Spring Falls on a Monday

And so far, it has been a chilly day which I mention because so often folks don't remember that we can still have temperatures that require more than a tank top in mid-March. In fact, this morning, with a reading of 50 degrees, few folks showed up at 7AM. After having done so myself, I can't say as I blame them! Windy too, which wreaks a bit of havoc on my already tenuous skill set! Nevertheless we had fun followed by a quick trip to Sprouts for orange juice. Having poured the last of the bottle that came from Costco this morning, it was a must-do for me. We have discovered many bargains at Sprouts, so if you live near one, you might want to check out their selections. Just saying...

It's so hard to know where to start because so much has happened in the last few weeks. Several successful birding trips occurred with more than is strictly necessary picture taking occurring. Seriously, I share so few of what I actually take and of course, only the good stuff. Never the misses. Well, that's not entirely true because on occasion I do, but those occasions are few and far between! One thing that I do not do is set my camera to take multiple photos in succession, something that many folks do when photographing birds. My computer is so loaded as it is, the amount of work to delete everything just seems overwhelming to me. I suspect that these folks are in the rapid fire camp. 

Super fun picture, right? The above was taken on a visit to Blackpoint Drive on Merritt Island when we went in search of a large flock of White Pelicans. The water level in some areas was quite low, unsurprisingly because rain has been almost non-existent for the last few months. These ladies chose to ride their bicycles and most of the time they were ahead of us because I had Bruce stop so often! At one point when our paths crossed they told us we missed the big show, which we did in part, but still there were birds to be seen. 

I'd hopped out of the car in order to get as close as possible to this beautiful sight.

Aren't they so interesting? American Avocet is what you are seeing. Amazingly, I had just recently come across an issue of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology magazine Matt gave me a subscription to a few years ago and sure enough, two of these beauties were the cover models. A better photograph mind you, but still, I was stoked! The dark bits shown in the photograph below is the low water level I mentioned.

I'm including the photo below to give you a perspective on why I needed a better zoom lens!

Do you see the Avocets out in the water? Lots of cool ducks are out there too beyond the reach of even my new lens!

It was a marvelous day with an eagle sighting as well, But the star of the show were the White Pelicans and the Roseate Spoonbills that are gathered together behind the shield of a whole heck of a lot of American Coots.

That is some birds in action in that shot, right? 

Last Monday, according to the post I wrote, it rained.  So, I guess it has rained lately! See how much I need my blog to keep life all sorted out?

Before I move on, above I posted that I rarely show the crummy photographs but the one below is one of those exceptions because imagine how good it would have been had it been focused???

Back to the drive...one more wonderful shorebird....I think it is a Yellow Legs, but I can't tell you if it is Lesser or Greater. See what I mean...so many things to learn.

It has been our custom to stop before we go over the bridge to return home because there are all kinds of shorebirds along the river. Well, duh, of course they are on the shore! At any rate, they have closed some of the parking off, so I hopped out of the car in search and the best I could get were these little beauties.

Well shoot, I got ahead of myself. Lots of wildflowers blooming which in turn attracted lots of butterflies.

So that was a super fun trip. As to what else we have been doing, well you guessed it, pickleball. Plus Bruce had to have a crown. It was the strangest thing. One week he had an uneventful teeth cleaning. The next week his tooth was hurting and come to find out, there was a crack in it which required a crown. Lordy, lordy, the cost of dental work!! 

I'd chosen a whole series of photographs which are so totally spring, but before this gets way too long I do want to mention how excited I was one afternoon when I stopped by Lake Davis, say around 5:00, before DST began. To say that I was thrilled with finding a huge flock of Ring Necked Ducks is an understatement. If only they would have deemed to come closer. (male and females)

It won't be long, and I suspect it has already happened since I took the above photo, but anyway, they will depart Florida for Canada to breed.  Here's a link to what they look like in a close up. 

Speaking of breeding, I have come across my fair share of that lately, but specifically that same afternoon at Lake Davis, two of the geese seemed to begin their brief courtship like this.

Looks kind of sweet, right? Minutes later the male was practically drowning her!

Meantime the swan calmly passed by. Which reminds me, there is a nest there that I need to check out. In fact, I think I will as soon as I finish this! Cygnets are so very cute to watch.

