easter Sunday we enjoyed dinner with friends followed by a drive  through Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge.    Above are some of the birds we spotted.    Too bright and sunny for good pictures, but never too sunny for good memories.   I hadn't realized before that Roseate Spoonbills sometimes stand on just one leg -- like the flamingos some people mistake them for.   

 

Deep Lagoon Restaurant, Fort Myers

The  biggest shrimp in the world garnished our Easter cocktails.    (A fact that pleased some of us more than others!).  We all loved the food that followed and the water view as well as the lovely drive after dinner.

 

 

This Sunday morning we stayed even closer to home.    Squirrels and Red-bellied Woodpeckers were feasting on acorns under the live oak trees at Caloosahatchie Creeks Preserve next door.  The white flower is Bidens Alba, more commonly known as beggar tick or butterfly needles.  It's blooming all over this time of year.  We think of it as a weed, but it is edible and thought to have healing properties.  Here's part of what Wiki tells us:  

Bidens means two- toothed, describing the two projections found at the top of the seeds, and alba refers to the white ray florets.^[2] This plant is found in tropical and subtropical regions of North America, Asia, South America, and Africa,^[3] situated in gardens, road sides, farm fields and disturbed sites.^[4] B. alba is an annual or short-lived perennial, which is considered a weed in the United States.[2] However, B. alba leaves are edible and can be used as medicinal remedies.^[1]

Just think of the errands we wouldn't have to run if only we could skip the trip to the drugstore and just boil up a mess of leaves from the park next door.  (But that sounds like a lot of work ... and besides that,  those errands give us such a good excuse to stop by the owl burrows again.) 

 

LINKING THIS WEEK to the following sharing opportunities:

NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  SAY CHEESE;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

Thank you to all of the hosts!! 

 

 

 

EASTER WEEK near home

 

Frangipani

Happy Easter  from Southwest Florida ....

 

Thursday morning and Thursday night -- from the Screen Porch

 

.... where it feels more like a warm and sunny Fourth of July.

 

Friday from the Screen Porch 

... unless it's pouring down rain.

 

Actually even when it is raining, it feels more like a (very) wet Fourth of July than mid-April.    The hard wind and heavy rain came the day after Thursday's perfect day.     We're used to rain in Oregon, but this was a downpour with lightning and thunder!   Our language needs more words for rain.    

It could have been  much worse, but our portion of Florida was spared this time from the worst of that storm.  North of here -- from Central Florida and up  -- many people were not so fortunate.      

 

Eastern Bluebird

The sun is out again now -- on Saturday morning -- and it is another beautiful warm Summer  Spring Day in SW Florida.    I saw the bluebird of happiness on a morning walk earlier in the week, and I hope she is an omen for the rest of our season here.   

 And from an errand-running day (last Wednesday) a "detour" (the complete opposite of a short-cut),  this dose of super- cute :
 

Burrowing Owls

Using the car as a blind, we took these pictures at two of Cape Coral's famous and protected owl burrows.  This is my favorite owl by far, because these guys keep the same kind of hours we do.  (Unlike most owls, they are not nocturnal).    No baby pictures this time -- these adults were guarding the family homesteads while the little ones stayed below.  ... Maybe another errand day will take us on another "short-cut" at a time when the kids come out to play.  

 

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

 

 NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  SAY CHEESE;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

 

 

 

 

 

 

A WALK AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

 

 

Here's the sun  rising over East Drive  (taken from our street across the Canal  just as I started a morning walk this week.)  Sunrise was at 7:02 a.m., so at least on this day, I did meet my hot-weather goal of getting up and about earlier in the morning. 

 

 

A friend who lives on another block in the Resort grows these orchids.  She has left for the season, but the orchids will live and probably thrive on their own all summer, which is the rainy season here.  

 

 

Quite a few of our fellow snow-birds will buy outdoor potted plants for their yards while they are here during the season.  They're not usually able to take them back "up North" with them, so these neighbors who live here all year will be happy to give them a good home!   

 

 

 

 

The street where the orchids and the sign are ends at a nature trail that leads to the County Nature Preserve next door to the resort.   This sign at the Park's entrance reminds hikers and walkers that the summer season has begun.  (We've had a few good rainstorms already, but the trails are fine -- at least the ones where I walked.)

 

Top left:  Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Center:  Pileated Wooodpecker;  the other three are Red-headed Woodpeckers.

I'm always hunting woodpeckers when I walk this time of year.   I've said before (too many times) that here in SW Florida we don't notice much seasonal change between late Winter and early Spring.   It's hot and the usual Spring flowers don't grow here.   But the birds know.  There are more birds  in the neighborhood and lots of the usual Spring bird activity going on.    

 

 

Here's one more sunrise picture from a few minutes later than the first one.   Just trying to remind myself to get up early more often.  That sun was bright and hot by ten in the morning.  But it's raining (and flooding) in the Pacific Northwest and we're grateful to be here where the rainstorms never last all day and the sunshine almost always does.   

 

 

 

 

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

 NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  SAY CHEESE;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   SIGNS SIGNS;   THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

 

 

 

 

MANATEE PARK 2019

 

Spring flowers, Southwest Florida

 

Close to home nature this week.   We've been busy with end-of-the-season activities here in the RV resort.  (We will be here until the end of May, but most of our snowbird friends will be gone by mid-April. )  I walked Saturday at Manatee Park which is about a 10 minute drive from home.   

 

 

The flowers, the butterfly, and the ground dove below were in the Butterfly Garden at the Park.  The plants are all native to this area.

 

 Ground Dove

 

Manatee 

 

Yes, I was at   Manatee Park, but I actually didn't expect to see any at this time of year. This one was a surprise.   Because the water at this park is warmed by a nearby power plant, these big gentle creatures hang out here in the "cold" weather.    December and January are the best months to see them.  By this time of year, the water in the Caloosahatchie River is warmer and the manatees have mostly disbursed out in the wider waters  (we even glimpse them in our canal occasionally).  There's not much for them to eat in the water at this park, so they usually just stay there until the river warms up.

Manatees are aquatic mammals whose closest relative is the elephant.  They are vegetarians, subsisting on water plants.  It's really hard to get a good picture of them, because they don't emerge from the water much.  Just occasionally to take a quick breath (and to eat green stuff where there is any).  

 

 

The Peace Pillar was erected to honor  Manatee Park volunteers .   I like the message so much and always walk this path when I'm here.  This is a collage I lifted from a previous year's post.  

 

 

There weren't many people at the Park (in the Winter, it gets really busy) but there was another kind of noise (and another interesting thing to observe).  A crew was replacing the  roof on the Chickee Hut, a well-recognized  feature of the park.  It's a replica of the kind of huts the Seminole Indians used.  It has a a raised floor, open sides and a thatched roof made from palm fronds.   One of the workers told me that the roof needed to be re-thatched every six or seven years.  This year they are also repairing the inside and the wooden part of the structure.

 

 

 

 This picture (also copied from a previous post) shows what the hut looks like in its finished state.  I don't know why I did it in black and white back then (and I couldn't find the original.)

 

 

I drove a few miles down the road to Hickey Creek Park to walk a little more.   I was the only person walking the trails here and I enjoyed the peace and the blue skies.  I'd gotten too late a start though and the heat and humidity kept it to a short walk (and there were no birds or animals about at all -- they were too smart to be out in the mid-day sun).   I need to start getting around earlier this time of year.

 

 

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

 

NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS;    MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  SAY CHEESE;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   SIGNS SIGNS;   THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

 

 

TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS

 

Four couples of us towed our boats to Everglades City last week for our Spring overnight boating excursion.   We docked our boats and then used two of them to explore the waters.  (EC is only a little over an hour away by road, but it would have  been at least one overnight stop before we arrived at our destination if we had traveled all the way by boat.)  

