Tag Archives: Florida

On The Road, Photos-Flowers, Plants, Trees

~Lunch and a visit to a botanical garden

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Howard did his magic, and searched out another local, unique place to eat lunch. We pulled into a full parking lot at Casey’s Seafood and More here in Sarasota for a late lunch. That and the fact we had to wait a few minutes for a table, told us he made a good choice. After ordering and eating, he picked another great one.

A common method to prepare fresh, grilled fish in southern Florida, is to offer it with several choices of toppings. Casey’s had four topping offerings: Garlic and Butter; Tomatoes, Olives, Capers; Orange; and Maple. My grilled fish was delicious with the Tomatoes, Olives and Caper topping. Yum!

Even though it was a cloudy day after lunch we headed toward historic downtown Sarasota to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Please go to this web-site to read about her life and the gardens. Marie Selby

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Selby Gardens is a leader in the conservation and display of epiphytes, or plants that grow on other plants without harming them, such as orchids, bromeliads, and gesneriads. (their  information)

Celebrating 40 Years

I am sorry to say I don’t remember the names of most of the trees, plants or flowers we saw during our walk and tour of the gardens. I hope you enjoy seeing them.

Colorful blooms, up close….

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Koi Pond…

Water falls splash into pools, hidden secrets draw you down winding paths, color dances on pavilion floors as sunlight shines through them, these and more all contribute to a tranquil visit…

The gardens border Sarasota Bay, where you can sit on a bench and watch the sunset, enjoy a resting Little Blue Heron, or watch the boats entering or leaving the bay.

Beautiful poems…

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A Succulent Garden…

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Trees…

A winding path…

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So many beautiful gardens, too many for me to do justice with these few photos.  Howard and I enjoyed our visit to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and if you are ever in the Sarasota area, I recommend a visit.

 

Photos-Birds

~Birding in Myakka River State Park

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Myakka River State Park, Sarasota, Florida

We have spent the last few days hanging around the park. Taking walks, birding and enjoying other hobbies. It has been cool, temperatures in the 60’s. We are loving the lower temps!

Remember my header photo of the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks? The reason they were able to rest with their eyes closed is, because they always have one watching for signs of danger.

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A beautiful Northern Cardinal, daily visitor to our site.

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A late evening walk along the river gave me these two gifts above.

Great Blue Heron

Look closely at the Great Blue Heron photo above. The two additional Anhinga photos are of it trying to dry its feathers after hunting.

A few additional Anhinga photos from walks around the park.

Little Blue Herons, Tri-colored Herons, Great Egrets, all seen in Myakka River State Park.

Along with Black-crowned and Green Herons

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Glossy and White Ibis, another late evening shot.

Myakka River State Park is a wonderful place to visit if you enjoy birding, biking, hiking, kayaking, or just the peacefulness of being out in nature.

Coming up, a late evening photo shoot with a Snowy Egret.

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Have fun everyday!

On The Road, Photos-Birds

~A Walk

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Myakka River State Park, Sarasota, Florida

Last Thursday, Howard and I  took a walk down a path in the park.

We ran into a naturalist, on Wednesday when we arrived, and he told us about this path, saying he has seen Barred Owls in this area.  We met him last year when we visited the park for the first time, and found him to be a real character and very knowledgeable.

I was sharing with him my lack of never having seen a Barred Owl in the wild. Saying, “it would be a nice Life List bird for me”. So off we go in search of this elusive owl.

It was a pleasant walk with temperatures just about perfect. The path we were walking on was slightly higher than the forest floor with swampy areas between us and the trees.

As we walked along enjoying the scenery, we saw something fly across the road up ahead of us. We tracked it to where we thought it entered the forrest. We were looking up into the trees and this Red-shouldered Hawk had landed on the ground next to the water. Seeing it standing there, near the water, was a surprise. It appeared to be digging in the moist earth. Of course as we approached it flew up into the trees.