Speaking of fun to watch. As you may recall I have been expecting a flock of White Pelicans to come to our lake and while that did not happen this year, on the morning that we were planning another trip to the Wetlands, Patti texted me to let me know that they were on the big lake. Instantly I had my shoes on and walked quickly along the shortest route, the canal that begins at the end of our building. Sure enough, there was a nice flock of, at that time, an uncounted number of them, along with about twice as many Cormorants. Woo hoo!! I watched until they went into a cove out of my viewing range and then headed back to the condo to regale Bruce with the good news. Soon thereafter, we were ready to go, but I asked if we might stop one more time at the lake to witness this once-a-year event. Sure honey!

It was good. We watched for a while as they floated en masse, mostly out of the range of our lenses, that is until a woman in a boat actually drove through the group!! That got them moving, in fact, they were coming right at us!

They came towards us and then away from us.

You can well imagine that I took countless photos of this exciting event and it kept getting better as they took to the skies while we watched. Swooping and flipping directions, it was magical, like acrobats in the sky.  One minute they looked like this:

and then like this:

A nature documentary in front of our eyes! Needless to say we got a late start which turned out to be just fine as the weather was just that, fine. Not too hot, nor too cold. In other words, perfect!

Matthew has returned home to London, safe and sound following his week in Dubai. Jonathan and Alissa had an amazing little backpacking trip into the Texas hill country. My favorite part, and the one that makes me jealous, is they spent a lot of time gazing at countless stars. Bill and David both work for a bank so the last week has been a bit stressful. In less than two weeks they will be 44, something I find hard to imagine. When we were their age we had four children ranging in age from 21-14. My how times have changed except for the fact that once a parent, always a parent, and their well being is your first instinct. But I don't need to tell you that, do I?

I think they probably feel the same towards us.....a bit bemused by our current life, but happy that we are generally healthy. They never worry that we are happy though, that goes without saying. Thank God!

your friend,

Gail

p.s. A friend's sister just died and of course it made me sad for her. I checked on Hank the day before the anniversary of Carol dying which I wrote about here.  He's doing pretty good these days but that day will never be one that doesn't sink his spirits. They were married a long time. :(

An Eventful Week

Cormorants! Plumbing problem! White Pelicans! Green Springs! Crows! White Peacock! David has surgery! Oh my!

Let's dive in, shall we?

When last I wrote, we were having some plumbing problems that Mr. Bruce could not fix. As is well documented in this space, if he cannot fix something, it has to be serious. Two plumbers from Emerald Plumbing arrived when they said they would which is always a good sign. Immediately, they went to work. After rechecking all the same things that had been done by the handy homeowner, they went out back to open up the sewer line that runs beneath our building.

Discovering some mud was a surprise, but nothing much otherwise. Next, they cut into the wall to reach the pipe that runs in the corner behind the medicine cabinet.

Running a snake down that line, the snake only went so far leading them to believe there was a blockage of some sort. As you can imagine, I was not thrilled with a hole in the wall, however, when I learned it was in lieu of cutting into the floor, I was all in. The next plan of action was to put a camera into the line, however, their camera was booked for the next two weeks leaving us in limbo. At this point the sinks were still not draining. Running into Sandy, she suggested that we get the office involved and they were fantastic, calling the community plumber who came within a few hours. The upshot is that the worse case scenario is that the sewer pipe would need repairing, meaning that our floors would need cutting into to reach said pipe. The best case scenario is that it was all a fluke and now that the sinks are draining just fine, we are get to go. It will be a week or so before we know so wish us luck!

In better news, the Cormorants and Pelicans arrived for a day.

Because all of our back windows face the lake, when there is action happening it is easy to spot. Especially when there are dozens and dozens raising a ruckus. They fly in from who knows where.

It was only for a day and a half, but during this visit I took far more photographs than anyone in their right mind would ever need! It is a frenzy with shorebirds from nearby lining the shore waiting for the fish to come their way.

On most days we may see one Egret or Heron, so how the nearby birds know to fly in, I have no clue. Remember the bird a day book Matt and Tom gave me for Christmas? It is fun with short entries about bird behavior that most books don't cover. On the day the entry was for a Mute Swan, of all things, the one we'd been seeing on our lake, who lately had been AWOL, returned.