Everglades City is at the edge of the Ten Thousand Islands, a chain of mangrove islets off the SW Florida coast.   And exploring at least part of this area was the goal for this trip.  We were grateful for good GPS and charts.  There are so many islets and they look so much alike it would be very easy to get turned around.   

 

 

I am pretty sure I'm right this time about these being terns.  (Again, thank you to all who corrected my bad-pun mistake last week when I mis-named a laughing gull.)   I think these are Royal Terns, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.  This is a highly cropped picture of a sandbar islet we passed.

 

There were Ospreys on most of the markers we passed.  Many with babies at various stages.  This part of the Ten Thousand Islands is  part of Everglades National Park.  

 

 

 

We beached our boat on this small sandbar.  It was the first time we've anchored our boat.   (But we couldn't get off because none of us wanted to jump off the front.  The water in back (where our boarding platform is) was about 7 feet deep -- we didn't want to swim or wade either!)

 

The largest of the Islands is Chokoloskee, which is connected to Everglades City by a causeway.   It is the only one that is currently inhabited (by about 400 hardy souls).  We had  an early dinner one day at the Havana Cafe there.  Tables on the screened porch were surrounded by orchids and other tropical plants.

 

We stayed at an RV Resort that has dock space available for boaters.   The picture on the top left is our boat and one of the others from our group taken from the restaurant across the channel and the other picture is vice-versa (the restaurant taken from our dock.)    We walked to this restaurant on one day of our stay.

 

 

Companionable friends, birds, good food,  and beautiful scenery (some that we could only see from the water)  ... the recipe for another good boating excursion. 

 

LINKING this week to the following:   Thank you to the hosts.   (Last week the new INLinx tool did not work for me for the first couple of days.   On Wednesday when I tried for the fourth time, it suddenly worked again.  Fingers crossed that it decides this week to let me in from the first of the week!)

 NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS;  THROUGH MY LENS;  MOSAIC MONDAY;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  SAY CHEESE;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   SIGNS SIGNS;   THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

 

 

 

ALIVE AND WELL

Back in the day, when I was under the mistaken impression that I was indispensable, a  head cold would barely slow  me down.   I'd throw down the cough syrup and go on with life.

Now that I am retired and know better,  I took full advantage of the first "sick days" I've had in quite a while.    I was so busy languishing last week that I couldn't even blog.    I can't imagine how I ever went to work and took care of our family under those sniffly circumstances.   

 

Sunrise  -- taken from our screen porch 
 

It might have something to do with the fact that I was younger back then, do you think?  I'll tell you what, though,  that languishing stuff got old pretty fast!   Glad to be back among the non-sneezy, and almost-non-coughing, living.  And even more grateful than ever for generally good health and beautiful weather.      Sometimes it takes a reminder.  

 

Mid-day on the  River. 

 

I stayed in the house for over a week!  Unheard of for me.    But by this past  Thursday I was well enough to go to the monthly lunch with the boat club.

March Full Moon.  Also from our screen porch. 

We've had beautiful weather ... morning, noon, and night ... and sick or well  we are thankful for it!   The rest of the pictures are from the archives, because that one short boat ride is the only place we've been other than the screen porch lately!  

 

"Tern"  right at Marker #19

(But it’s not a tern, it’s a Laughing Gull.  Thanks to those who let me know.  Even if it ruined my pun )). 

 

 

A stop at the Farm Market a week ago last Monday, just before I got sick.   Fresh food was good medicine.

 

Something to think about from Kissimmee Prairie

 

 

Cattle egrets in breeding plumage and White Pelican (oddly nowhere near the water) at Taylor Creek, a roadside stop on the way to Kissimmee Prairie.  

 

LINKING THIS WEEK to the following:  Thank you to the hosts.

 NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS;  THROUGH MY LENS;  MOSAIC MONDAY;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  SAY CHEESE;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   SIGNS SIGNS;   THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

 

 

KISSIMMEE PRAIRIE PRESERVE

 

 

Florida really does have excellent State Parks and on our quest to  visit and enjoy as many of them as feasible, we took a long day trip last week to Kissimmee Prairie Preserve in Okeechobee County.    The Park's guide tells us that this Preserve protects the largest remaining expanse of Florida dry prairie, an ecosystem found only in south and central Florida.

 

 

On arrival at the Park headquarters, we were greeted by this lovely Eastern Meadowlark.     I don't remember having seen this bird, although we do see it's Western cousin occasionally in our travels.

 

 

 We saw the bird, we got the picture -- and we heard the concert!   It sang it's heart out for us.  What a nice welcome.

 

 

This ecosystem has huge flat open views of grasses and saw palmetto -- and big sky!   The grass is kept mostly at knee-high by frequent growing-season fires (now sometimes planned burns) and by the rainy wet season (summer).   This provides the best habitat for plants and wildlife.  Native species include white-tail deer and way more  birds than I was able to get photos of.   The preserve is home to the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow, which is highly endangered.   We saw a lot of flitting little brown birds, but without an expert guide  I have no idea which ones they were.    Beautiful butterflies too. 

There are over a hundred miles of trails in this remote park.  On the one we  walked, we met nobody else at all except one volunteer who was off- loading boards to finish a trail bridge over a spot that floods in the rainy season.   The quiet was one of the best parts of the walk.   

 

 

The remote location and the flat prairie terrain make Kissimmee Prairie a perfect place for star-gazing.  (This information is sadly not known from personal experience, since the 150 miles we drove to get there precluded any chance of staying until after dark.    And our camper van is waiting for us in Oregon.)    It would be fun to say we'd camped in the Red Light District!  And (seriously)  great to observe the sky without any light pollution.  And of course to have more time to walk those trails and learn more about the birds.

 

 

So  Kissimmee Prairie Preserve definitely  belongs on our 'hope we get to visit again' list.    But also on our 'so grateful we were able to get there this time and we loved it'  list.   As we drove toward home, we continued to enjoy the very different scenery and ecosystem.  And even some wildlife, like this turkey vulture.  Black vultures are quite common around here, but we hardly ever see these red-headed ones.   

 

image from WRMI website

Outside the small town of Okeechobee we stopped to look at a huge installation of antennas and radio receivers with one just small sign identifying the area as WRMI (website here.)   We looked it up and learned that this station is a large short-wave radio station broadcasting and relaying signals to Cuba (which was its primary focus originally) and many other countries in Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.   I wish I'd thought to snap our  own picture ... the one above is from the station's website.    It was quite impressive to see this  array of antennas almost literally in the middle of nowhere.   (And we talked about how interesting it is these days to have an encyclopedia in our pocket all the time.  Back in the day, this would have been information we'd have forgotten to look up by the time we were able to do so.)

 

 

 The sun began to set as we got closer to home and the first photo-op  stop we found was next to an orange grove with blossoms still on the trees.   A feast for the senses -- the perfume of the  blossoms and the color of the nearly ripe oranges echoing the sunset.  

 

 

The end of another beautiful day.

 

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

 NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS;  THROUGH MY LENS;  MOSAIC MONDAY;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  SAY CHEESE;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   SIGNS SIGNS;   THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

 

WARMTH AND SUNSHINE CLOSE TO HOME

We stayed close to home this week, working on home improvement projects and planning future trips.  (To be honest, that was pretty much the other half of the 'we'.)  I was happy to be here 'just in case of need'  and  even without that excuse, sometimes it's good just to stay home.   It was definitely a good week to be in SW Florida.   Our Oregon families were braving the 'snowmageddon' -- (you may have seen or read about the Amtrak train that was stuck in the unexpected Oregon snow.  That happened near a small town in Lane County where we live  -- east of Eugene and  in the Mountains.)  But even on the valley floor, where most of our family lives, there was  a snow accumulation almost unheard of in that part of the State.  And our Colorado family, although more used to the snow, did get home from their visit here  to more snow and icy conditions.    And here we are in the sunshine.    