Sadly, no Barred Owl sighting for me on this day, just a beautiful hawk. I will keep searching.

We continued, over the next 30 minutes or so, to watch this hawk as it hunted along this path. After observing,  it fly into several different places and its behavior, I believe it was gathering nesting material; however, I can’t be sure.

Here are several photos as it flew from the ground to tree to tree.

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The hawk flew to this stump and sat there looking around. Notice its muddy beak.

 

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It took to higher ground landing on this tree branch.

 

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This spot was near the ground; a low branch over the swamp.

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Last location, was back into a tree. This photo is blurry, but it shows this beautiful Red-shouldered hawk snapping small twigs.

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The feathered photo above shows a Palm Warbler with its back to me. I took this photo while watching the Red-shouldered Hawk.

Later in the day, in a different location, I took this photo of another Palm Warbler.

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The header photo above shows Black-bellied Whistling Ducks catching a few winks.

Life is good, Happy Birding!

On The Road, Photos-Birds

~Myakka River State Park

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Wednesday evening we arrived at Myakka River State Park in Sarasota, Florida. This is our second visit, and it is so much fun to be here again. We are in a large, corner, full hook-up, pull-thru, with lots of vegetation between sites, so whats not to enjoy!

All you have to do is walk out the door of your RV and the sights and sounds of nature engulf you. This afternoon, a Red-shouldered Hawk flew into a tree near us. He was screeching so loudly and what seemed like a very long time. We couldn’t figure out what had him so upset.

Myakka is a nature lovers paradise! Since Wednesday, I have seen over 44 species of birds, and have taken hundreds of photos! I hope to post a few of them, which depends on the quality of the internet. It has been slow…..

I captured this White Heron hunting for a late meal, the evening light was gorgeous. (Note the yellow legs and bill on.)

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“Listen up guys, if I fish here will you leave me alone?”

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“Okay, thanks.  I will hold you all, to your word.”

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“This little guy, I don’t trust so much.”

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“I can tell, he is still watching me, I better get out of here.”

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“I got a little itch.”

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_MG_6101“That feels better; how do I look? Now I just need to catch a fish.”

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Click on this link  Myakka River to see what activities this beautiful park has to offer. It has become one of my very favorite locations.

Yesterday, we ventured out of the park for lunch. Found a local place called Cedar Reef Fish Camp to eat. I had butternut squash ravioli with shrimp and Howard had Fish n Chips (fresh catch haddock). It was all delicious; we love to find local and unique places to eat. Here is their web-site: Cedar Reef.

More photos of Myakka River State Park to follow…

 

 

 

On The Road

~Art by Isabella

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Every now and then moments of unexpected joy arrives at your doorstep…

In a world, upside down, with worries of our culture being destroyed, with sadness and defeat blasting over the airways, it was heartwarming to observe a family enjoying their holidays here in Lake Louisa State Park.
Howard and I were pleased to have met this lovely family – Dad, Mom, two sons and a daughter who were camped across from us.
Aidan and Isabella enjoyed petting Skye and Kloud, and that of course is how we met. Animals always seem to help people make a connection don’t they.
Yesterday, eleven year old Isabella presented us with a piece of art that she created using melted crayons. Her Dad stated, “This is a new thing kids are doing.” It warmed my heart! I know she was busy, biking, kayaking and sightseeing, which made her gift even more special.
They left this morning heading back to their daily routines of work and school. I wish for them, and know they will have, happy and successful lives. Sometimes you just know, based on interactions, this will be so.

 

Update:

I think I need to modify my post just a little; I didn’t know until just now, but should have known, that Aidan helped Isabella with this art piece and I want to give Aidan my thanks as well. Thank you, Aidan!

Art by Isabella

Happy New Year, Art by Isabella!
Happy New Year!

Isn’t it beautiful?

Wishing each of you – wonderful adventures, happiness in whatever you do, with love in your lives always.

 

Please, excuse the quality of the photo, it is taped to our dirty RV windshield.