I mention this because yesterday's entry was for the Great Cormorant! Good stuff.  While there is no mention of the link between pelicans and cormorants, from what I've seen here, they usually arrive together.

Furthermore, from what I've observed they get along just fine. That is, apparently not so much when a prized fish is involved.

I watched this pelican and cormorant skirmishing until the smaller bird won out.

As you can imagine, when about 100 birds arrive on our small lake it is pretty intense with the water birds and the shore birds all moving around.

And that, my friends is why I had to be late to join our friends for pickleball. You've got to get it while you can! The next morning it was back to being peaceful once again.

Although repeated many times, living on a lake is grand. The sky is enough to keep anyone entertained. Yesterday morning a cold front was coming through with rain and wind expected. Watching the storm clouds roll by is always a treat. 

Saturday morning it was chilly leading to rising steam,

which rose higher as the hour progressed.

Who isn't enthralled with the presence of sun rays? 

I can answer that one for you....my husband, whom I could not convince to come and see it for himself! :)

Most everyone who plays pickleball plays pickleball, eschewing practice because it is not nearly as much fun. Having said that, one who does love to practice is our son Bill who we meet at the courts multiple times a week. Having become an exceptional guitarist through countless hours of practice, he knows how valuable it can be. Let me tell you, he puts us through our paces with his hard hitting style.

I had my camera with me because I have been trying and trying to get a good shot of the American Kestral who has returned to the familiar perch where they previously nested. It is SO high in the sky and it is crazy hard for me to keep my camera steady, resulting in less than stellar images. I presume you have figured out that I will keep on trying!

Not only have the above mentioned birds been busy, we have had an abundance of crows making all sorts of racket.

In yet another bird related story, I became aware of there being a white peacock in the neighborhood I visit to observe peacocks. Holy cow, I counted 65 with some houses having 15 or more in their front yard! Hanging out, or laying down for that matter, they are found on a couple of streets and it took me driving down them all before I found what I was looking for. Although I've seen a white peacock at Gatorland, seeing one in the wild is a first for me. Mama seemed to be very protective of her "odd bird."

David had his shoulder surgery last week and it was tough sledding for some days, however, he has managed a shower which is a step in the right direction. Not his first rodeo with surgery, this time he is so very happy that since the previous one they purchased a recliner which has been a godsend. I'd said to Bruce the morning of the surgery, "I sure hope they can put our boy back together again." Seemingly, they have.

The Omicron variant continues to run rampant, hitting close to home when several of our friends have come down with it. While others have had close exposure, it seemed prudent to forgo getting together for a few days. Instead, we headed to Volusia County to a place Cynthia suggested. What a super interesting place Green Springs Park turned out to be. As to it being green, well see it for yourself.

Yes, that is a little gator floating around! What is so fascinating is that it almost glows. From talking to a park employee, we learned that it is vivid in the sunshine, not so much when it is overcast, so we came at a good time. As well, the color comes from sulphur.  In fact, the weather was glorious, something I will have to recall when August rolls around. Can you believe we are half way through January?? 

We walked the poorly marked trails a bit, deciding to turn around before we lost our way, ending up on the other side of the spring. You know how it is, when there are rules, in this case fences, some folks seem to enjoy doing just the opposite. We watched as the young man doing pushups climbed under the fence in order for his friend to film him in action. (see the red across the spring)

Can you imagine falling in?

While the water was something to behold, the old trees to be found there were as well. 

Old growth oaks with dripping sphagnum moss....it does not get more Southern than this.

We made another interesting stop on our drive back to Orlando, however, as this post has gone on for so long, that spot will be highlighted in my next post.

As to posts of old, this one from January 2014 brought back fond memories. What I wouldn't give to have a Painted Bunting show up here!!

your friend,

Gail

Up With the Sun

As mentioned in this space before, Bruce takes the early flight to Dallas, and generally, on those days, I go ahead and get up myself, more often than not, wasting time online! Except the days when I think, why not head out early with the camera? Tuesday was one of those days when I did just that. Taking my camera and purse, the MINI and I drove just around the corner to photograph the sunrise over Lake Gem Mary. I was not disappointed, as the sky was just brilliant! More so than this photograph even shows.