So our weather alone is a lot to be grateful for, but, as the ad slogan goes  "wait, there's more!"  Here in this area, there  is so much beauty around us every day, even without venturing far from home.

  

 

We don't have the usual early Spring flowers here (because it's too hot) but we have air plants.   I snapped these beauties on Monday morning in the backyard of my yoga teacher's home.  (She has a studio there.)  I used the view of that tree through the studio window  as my balance focus.  After class, I walked outside and took some pictures.  (It was actually a good way to transition before driving.  The last thing this and every Yoga class does is a few minutes of total relaxation and sometimes it takes me a few moments to come back to the real world.)   

 

 

 I  did go out of our resort a couple of other times for routine errands and  grocery shopping.   And almost directly across from the supermarket is our now world-famous SW Florida Eagle Nest.   Here's the pasture on a beautiful blue sky afternoon.   (This was on  the same day, by the way, that we'd received several text pictures of backyards in Oregon that we know and love showing the over seven inches of snow that they all woke up to that morning.)  I almost felt guilty.  Almost.  

 

 

 

 This picture is from a different day  when I stopped by.  It was fairly early  and the light was terrible that morning.   But the eaglets were active and fun to watch.  It's getting  close to the time when they'll leave home ... one of them has already flown to the branches above the nest but on this day they were just busy hopping on the edge of the nest and exercising their wings.

 

 

This is the same day as the first sky picture above -- it was afternoon, the light was great, but the 'twins' were just sitting there probably waiting for mom or dad to bring home their dinner.  (About the only action was a couple of plaintive cries.)   I would have liked to see the parent fly in with food, but my real purpose for being in the neighborhood that day was to get to the people food across the street at the supermarket.    I didn't want to be making plaintive hunger cries myself.  

 

 

 This one's not my picture, but it was posted on our resort's community Facebook page with an invitation to 'feel free to steal'.  I saw these Sandhill Cranes on the edge of the park while I was driving out one day, but couldn't stop at the time.   It is probably the same pair that we've seen here every Spring.  But particularly notable this season, because the golf course area where they've always hung out before is completely torn up this year.   (The resort's owner is adding more sites and there is really only a very small lawn area left, plus lots of construction equipment and noise.)  I assume the Sandhill pair was surprised to find that out and hope that they'll find a better place, but it was fun to see them.

 

Meanwhile, back at the Eagle pasture, these horses couldn't have cared less about the birds or the people on their way to grocery shop .  They were busy eating their own dinner.

#

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities.  Thank you to the hosts and to visitors, especially all who leave a comment.  

 

NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS;  MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; SAY CHEESE; WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

WE HAD VISITORS!

 

 It was a great week at the Canal Cottage.

 

 Super Snow Moon.

 

Skies were clear early in the week and the  super moon was beautiful.  It  seemed like a good omen as we had our fingers crossed for good weather because our son and daughter-in-law were arriving mid-week for a visit!     

 

 Although there was a heavy 'shower' the evening after they arrived, weather the next day was perfect for a boat trip to lunch.   I told Geoff that he made a better first-mate than I do.  (I think the Captain agreed.)

The next day Geoff  wanted to see alligators.

 

The Alligator Hunter

 

We knew how to oblige.  We drove to Big Cypress Swamp Preserve, near the Everglades, where we always find them.

 

 

Here is one of at least two dozen that we saw.   These were the first alligators of this season for us as well.    

 

 

Lisa wanted to see birds  and we thought they would be as easy to see as the gators at Big Cypress, but it was hot by the time we got there, so there wasn't much activity.

 

Black-Crowned Night Heron 

This was my best bird shot.  We also spotted Anhingas, Cormorants, Great Blue Herons,  Great Egrets, and  Black Vultures.  And turtles.

 

Swamp Plants

There was quite a bit of water in the swamp ...  and a lot more humidity than people from Colorado are used to!    The pictures on each corner are plants growing under water. 

 

Full view of the Night Heron

We saw more birds on our way to brunch on Sunday morning --  Wood Storks, Ibis, and a Hawk in addition to more egrets and herons -- as well as several cute baby alligators    -- but there was food to eat and a plane for our guests to catch later, so I didn't take pictures.  The important thing was that they got to see them.

 

 It's always fun to share favorite places with favorite people!  We're so glad they came. 

 

 

 SHARING as well with the bloggers at the following linking opportunities.  Thank you to all of the hosts.  

 

NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS;  MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; SAYCHEESE;   WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

 

 

 

I Heart BUNCHE BEACH

 

I love Bunche Beach ....

 

.... and Bill for going there with me on Valentine's Day.   Especially because he would rather walk on boardwalks than on sand.    I'm not a Beach person either, in the way that many Florida natives and snowbirds are -- neither of us enjoy lazing about on the beach, getting a tourist sunburn.    But unlike my significant other (of over 60 years),  I do love a quiet beach where I can walk for miles (or yards), occasionally dipping my toes in the water.    

 

 

And it's even more perfect when I find birds!   This is a Reddish Egret.   They are fun to watch because in addition to being beautiful, they put on a great show,   kind of dancing in the shallow water to stir up prey.     

 

 

This season, Little Blue Herons seem to be the bird that shows up everywhere we go.   That's OK with me -- I am happy observing birds no matter how often I've seen them.  And it's nice when they pose prettily with their reflection. 

 

 

A couple of pictures to show size perspective.   On top,  brown pelican  with terns.   I can't ever get over thinking it looks as if the big gawky pelicans are watching over the smaller birds .... but really, I'm sure it was just a good resting spot.    The lower picture is a Little Blue Heron and a Reddish Egret ignoring each other. 

 

It was a perfect Valentine's Day (at least in my opinion!).

 

A couple of catch-up thank-yous  from earlier posts:   Last week, I asked if anyone could identify these edible red pods that were for sale at the Immokalee Farm Market.  Denise of An English Girl Rambles did the research I should have done and identified them as Guaje Seed Pods.  

 

Guaje Seed Pods 

 Click here to go to the link that Denise provided.  The plant is native to Oaxaca Mexico and its seeds can be eaten raw or used in cooking.  If you go to the link, you will see that the pods are  identical to the ones in the picture.     Thank you again Denise (and if we go to Immokalee again when Guaje Seeds are still in season, I will try them and let everyone know how they taste. 

 

 This bird was one of those we saw on a rainy-day drive a few weeks ago.  I thought maybe it was some type of sandpiper  but learned from several comments that it was a Yellowlegs (either Greater or Lesser).  I hope I see one of these guys again soon, so I can identify it on my own and then it will count as a first-time bird!    Thanks to Phil of Another Bird Blog and Anne of Creative Cornucopia    for pointing me in the right direction.  

Thank you to everyone who reads these posts, especially to those who take the time to comment.   And as always thanks to the hosts of the sharing sites that make it so much easier to connect.

NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS;  MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  SAY CHEESE; WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

 

FLORIDA FEBRUARY

 

I read our hometown Oregon paper on line every morning.  This weekend,  it has been somewhat disorienting to see front-page  pictures of the record-breaking Pacific Northwest snowstorm just after returning from a  walk in 65 degree weather.     We're thankful to be here in SW Florida and feeling sympathy for family in the middle of that real winter.  (People in the PNW are really not used to that kind of weather.  Usually it just rains.) 

 

February morning near home 

 

My weekend walk here in SW Florida was in  sixty-five degree sunshine at 7:30 in the morning.    The days get  warmer.... but so far we haven't needed the dreaded A/C except on days when we're away from home all day.  When we're home (or around the neighborhood) our doors are open onto the screen porch and  the ceiling fans are at work all day.    

 

 Red-bellied woodpecker and  mockingbird

 

By the end of next month, when early morning temperatures start at 75 F,  air-conditioning will be something to be grateful for.  For now we're happy to let natural  breezes cool things down.

