Spotlight

As the sun was going down tonight, there were some thick storm clouds back over the mainland. But I was out on Anna Maria Island, where it was somewhat sunnier. Maybe ten minutes before the sun hit the water, it found a hole in the clouds and nicely illuminated the Anna Maria City Pier. I thought it made a great shot against the dark stormy background. This one is worth your clicking on it to see the larger image. It's pretty cool.

The Sea Cow

I can't even remember the last time I brought you a picture of a manatee. That's probably because I don't see them too often, especially in the summer months. I usually find them in the winter when they gather together in the warm springs or power plant discharge canals. But this one swam under the Anna Maria Island City Pier this evening while I was there, so I got a fairly decent picture of him. This is as he emerged on the other side of the pier from where everyone first spotted him. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough with the camera to get a picture of the bubbles when he farted. I kid you not. This guy was probably 7 to 8 feet long, and surprisingly enough, he doesn't appear to have any propeller scars on his back.

Dolphins Are Tough

There must have been ten dolphins in the water today, each one tempting me by coming up for air for a second or two, then diving back down to pop up a minute later at a random spot. Some of them were pairs, and one of the fins in the pair was smaller than the other, so I have to assume they were mother and baby. But the only shot I got with a recognizable fin out of the water was this one. That's the Rod 'N Reel Pier on Anna Maria Island in the background, and as you can tell, it was pretty close to sunset tonight. Actually, I added some of that color in ther after the fact, but not all of it. It was a pretty grey sunset, unfortunately.

Little Lizard

Sometimes, a shot just comes out right, even when you've taken the same picture a thousand times before. I've shot these little lizards plenty of times before, but I've never gotten a shot I could crop this tight and still have it look sharp. This little guy is probably less than an inch high, but I was able to zoom in far enough that you can count the scales on his neck. His snout is a little out of focus, but the eye is sharp, and that's the important part. I'm pretty proud of this shot.

About Two And A Half Hours Ago

Thought you guys might want to see the sunset from Anna Maria Island this evening. This is about 20-30 minutes after the sun had actually set, but you get the idea.

Tomorrowland Terrace

Way, way, way back in the day, a little over 20 years now, I worked at Walt Disney World. Specifically, I worked at Tomorrowland Terrace in Magic Kingdom. That restaurant isn't there anymore, or at least the restaurant by that name isn't there. In it's place is something called Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. Everything is in the same place as it used to be, but they've spiffed it up quite a bit. And the folks who work there no longer wear orange polyester pants. Come to think of it, I was working there when they switched to red pants, but I think they were still polyester. The counter in this picture used to be soups and salads, and it was rarely open when I worked there. The front side, just to the left of this picture was the side always open, and that was where I worked. Ahhh, memories. I don't have any pictures from those days, I'm afraid. I took this a couple of weeks ago when I visited Disney.

Baldy Is Back

Well, the first of my local bald eagle pair is back. Don't know how long he's actually been around, but today was the first time I've seen him. I came around the corner, and there he was, just sitting up on his favorite tree limb. I don't think he's been back for long, since the local birds haven't learned to avoid the area yet. I think that's a mocking bird beating a hasty retreat in the photo below after he got a little too close. The eagle just gave him a dirty look and off the little bird went. I'll keep my eye out for the other one and let you know when they become a matched pair again.