A Full-time Life

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.

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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   

 

SUMMER IN THE CITY 2018

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

THANK YOU to the hosts.

SKINNER BUTTE NEIGHBORHOOD WALK

 

 

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

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

 

 

 

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

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

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

 

 

 

... until the statue noticed me!      

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

 

\

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

   

 

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

 

 

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

 

LINKING TO: 

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

 Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

 

THE WEEKEND IN PURPLE and GOLD

   

 

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

  

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

 

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

  

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

OREGON COASTING

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

 

 

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

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

   

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

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

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

 

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

  

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

TREE(S) and MOUNTAINS and FLOWERS, OH MY

 

  

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

 

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

 

 

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

   

 

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

 

 

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

     

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

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

   

 

 

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

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

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities:   

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

 

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

 

HOME AGAIN

   

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

  

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

Sharing this week with the following:   

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

Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

  "A Man A Plan A Canal Panama."

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

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

LINKING this week to:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday.   

 

 

 

 

REVIEWING THE SEASON

  

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

  

 

 

LIVE ACTION AT HARNS MARSH

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

And then this happened.

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

BIRDING IN THE CYPRESS FOREST

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

Black-crowned night heron

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

 

 

Great Egret  

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

 

  Roseate Spoonbill

 

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

 

Wood Stork 

 

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

 

 

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

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

 

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

   

Thank you to each one of the hosts.

 

SPRING -- IN FLORIDA and in OREGON

   

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

 

 

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

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

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

   

 

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

 

Now back to Florida for some Spring birds: 

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

  

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

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

 

 

EARTH DAY 2018 - CORKSCREW SANCTUARY

   

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

    

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

 

 

FINALLY CAME UNDERSTANDING

 

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

 

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

      

        

  Immature Little Blue Heron

 

    

 

 

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

Theodore Roosevelt

 

 

Night Heron, Immature 

 

 

Roseate Spoonbill 

 

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

 Baba Dioum

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

Thank you to all of the hosts!  

 

TWEEN WATERS

 

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

 

 

 

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

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

  

 

 

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

   

 

 Great white Egret

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

 

 

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

 

 

 Great Blue Heron 

Another frequent visitor to the marina area.

 

 

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

 

  

 Brown Pelicans

 

 

 

The beach  at Tween Waters.

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

 

Life is good.

   

Osprey with prey 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

Thank you to all the hosts.

 

NATURAL and MAN-MADE WONDERS

 

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

 

 

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

 
 

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

 

 

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

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

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

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

 

Roseate Spoonbill and Little Blue Heron

  

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

 

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

HAPPY EASTER (NO FOOLING)

 

   
 

Happy Easter  to all who celebrate. 

 

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

 

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

   

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

  

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

SPRINGTIME IN FLORIDA

     

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

 

 

 The sign works for me!   

 

 

 

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

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

They had very color and type of orchid imaginable. 

 

 

 

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

 

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

Especially for people like us who no longer garden. 

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

 

 

 

   There was even a wedding gazebo and outdoor events center.  

 

It really was a happy place!  

 

 

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

 

 

CHECKING IN WITH THE EAGLES

     

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

 

  

 

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

 

 

 

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

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Here's a better view of the adolescent pair. 

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

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

 

 

Beautiful Harriet. 

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

 

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

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

 

THANK YOU to the hosts of the following sharing opportunities:    

 

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

 

GRAND CAYMAN ISLAND

  

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

 

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

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

 

  

 

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

 

   

 

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

    

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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