 

 

Palmetto fans.  

 

All of the above pictures were taken on a morning walk on the Live Oak Trail, Caloosahatchie Nature Preserve.  The preserve is  next door to the resort where we live and there's a path between so it's not necessary to be out on the street.    This whole walk, from our house and back was only a mile and a half.   There are longer trails within the preserve, but this was before breakfast and so I took the shorter trail.  (I get hungry.)

 

Earlier in the week we drove with friends to Everglades City.   We made a short stop at the farm and market town of Immokalee.   

 

 

This is one of one of my favorite produce stands.  Visiting Immokalee is kind of like taking a short trip to another country; I love that we can have this experience slightly less than an hour from home.    Most restaurants and some smaller groceries and markets in the Fort Myers area buy their produce from vendors here, but almost all of the stands will also sell smaller quantities to individuals.  It's a good way to purchase favorites and also to try new and unfamiliar fruits and vegetables.   (But a little too far to go for regular weekly shopping).  

We didn't buy much this time, because we were going to walk around at our final destination and it was kind of warm to leave big boxes of fruit and vegetables in the car.   

 

 

I thought these bundles were such a pretty color.     I asked the lady at this stall what you do with this pod... she said you eat the seeds.  She told me the name too, but I can't remember it.    Does anybody know?   (I might want to try this next time we visit.)

 

 

We went to Everglades City to check out a Marina Resort  there as a base for a possible future boat excursion.    And to enjoy the company and the scenery -- and of course to find a good restaurant!   I didn't take a single picture.   The entrance to the National Park is about 90 miles from our house, so it's a doable day-trip.  But it is a huge Park and  such a short visit doesn't allow much time for nature photography.   Staying overnight is always better!    This photo of the River of Grass (the everglades) is from an earlier trip.  

 

LINKING this week to these sharing opportunities:   NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; SAY CHEESE; WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;  SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING

Thank you to the hosts!

 

 

SIX MILE CYPRESS SLOUGH end of January

   The Florida winter weather we know and love is back and we had a great day for a walk at Six-Mile Cypress Slough Preserve.

 

 

  I'm not sure how it's possible that it took almost two months before we found time for our first visit of the season.       

 

 

 I'm grateful to those who preserved this area for all to use.    It's perfect for a close-to-home walk -- just a short visit,  but  part of one of life's great adventures.     

  

 

The turtles seemed in awe of the Great Blue Heron, who is King of the Raft.   The Cormorant must be the court jester.

 

 

 

 The Downy Woodpecker was just one of several flitting though the brush.  Lots of small perching birds too.  Too flitty for my camera skills, but fun to see and identify.

 

 

White Ibis posing as a tree-top ornament.   Ibis are very common around here, even in developed areas.  But they look so much better in natural surroundings.

 

 

Another Great Blue, making a huge racket.  There were quite a few people on the Boardwalk, but it was really nice because on this day everyone seemed  happy to quietly enjoy nature.   You could hear birds singing (and squalling) and very little human noise.

 

 

Something to see everywhere.  We looked up, we looked out, and didn't forget to look down....  When we did we saw this  baby Cottonmouth enjoying the sunshine.  And getting ready to shed his first skin.  (We were safe on the Boardwalk above it, but in any case he was paying no attention.) 

 

 

Six-Mile is one of our most familiar walks, but there is always something different.  This time, it was evident that our weather has been rainier than usual.   Parts of the preserve that are usually dry or almost dry during the winter  were more like lakes on this day.  This must be more like the way  the Slough looks during the summer, which is Florida's wet season.   

 

Linking this week to the following sharing opportunities.  Thank you to the generous hosts.

 

 

 NATURE NOTES;   ALL SEASONS;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;    SAY CHEESE ;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   SIGNS SIGNS;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;  SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

 

A RAINY WEEK in FLORIDA

It's raining in Southwest Florida and it feels chilly.  I wouldn't dare say it was cold because in comparison to much of the rest of the country it really isn't.    We are only catching the very tail end of this widespread cold front.   

 

Morning on the Canal from the back porch -- early in the week,  before the rains hit.

 

But not too surprisingly, ten winters in Florida mean our bodies are used to subtropical Winter temperatures  -- when we first moved here, we laughed  (to ourselves) when people complained about 40 degree nights and 65 degree winter days.  We have now officially joined the crowd.  I'm grateful to live where we can go outside to play almost all Winter.     

 

 

Pictures from a quick stop on a cloudy day at  our local eagle's nest.  There are two one-month old eaglets in the nest and as every year for the last 7,  the property owners have set up a nest cam.  (It is here.)   The fallen snag which is a few yards from the nest tree was full of little black birds making a huge racket.   A few of them were perched on the same tree as Harriet (or maybe it is her mate -- I can never tell them apart).  The Eagles do eat smaller birds sometimes, but I guess the blackbirds weren't worried.  

I thought the pictures above would be it for this week, because it has been so wet out.  But today (Sunday) we decided to go for a drive in spite of the pouring rain.  The car made a great blind for  drive-by birding.

 

Red-shouldered hawk

 

Little blue heron

 

Wood Stork

 

Sandpiper (?) 

Corrected:  Yellowlegs 

 

Wood storks through the car window

 The wood storks like it when the ditches flood  -- it's easy for them to find prey.    

 

All of these birds (and more) were just along the roadside as we drove, but our actual  destination was to check the progress at Babcock Ranch, a planned town that is being built near us.  It is billed as America's first solar powered town.  Here's a link to their website.  It really does seem like the developers know what they're doing.

The pictures on the left are from the solar panel field that supplies their power.  The Ranch's nature trail is open to the public and when the weather improves walking it is definitely on the must-do list.    

Our Sunday drive made this rainy day more fun  --  it was a good week and a good start to the next one (and the weather IS supposed to improve soon).   

 

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

 

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

 

 

DING DARLING NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is located near the entrance of  Sanibel Island, about 25 miles from our Florida home.   It's a national treasure, like all our National Parks and Wildlife Refuges.

 

Roseate Spoonbills with a  White Ibis or two hanging around with them

During this time of  the government shutdown (one more part of our current National embarrassment), this particular refuge is being kept open (so far at least) by volunteers from the Ding Darling Wildlife Foundation.    We took the wildlife drive through the center of the refuge one evening last week.  It's a one-way drive-through with lots of pull-outs for birding;  we got out of the car at every one of them.  

 

 

 Little Blue Heron

 

The picture at the top was the crowning glory of this particular birding excursion.  I could not stop smiling at that big group of Spoonbills  with their beautiful pink wings and pink reflections.   But all of the birds along the way were great.   The picture above and those below are in the order we spotted them.   The Little Blue came out of the mangroves as we got out of the car at the  first stop and headed for the water. 

 

White Pelicans 

 

It was good to see quite a few White Pelicans.  Both the white and brown ones were in possible danger earlier in the year (last summer, before we got here) because of  SW Florida's red tide and green algae bloom.  Both caused fish die-off and fish, of course, are the diet for these water birds.  

 

 

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Two views of the same Night Heron perching in the mangroves -- maybe just waking up for a busy night ahead.  

 

 

Night Herons roost during the day.  At night they forage in shallow ponds and marshes.  I wasn't as close to this bird as the pictures look.  Zoom lenses are so much fun.

 

 

A pair of Wood Storks across the water.  We also saw a lot of small shorebirds at this stop, but they were too far away  for good pictures, even with that lens.  (Storks are big birds -- about 40 inches long)

 

 

Our last and most exciting stop was where we saw the group of Roseate Spoonbills also shown in the first picture.  This is the non-zoomed view -- so, the way we first spotted them.  We have never seen so many Spoonbills at once.  Usually they are solitary or in groups of two or three, at least when we see them.   