It was then that I remembered that I'd left my phone behind, and as I am trying to have more of a presence on Instagram, don't ask me why really, but anyway, home was minutes away and so we scooted back there. Returning to my spot, the sky was dull as can be, proving once again, that when you see it, document it!!

Must have been on Monday afternoon that Pam texted saying there were a huge flock of white birds in Lake Pineloch as she was driving home from Publix. I knew just what she was talking about--the white pelicans were passing through on their way to who knows where. Last year David spotted them in the middle of March which I wrote about here. Just like everything this year, they are early. Except they weren't there when I drove over. Not that time, nor the next three times either! The same Tuesday morning, so I decided to go visit the only owl I can spot at the moment, and even she was in hiding, but my golly there was a ton of bird activity. So many flying around.

This is pretty much a horrible photograph because the sky was leaden, however, there were Robins galore in this tree!

You've got look very hard!

Nearby I saw this front yard with huge sunflowers, and all manner of vegetables. A few years ago there was quite the hub-bub around here regarding the growing of vegetables in front yards. That cabbage looks fantastic, doesn't it?

When I wrote the post about photographing birds, if you can imagine, I left out a few that I saw, including these geese who were wandering along on the sidewalk when I last visited. Tuesday they were in their natural habitat.

Watching them was kind of fun--don't know what this was all about, but here it is:

Because the beak was fully out of the water, I can't imagine looking for food was involved. Meanwhile the Gander, and don't quote me on that name because after spending time trying to figure out more about geese, that's what I think it is called. But I digress. You know what is happening here, no explanation needed!

Returning home, I finally had some breakfast that I photographed because I've got an idea for you.

I wish I could remember whose Mother introduced me to this yummy idea, it was a long time agao when I was in elementary school, I do know that much. Anyway, I love toast really dark ,as you can see, and in this instance it works perfectly for dipping into the V8 juice. Delicious! Please no lectures on how salty V8 is! Plain black tea should count for something here.

Finally I spotted the Pelicans!

Albeit from some creative trespassing. Actually, last year I did knock on the door, but this time no one was home. David and Michelle live in the complex across the lake. In case you are wondering, their dog Ginger is holding her own.  Although Google statistics tells me that my last blog post about our move has 476 views, to date we are still looking for a pet sitter. Perhaps seeing his adorable face will help?

I understand it is a big commitment, but I'm counting on a positive outcome.

So, my writing was interrupted because of an extensive search for our marriage license for the immigration lawyers. Although I was unsuccessful finding that, I found all sorts of goodies, including tax returns from the late 80's! That was fun. Then too I found a book of carbon copy checks from my bank account while I was working back in 2002. No wonder I don't care too much about money, I have a lot of practice spending it on others! A $250 Christmas check to my mother-in-law, tuition, tuition, tuition! Bill, Dave, and Jonathan were all in various stages of college back then. Although Matthew was not, there are multiple checks to him as well. The IRS is represented twice, as is my own Mother. I've no recollection of giving her hundreds of dollars in 2003, the year of her death. I just love those trips down memory lane. As to the marriage license? Ordering one from the County Clerk. :)

I veered way off path didn't I? Pelicans, we were discussing the Pelicans. Here you go...

They, like the Robins, only last a few days, and then they are gone for another year.

Much to my surprise, as I was about to get into the car in our driveway I heard some hawks shrieking above my head. Lo and behold, they landed in our Pine trees!

Finally we had some much appreciated rain on Wednesday. I ran over to Angela's house to bring her the gifts, and on the way home, the sun finally decided to show up for the day. As in a big way...

Exactly that bright! I was thinking to myself, this is totally rainbow weather and sure enough, within moments, this appeared!

Too bad I was on Orange Avenue when it happened. Oh my goodness, I'm pretty sure it stayed just that bright for like 10 minutes or more. Mesmerizing!

It has been a good long while since a butterfly appeared in this space....let's rectify that, shall we?

As seen today. 😁 So I was going to put a butterfly emoji there as well and if you can imagine, they have both an octopus and a boar, but no butterfly. What are they thinking?

yours truly,

Gail