New York (1/50)

I've said for a while that I bet I could spot license tags from all fifty states around here in a pretty short period of time. So there's no better time than the present to start. This Dale Earnhardt tag was from a Corvette I spotted at Manatee City Beach. I'm not sure why New York State would choose to honor Dale Earnhardt, though. Do they even have NASCAR up there?

Oodles of Doodles XIV

This inspirational doodle comes from Tennessee Ernie Ford-Nearer The Cross (Capitol T1005, 1959). Ernie cranked out an awful lot of LPs in his day, and I think fully half of them were of a religious nature. But I suppose he came by it naturally, bless his pea pickin' heart. If you ever get the chance, be sure to watch some of the episodes from his old TV show. They're hilarious. He also appeared in a few episodes of I Love Lucy, those are pretty good, too.

This Week In April

This week's calendar photo is a tight detail of a thistle blossom. I can't tell you the name or species of this flower, sorry. I took this picture in Myakka River State Park, near the parking lot for the Myakka Outpost. I remember there were lots of moths attracted to these flowers for some reason. But none of the photos with the moths came out any good, so we wound up with this in and out of focus picture.

Tie-fecta

Here are three ties I picked up this weekend at the Salvation Army store. Gotta love that seagull pattern on the left. I think all three of these are of a similar vintage, maybe fifties, probably no later than that. The clerk was going through a large box of ties, most of which he was throwing away since they were stained. I grabbed these three before he could toss them, and paid the $2 apiece ransom. Not a bad deal.

Name That Flower!

Just a few minutes ago, I asked you to name that bug, now I need you to name that flower. This beautiful spray of brilliant red blossoms is from a huge tree on Longboat key directly in front of the Banyan Bay Club. I tried to go inside and find someone who might know what they were, but it was Sunday, and no one was around. I'll keep digging. There's also another tree like this one on the opposite side of the road, but it has yellow flowers, and isn't currently in bloom. More updates to come...

Crabbin'

Take a close look at the little blue heron above, and you'll see that he's got a little crab in his beak. If only I could have been closer...

Name That Bug!

I got a shot of this guy at the Coquina Baywalk on Leffis Key. I've no idea what kind of bug it is. I'm not even sure it's a butterfly, although he's sure acting like one. More updates as events warrant.

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Well, it may not be Christmas, but it's my favorite time of the year. The sky is blue, the water is green, and it's hard to take a bad picture. The not-so-little fishy you see above is in the water off Longboat Pass. Way in the background is the Cortez Coast Guard Station. Up until this week, the water has been a dark green, or even brown at times. But finally, the tide has turned, so to speak, and we're starting to get this color back. Sometimes it's so intense that it looks unreal. Check out the boat below, it almost appears to be floating in the waters of New Pass, between Longboat Key and City Island. One of my goals this year is to get up in the air while the water is still this color. I tried last year, but never seemed to find the time. We'll see how it turns out this year.