 

 

Meanwhile, back home in the Canal Cottage, skies are almost always beautiful.   And we've pretty much finished the nagging little first-of-the-season home improvement tasks -- so there is even more time to enjoy them.  Always grateful.  

 

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

 

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

MORE FROM MT DORA

Here are some non-Christmasy scenes from our December trip to Mt Dora in Central Florida.  (Mt Dora Christmas post is  here.)

 

 

We had a great Holiday brunch at Lakeside Inn.  Built in 1883, it is the oldest continuously operating hotel in the State of Florida.  The grounds extend to Lake Dora and it is easy to imagine yourself back in that year strolling under the live oak trees, dripping with moss.

 

 

 

There is documented history of a number of well-known people who stayed at the Hotel over the years, mostly coming for the fishing and also (I'm guessing) for the winter sunshine.  Rumor also has it that Al Capone was staying here incognito on the day of the Valentine's Day Massacre.    I wouldn't be too surprised to learn that there are other places who lay claim to this dubious honor.

 

Great Egret

In Florida there are always opportunities for casual birding.   We found these birds at the dock while we waited to board either the boat or the tram for our Christmas lights tour.

 

Common Gallinule  (Moor Hen)

 

We did a little downtown window shopping one morning on our way to find some breakfast.  And all I brought back was the photo souvenir below.   

I'm sure our "climb" will impress family and friends from the mountainous states of Colorado and Oregon.  Sadly, I neglected to get a picture of the view from the top.  

 

 

 

OK,  you can stop laughing.   The "Mount" referred to in the town's name  actually came from the fact that the town is built on a plateau 184 feet about sea level.   Florida is really a flat state.   

 

 

Comical birds in Mt Dora.   The black vultures on the rooftop were not at all intimidated by the fake owl placed there to deter them.   And the Great Egret, who really doesn't belong downtown, was pretty funny as he seemed to look both ways before crossing this street as if he owned it.   

 

 

 Ending with another beautiful  sunset on the Lake.

 

 

We had a good time visiting Mt Dora.  We went because the travel planner (Bill) had read about the Christmas light display and it really was amazing.  And in addition to glorious holiday displays,  it really was a great little town with lots to do and see --  I'm sure it would be charming in any season.    

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW YEARS AT THE BEACH

 

We've been retired for about a hundred years and I've almost forgotten that let-down feeling of "after the holidays" because every day is sort of a vacation, especially here in Florida.   But this year we got back to a few little snags at the Canal Cottage  -- each one fixable,  each one time-consuming -- especially for the other person in this small household.  I just kind of wait around to help on an as-needed basis.  But it  feels like back to work after a couple of lovely Holiday getaways.     I'm grateful we had the time off together and with friends and I'm especially grateful that we don't have to call for repair-persons to fix said snags.    I'm also glad to have taken lots of pictures on our outings because home repairs don't make for good blogging material.

 

Pink Shell Beach December 31

The last sunset of 2018.   It would be a better post if I'd gotten up early enough the next morning to see the first sunrise of the New Year.  But  the gently rocking boat is conducive to  sleeping late.   That and we did actually stay up to welcome in the New Year.  There were fireworks on Fort Myers Beach at midnight!  I did not take pictures of those either.

 

Great Egret

The birds on the beach at nearby Bowdich Point were the usual suspects, but that doesn't make them less interesting to watch.

 

Snowy Egret

 

Is he investigating this beach-goers belongings?  Or maybe he just wishes they weren't there in his way to wherever he's going.  (The beach was surprisingly uncrowded and there were acres of empty sand.  So I think he was just curious.)

 

 

Snowy Egrets are also known as 'Yellow Slippers' and this one is apparently shaking the sand off of his.

 

 

 Little Blue Heron

 

This heron was actually sharing space with us at the Pink Shell Boat dock.  We saw him every morning patrolling the shallows opposite from where we were tied up.

 

 

 Sandy scenes from a  walk along the beach  and some more of that fabulous sunset.   I always enjoy seeing the Florida version of a snowman (sand-man?).  I thought the beach grass hair was a cute touch.  

 

 How we got to Pink Shell Resort  for our New Year getaway.

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities.  With thanks to the hosts.  

 

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

HAPPY NEW YEAR

  

Time for some Holiday sparkle!

 

Christmas Lights reflected on Lake Dora, Florida

 

Time to reflect on the past year ....

 

 

... and ring in the new one.

 

 

Mt. Dora City Park

 

Time to imagine  lifting a lighted glass in a champagne toast to the New Year.

(and perhaps to enjoy a real glass or two!)

 

Sunset on Lake Dora

Time to appreciate nature's beautiful light -- variations of which are available every day of the year,

even after all the Holiday sparkle is gone.

 

 

And (I can't resist) time to say a last goodbye to the Christmas Season

(Dancing Christmas Tree in Mt Dora town square.)

***

Thank you to these linky hosts:

ALL SEASONS; GOOD  RANDOM  FUN; MACRO MONDAY,  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  TUESDAY TREASURES ; THROUGH MY LENS;  SAY CHEESE; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;   TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and  FRIDAY  BLISS    

 

 

SEASONS GREETINGS

 

 

 

Wishing you a Joyful Holiday Season ...

 

 

...  And light even when the days are dark.

 

 

Celebrate the Season, wherever you may be...

 

 

... and be grateful at the end of each beautiful day.

 

##

 

THANK YOU to the hosts of  the following sharing opportunities where I'm linking this week:   NATURE NOTES; ALL SEASONS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS;  Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  and FRIDAY  BLISS

FLYING CREATURES

 

 

 

We joined the flying people at the Eugene Airport this year, so we've been in Florida for almost two weeks now.   Our flight day was loooong .... and crowded.  I wish I could say we had as much fun as these people in our airport's iconic photo montage panels.  We didn't -- but we're here and although we're still in the process of getting re-oriented and re-organized, we're getting there.   We even had time last week for a short nature hike.

 

Roseate Spoonbill

We are more than happy to be grounded for awhile, but it was good to see some of of our favorite Florida  creatures for whom flight comes more easily.

 

 

It was already quite dry at Wild Turkey Strand Preserve.  (Winter is the dry seasons in Florida.)  So several species of  birds were congregated around the little bit of water remaining.  They were quite far away and the wind was blowing which made photography  difficult.  But it was great to be out walking.

Meanwhile, back at the Canal Cottage ... while we're getting the house into shape for the season, we have had some entertainment outside our door.  

 

 

This Marine Company has been repairing seawall damage caused by Hurricane Irma  (yeah, the one that happened a year ago last September -- we call it Florida time).  The project started before we left last season and was only completed last week.    So the company could finally move their equipment somewhere else and one morning this tugboat pulled the work barge loaded with heavy equipment right past our house.   It's not the usual Canal sighting.

 

 

The men obviously knew what they were doing and mostly stayed in the middle.  But the canal isn't real wide and I was  glad we hadn't put our boat in the water yet.  The man on the barge had to use his pole a couple of times, to push out away from some of them that were docked.

 

 

So the Canal is back to normal now and we are glad to be living on it for the season.    We look forward to more beautiful days here in the land of Winter sunshine.  

 

 

LINKING THIS WEEK to the following sharing opportunities.  Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

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

 

 

 

AND WE'RE OFF AGAIN

 

Santiam River

We took a drive on Oregon's Over the Rivers and Through the Woods Scenic Byway one day last week.   But it is Oregon and the rainy season is here --  so we only looked at all that scenery through the car window.  But even on a rainy day, it is a beautiful drive.    Here is a link to an article about the route -- one we'd like to drive again -- next summer!

 

McKenzie River Highway 

Even on the rainiest days in this part of Oregon, it seems like the sun always comes out for  about half an hour or so   -- the only trouble is that it usually happens  just before it is time for it to set.  It's like the sun's last gasp -- as though it has been trying all day to come out to play and finally made it just before time to go to sleep.   

So it's about time for these snowbirds to head for sunnier climes  for a while -- someplace where the sun shines for more than a few minutes a day.

 

Where we're heading

Taking a short break  but back soon, blogging from a different state!  

 

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

 NATURE NOTES; ALL SEASONS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; MOSAIC MONDAY;    THROUGH MY LENS;  ;  Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   and FRIDAY  BLISS

 

 

LEFTOVERS --- AND MORE

 

 

We had two wonderful family Thanksgiving  celebrations.    (Not on the same day -- one was an early celebration to include family who wouldn't be here on the actual date).   And   I  took no pictures at all .   Because it is hard to eat and talk and enjoy the great company and still remember that I even own a camera.   This is the only Thanksgiving picture -- November's  full moon when we returned home after last Thursday's feast.  (We were full too!).

 

 

Wild Turkeys 

What better week for some leftover turkey(s)?   They thrive around here -- each of these pictures were taken (not on Thanksgiving Day) near where our son-in-law and daughter live.  

 

 

Canada Geese
 

The Canada Goose is another wild bird that loves living in this part of Oregon (most of them don't even migrate). These are contemplating going for a swim along the walking path near us.   All the turkeys and geese  are from the season's archives.  Because I took almost no pictures last week, this post was going to be all leftovers.  But then ... 

 

 

Common (red-shafted) Flicker

... as I sat at the desk this morning, I spotted this outside the sliding glass door.  The Flicker was right outside near our patio, but by the time I found shoes and camera, of course he had flown.  But once outside, I spotted him at the playground here in our complex.   It took awhile to get this picture though.

  

Oregon Junco and Red-shafted Flicker

He was a very busy flicker -- there must be lots of tasty insects hiding in that pile of leaves!  There were a lot of Juncos and other birds flying around to distract me as I waited for the flicker to lift his head.     I didn't think it was too chilly outside, but I am glad the neighborhood children all apparently thought so.  The playground area was empty, except for the birds (and me).

 

 

Yet another distraction.

 

Sharing leftovers and  new offerings with the following:  Thank you to all of the hosts.

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

 

 

 

GIVING THANKS

Mid-November in Eugene 

The trees are a little barer, the leaves are a little browner ....

but we still have some blue sky days  .. 

 

 

 and we still have some color.

 

 

We have new surroundings and each day brings surprises.  Last week, robins were everywhere we looked.   Maybe they think it is Spring again.  

     

 

I share the walking trails with a variety of flora and fauna. 

 

 

We are grateful for so much.

Thanksgiving Week and always.

    

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough and more.

It turns denial into acceptance,

Chaos to order, confusion to clarity.

It can turn a meal into a feast, 

A house into a home,

A stranger into a friend.

Gratitude makes sense of our past,

Brings peace for today,

And creates a vision for tomorrow. 

 

​​​John O’Donohue

 

 Linking  to the following sharing opportunities.  I'm thankful for the hosts.

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

 

SCENE AROUND HOME

  

We are still getting organized in our new Eugene home.  It does already feel like home  except for the kitchen, where everything seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  There's a lot of storage space, just not where I want it. But we're getting there.  (And by that, I mean that Bill is  installing shelving where it is needed.)  

 

 

So we are busy -- but there is always  time to walk ... and there are many nearby choices.  None  are in the wrong place and it is never the wrong time!    

 

Canada Geese, Mallard Ducks, and some white geese which I think are tame ones that have gone wild (or the escapees' descendants).    

 

All of the pictures in this post were taken along the Willamette River behind Valley River Center, the largest  shopping mall in Eugene.  I had an errand to do in the mall, but had a lot more fun walking the river path after I had accomplished that task.    The mall is about a mile and a half from where we live now -- walking distance (but I drove this time and parked next to the walking path.)    

 

Scrub Jay

One of the best parts of Eugene is the easy access to natural areas.   I don't think everybody in this area even realizes how fortunate we are here.  We  visited a lot of shopping areas in our RV travels and I don't think I ever saw any others with these nearby views and walking paths.

 

 

 

The pictures were taken this weekend.   Almost the middle of November and we still have blue sky and sunshine.   As long as you get outside between 10 and 4.   We've had freezes at night and fog in the early mornings.  Bud mid-days are still beautiful.

 

 

 

The walk/bike bridge crosses the Willamette from  Valley River to the parkway opposite, and from there is a couple miles walk to downtown Eugene, where we lived before this move.  So we aren't too far from where we were when we lived right downtown, but everything about it is different.  

It's good to get outside and enjoy the beautiful Autumn days -- and we'll get organized indoors eventually (probably around the time we are ready to head for Florida)....  it will all come together ... and after all, in the meantime ...

 

All you need is .... 

 

 

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

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

 

WE MOVED!

     

  

 

We moved last week.  Not across the country to our winter home-away-from-home (not yet).  Just across town -- to another part of Eugene.   The picture above is a view of the Willamette River from a walking path around our new complex.    The mosaic below is from our backyard (which, happily for us, we are not in charge of raking).  

    

 

It does seem like we are moving a lot lately.    I know people who have moved so often they can't even remember all their homes.  And I know at least one  who has lived  all her adult life  in one home.  We are, like most people probably, somewhere in the middle -- but we used to be closer to the latter than we have been in the last few years.     

 I guess we are still figuring out this phase of retired life. This move gives us more living space than we had in our previous apartment.   It also means the end of our experiment with living downtown.    There were many things about city living that we enjoyed, but also definite downsides.    As with anyplace, I'm sure there will be ups and downs about our new home as well.   But we are in the right  place for us right now.

 

 

   

Above is one of the upsides -- On our first walk on the now nearby river paths  I actually got a picture of this Kingfisher.   I'm pretty sure I've written before (or at least commented on other blogs) that this bird has for years refused  to allow me to get a picture.  We see them fairly often, but they always  fly as soon as I even think of taking their picture.   This one actually posed long enough   ---  a welcoming omen!  

 

 

Here are some snaps from almost the first day we were in our new home.   At that point, we weren't yet sure where everything should go (or what we needed to buy to fill the extra space).  There were still boxes to be unpacked and we couldn't find anything in the kitchen (the last is pretty much still true).  But most of what I need  for daily smiles was in place--  my laptop,  some of our books,  a pretty window view and a few bird-themed accessories.   The rest of life's necessities will follow in time!

     

 

Grateful  for our successful move and for a few more beautiful Autumn days in between the much needed rainy ones and glad to be organized enough to be back to blogging.  

#

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

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

 

 

 

SUMMER MEMORIES

It's still a beautiful Oregon October around here -- perfect walking weather, wonderful Fall color.   Long beautiful Autumn days are great in real life, but as far as pictures go, last week wasn't all that different from the two posts just before this one.   And besides  it is still October for us -- that month when we have all our appointments and other un-bloggable activities  -- and this year, it is even more Octoberish than usual. 

So this week's post is a collection from the not-so-long-ago archives (all pictures are from this past season and not used in earlier posts.)

 

We see colorful motor homes, buses, and other  tiny homes-on -wheels often.  I'm not sure if there are more of these here in the Pacific Northwest or if it is a country-wide phenomenon nowadays.  I don't remember seeing so many of them when we traveled (in our own, not-quite-so-colorful) tiny home.    Some of the ones we see around here are quite creative and a few are even a little scary.   

 

 

These units are also fertile grounds for interesting signs, because most owners seem to like to let everybody know where they stand on pretty much anything and everything.   This is a closer look at the rear window in the tiny house in the center of the collage.

 

   

The pictures in the above mosaic are all from Eureka beach.  There were patches of that red plant here and there in the sandy beach grass.  It was almost jarring to see that bright color popping up amidst all the blue and green.

 

 

 

At Eureka (California) beach with the birds.

 

 

 

These pictures are from Kirk Pond, near Fern Ridge Lake .  I wish those geese wouldn't always turn their backs to me. 

 

LINKING the memories to the following sharing opportunities.  Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

 

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

 

 

IT'S GOLDEN!

 

There were Autumn reds in last week's post and red is beautiful, but October around here is really more about the gold and amber.  The  collage below is a combination of photos from city and country walks.   We've had bright blue skies and warm days this week in both places.

  

October seems to be the month when we spend a lot of days at regular appointments -- doctors, dentists, eye checkups, ...  all the fun stuff.     We should probably try to balance those out over the half year we spend in Eugene, but we get into a routine.  And  it is nice not to have to think about appointments during the beautiful summer months. 

  

 

 So we've been sticking pretty close to home this week.  But we always have time for a visit in the country  (and to raid the garden and vine bounty).  Their grapes are at luscious perfection right now.

  

 

Autumn flower boxes on Eugene's downtown streets. 

 

 

 

And more photos from the dahlia garden at the Fairgrounds.

 

 

It really isn't necessary to wander far from home to find gold. 

Especially this time of year.

 

LINKING THIS WEEK to: 

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

 Thank you to all of the hosts.

A LITTLE BIT OF LAKE

 

October blue skies are the  best blue skies in the world.   

Knowing those bright days won't last much longer makes each perfect day even more special.

 

To celebrate the new month, our daughter and I took a walk  to Fern Ridge Lake.  It's almost exactly a mile from their home, but  it was quite a few steps more than that as we wandered through Orchard Park, on their side of the shore.   

 

 

 

When we were full-time RVers, we used to stay on the opposite side of the Lake whenever we came to Oregon to visit.  Back then, I often blogged about how the Lake is almost emptied every Fall.    (Here is a link to a post from way back when -- it explains a little more about the reservoir draw-down.)   That draw-down started earlier this year than usual because farmers needed the water -- it has been so dry here.   The above picture is looking across the Lake at the Marina -- most of the docks are already empty --  people need to haul their boats out while they still can. 

 

 

There was even less water on the side where we were.   Great Blue Herons and Egrets have  good luck this time of year, as all of the fish in the lake swim into the  shallows.

 

 

Nobody is swimming here this time of year -- supervised or unsupervised.  When our grandchildren were small they enjoyed the empty lake as much as they did during the summer.  No swimming, but they had fun running around on the big field and, when the rains first started, getting muddy.  

Cyndi and I took their big puppy with us on this walk.  When we got back to their home, Parker was happy to get off leash and run around  his very own five-acre off-leash park (our daughter and son-in-law live there too, but I believe their dog thinks it is all his playground.)

 

 

He found a chew toy!

 

Cyndi and I sat outside for a rest after our walk.   We enjoyed watching the dog tear around the yard for a while until he too settled down for a rest.

 

 

We never seem to visit our son-in-law and daughter without going home with food!  Their picnic table was covered with several varieties of recently harvested winter squash.  We took one of each.   And a dozen eggs.  And some blueberries from the freezer.   All of the pleasure  and none of the work.

 

 

Red leaves in the City too when we got home that afternoon.  And it rained a little bit, but just as we were nearing our door.   A perfect October day!

 

SHARING with thanks to all of the hosts as well as to all the terrific bloggers  who link to the following:

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER'S END

   

 

The last of September was about enjoying  beautiful Fall flowers all around the City ....

 

 

 ... and the rich colors of Autumn in the country  ... here, on a walk to Kirk Pond.

 

  "Leaves of three, let it be."

Unfortunately, those richly colored plants included poison oak.   I paid for this macro shot with itches!  (Not the best memory of the month, but maybe posting it will help me remember next time.)   

 

Wall Signs as decoration at the home of our granddaughter and  family 

Like every month when we're home in Oregon, September included family get-togethers.  After all, that's really why we're here ...   the rest is a bonus!    For a change, I managed to remember to get a few snapshots.  I'm not very good at people photos.  It is more fun to just enjoy being together, but I like being able to look back.  

 

 

More floral beauty of the definitely non-poisonous variety.   All of the dahlia pictures were taken on the grounds of the Lane County Events Center (Fairgrounds) on the last day of September.

 

 

Out in the country again,  Mom and the youngsters were enjoying wild apples and leftover blackberries in a field near  our daughter and son-in-laws' home.

 

 

 

More flowers and below, another blue sky day.  We actually need rain and 'they' keep telling us it's coming.   But it is hard not to be grateful for beautiful Fall Days.

 

Thankful for Fall Beauty and family to enjoy it with.   And looking forward to October -- rain or shine!    Thankful also to  the hosts of the following sharing opportunities:

 

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

 

 

 

 

COASTING AGAIN -- CLOSER TO HOME

 

A bit of Autumn color  from Saturday's  first-day-of-Fall walk in the country (near our daughter and son-in-law's home).    It's fun to see the seasonal change and I like Fall.  But this week, I'm still blogging about summer fun.

 

Siuslaw River Bridge, Florence

We spent a couple of  early September days in Florence (Oregon).   Florence, in the same county where we live here in Oregon, is only an hour's drive from home.  We're lucky  to be so close to the Pacific Coast, but even so we made this a two-day trip ...

 

 

 ...  so that we had more time to explore the beautiful Oregon Coast with these beautiful people.   Our (much-younger)  sister and brother-in-law were visiting from Seattle.   The weather was absolutely perfect.  Not necessarily a given in these parts! We were grateful.

  

Great Blue Heron  

This Great Blue Heron was among several birds that posed beautifully for us right outside of  our hotel room balcony.   

 

 

 

There were  the usual shorebirds and gulls on the beach.   It always looks like the gulls are babysitting the tiny waders.  

 

On the second morning of our stay, older sister and brother-in-law led the younger ones astray when we ventured on a totally out-of-character experience for all of us:

 

 

Between Florence and Coos Bay there are  miles and miles of rolling sand dunes.   It seems more like being on  a desert than right near the ocean.  We  went to a company just South of Florence that has offered rides on the dunes for years.  The four of us and the driver fit somehow into that red sand rail vehicle  ...goggles and seat belts in place we were off.  The  pictures don't do justice to  the roller coaster effect of riding the dunes.   My sister had actually said she thought the ride would be fun (she'll learn) ... so we voted to let her ride in front next to the driver.   I'm quite sure he was showing off for her!  

No pictures could really illustrate the feeling of being totally out in the middle of nowhere -- all you see is sky and sand a lot of the time.  (The driver stopped on flat places for these pictures).   

 

 

 

So just when we were getting used to sand flying in our faces and jumping over gullies, and our stomachs doing the roller coaster bit, we heard this loud bang and our vehicle ground to a stop.  Oops.  Yup, that frame is definitely broken.

(Did I mention that we had taken the last buggy ride of the day?  Other drivers and office staff were already leaving for home as our driver buckled us in at the beginning of the trip.)

But all was well --  and, hooray for cell phone service,  the boss person arrived in a rescue vehicle within half an hour.     Just as I was starting to fantasize about spending the night on the shifting whispering sands!    (The rescue vehicle was actually one of the company's larger and slower sand rail vehicles.)

Notice that the lady in the new front seat is still smiling ... and actually we all were. It was fun  -- sometimes it's good to do something completely different and unexpected.

 

 

More Autumn color and more family in future posts.   This one is linked to the following sharing opportunities -- with thanks to all of the hosts.

  

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

 

 

 

 

EUREKA!!

 It is hard somehow to write the name of the California City we visited last month without using explanation marks!!  Besides being the name of the County seat and largest city in Humboldt County, Eureka!! is also the motto of the State of California.  It is a Greek word meaning "I have found it" and in this State refers to the discovery of gold in 1849.

 

  

We stayed in Arcata, a smaller city right next to Eureka.  Here is another shot of some of  the  wading birds we saw on our two visits to the Marsh during our stay.  (More bird photos from the Marsh in this previous post.)  Also a couple more bird photos at the end of this post.

   

 

 This is the Carson Mansion in Oldtown Eureka.  It's probably against some rule to visit the City without taking a picture of it.  Seriously -- you see paintings and photos of it everywhere in the area -- (supposedly it is one of the most photographed structures in the country) -- but if you're there you've just gotta photograph it yourself.    William Carson was one of the many who came to the area in 1849 for the gold, but he  got rich by dealing in lumber.   He had the home built in 1884 .  (There's another slightly smaller mansion nearby built as a wedding gift for his son.)   According to Wiki,  this mansion is a mix of every style of Victorian architecture.    (Here is a link to the Wikipedia Article.  

    

The Mansion is now owned   by the Ingomar Club which was  formed in the early 1950s by a group of Eureka businessmen.  The original purpose of the club was   to save the mansion from being demolished.  It had become rundown and the City was financially unable to buy and restore it.  The Club has had it restored it to original status and also done extensive  repairs after an earthquake damaged it.    Although the building is eligible to become part of  the National Registration of Historic Places, Ingomar members have  chosen not to do so, because  they do not want  to allow public tours (which would be required with that designation).     The Club does deign to let the rest of look inside virtually -- here is a link to that tour.

 

 

 The Mosaic just below is made of pictures taken from the upper deck of the Ferry Boat Madaket during our Harbor Cruise on Humboldt Bay.  (This is the same picture as in last week's post, but I wanted to tie it into the scenery we saw from it.) 

 

Our Captain (and tour narrator)  said that the rundown building on the top left was a church at one time.  It and the home in the center picture are on the opposite shore of the Bay from the City Harbor and can be reached only by water.  The top panel shows a lighthouse on the harbor side and a distant view of the Carson Mansion.  The ferry passed by pretty scenery, but also  working examples of the area's main industries..... fishing and lumber.   

 

 

 

This is another photo icon of Eureka.  The very large statue of a Fisherman reeling in his nets was placed at the Harbor by the Fisherman's Wives Association, in honor of Humboldt Bay fishermen who have lost their lives at sea.  It is a dangerous occupation.

 

 

In fact, Humboldt Bay is one of the most dangerous harbor areas in the country because of the reefs.   We visited the Maritime Museum, which now owns the Madaket Ferry.  There were many pictures, articles, and artifacts from shipping disasters in the area.  Although safety measures are more advanced these days, the United States Coast Guard is still an important presence in the area.  

 

 

Brown Pelicans 

Here are a couple more pictures from Arcata Marsh.   

The whole Eureka-Arcata area is so rich with things to do and photographic opportunities.  We  always enjoyed visiting the area back when we   lived  in Oregon (the first time)  and are grateful that we were able to go there again this season.

 

Snowy Egret

 

 

LINKING THIS WEEK to the following:   Thank you to all of the hosts for providing these sharing opportunities.

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

 

 

REDWOODS to EUREKA

 

 

Redwoods

 

This picture captures (as best as my camera can) the beauty of the magnificent California Redwood Highway.  The Coast route takes you into this scenic area shortly after crossing the Oregon-California border at Crescent City, where we spent one night.

 

 

Sea Stacks

 

Moving on down the highway, between the Redwoods and our next overnight stop at Trinidad (previous post here) we stopped to walk at part of the California Coastal National Monument on Trinidad Bay.    An explanatory sign told us that some of the rock formations we could see were once part of the ancient coastline.  They are called sea stacks and were isolated from shore by rising seas, erosion,  and geological uplift.   

   

 

The day after our stay at Trinidad (California), we arrived at our trip destination of Arcata/Eureka.   One day while we were there we took a harbor cruise on Humboldt Bay.  We traveled on the Madaket, the oldest passenger ferry operating in the United States.    It is  now a tour boat, but when first launched it ferried people, goods, and supplies to stops all along the bay.   The cruise was  a good way to learn more about the history of the area.   The ferry has been beautifully  restored.  Although obviously not authentic to the original, the Madaket now boasts what might be the world's smallest bar in its hold.  There's only one barstool, but the Captain announced that the mate would be happy to bring drinks to anyone on deck.  It was the wrong time of day for us but I'm sure it is a very popular feature for the dinner cruises    

 

 

Heermann’s Gull 

We saw many many types of gulls on this trip -- it was the Coast after all.  But this is a first sighting.  I believe (hope?) it is a Heermann's Gull.   We saw this handsome fellow as we  strolled along the lovely harbor boardwalk near where we boarded the ferry cruise.

More about the harbor and towns another day, but I wanted to end  with  pictures of a different excursion during our stay--  because this post needs a little more color!   It was cool enough on the ferry that the lap blankets the crew made available felt good, but a few days later when we drove to the beach from our RV Park, we got this beautiful sunny bright day -- the perfect Coast temperature.  We were fortunate in the wonderful weather we had on this trip.

 

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

 

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

 

 

WINCHESTER BAY and GOLD BEACH

It's somewhere around 300 miles from where we live to Arcata California, the destination for our August  RVing adventure.   A couple of years ago, our daughter and son-in-law drove to the same place to pick up their new puppy from its mother and her  people.  They made it there and back on the same day without a problem.  It took us 4 days!  We are older and slower (and don't have a puppy).   

 

Winchester Bay and Umpqua River Lighthouse (Oregon)

And of course now that we live part of the year clear over on the other side of the country,  summer  and fall are our chance to spend some time on the beautiful Pacific Coast.  I wouldn't say we ever took it for granted, even when we owned our home here in Oregon.   But back then we knew we could go to the Coast whenever we felt like it -- now we  feel fortunate to be able to take advantage of our proximity during the months when we're in Oregon.

We got a late start on the day we left and spent the first night in Winchester Bay -- only about 60 miles from Eugene.  This is where we spent several summers RVing before we sold out to travel full time.  We feel right at home there!

 Gold Beach Oregon

 

Gold Beach isn't too far south along the Coast and we left Winchester Bay early enough to spend a whole day exploring along the way before checking into our RV Park for the night.  It was a perfect Coast Day -- blue sky, sunshine, and just the right temperature for the beach.  (It is never hot on the Oregon Coast -- often, even in summer, just the opposite.)   But the South Coast is known as the 'Banana Belt' because it is warmer and  doesn't rain so much in the winter.

 

 

....

City Street in Port Orford Oregon 

 Follow this sign to the end of the road for the view in the picture above!

 

Views from Oceanside RV Park, Gold Beach 

 

The RV Park where we stayed  had its own little beach area and beautiful views.   A fog rolled in shortly after we checked in.  It was still warm  enough for a pleasant walk while  the heavy mist gave the evening a soft mysterious look and quite an interesting setting sun. 

 

 

The fog was even heavier the next morning and there was some wind.   As we finished our  breakfast  in the RoadTrek (RV), we caught a glimpse of this tugboat and petroleum barge  in the harbor across from the Park.   The tugboat was having quite a bit of  trouble navigating its load to the dock.   After we checked out of the Park, we drove over to the beach and walked a bit in the fog as  we watched the adventure.   The barge did finally reach safe harbor.  We were surprised at all the small fishing boats that didn't seem to worry about being so close to the zig-zagging barge. 

 

 

Gold Beach was beautiful in sun or fog --  and like just about everywhere on the Oregon Coast, it would be a great place to spend several days.    But we had another destination in mind this time.    This is the view as we headed further South toward Crescent City and the  Redwoods.   California or Bust!

 

Linking this week to the following:  Thanks to all of the hosts.

NATURE NOTES; ALL SEASONS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;   MOSAIC MONDAY;  GOOD, RANDOM, FUN;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;   SIGNS SIGNS;  Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY 

 

 

 

 

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