The Shorebirds Of Longboat Key

I was playing with the long lens Sunday out on Loangboat Key, FL, and I got some pretty good shots of the little birds that run back and forth chasing the surf all day. I'm afraid I don't know their names, so you'll have to do the research yourself. But they look pretty cool, don't they? These are three of the ones I see most frequently, but can never get close enough to get decent shots. The two below are not the same if you look close. One is actually much larger than the other, but it's hard to tell the scale in these pictures.

Update: The bird above is a ruddy turnstone, which is a species of sandpiper. I think they are all sandpipers, but what do I know?

Expecting?

There's a whole group of record collectors out there who specialize in records for someone or something, and I myself have bought up quite a few of them. This particular one is for the father who's wife is about to have a baby. And he's really hoping it's not a girl. (Remember, this was in the days when you didn't know the sex of your newborn until the doctor came out of the delivery room, slapped you on the back and said "It's a .....") The record is Fontanna And His Orchestra-Music For Expectant Fathers (Remington 33-1911/33-1912, 1957), and to tell you the truth, I didn't listen to it. The liner notes describe it as "an album made for day-dreaming". That's not for me... But the cover is cool, the father wearing a weary, glazed over look, and the vintage toys are pretty interesting. The tie is a little bit staid, though.

Lock And A Hard Place

Back in the day, the easiest way to transport goods wasn't by trucks or trains, it was by boat. And where the rivers didn't go, they built canals. What you see above is one of the locks from the old Ohio & Erie Canal, #28 to be exact. To look at the remaining bits of this canalway, to see the rough terrain it bridged, the deep cuts and locks that allowed it to flow from one end of Ohio to the other, it's truly amazing. This particular lock was known as Deep Lock, because it raised or lowered the boats going through it by about 17 feet.

Our Lady Of The Holy Oil Can

One of the interesting sites around Cleveland is a drive down Euclid Avenue. The street is lined with many million dollar homes built in the early twentieth century (known as Millionaires Row) and many, many churches. The church above is located just off of Euclid, but it had the most interesting steeple. The locals refer to it as the Holy Oilcan, the reason for which might be more obvious if I had taken this photo from farther away. Either way, it's a very interesting building. I wish I had gotten pictures of more of the houses and buildings along Euclid, but it's not the best neighborhood down through there...

Twisty Curvy

Here's another shot of the mystery building I brought you yesterday. I'm sure that by now you at least know who the architect is, don't you?

Take Me Along!

I'm not sure what attracted me to this LP cover. Maybe it's because I always like the idea of getting on a big jet plane via one of those little drive-up ramps, like The Beatles or the president. (I flew to Ohio from St. Pete/Clearwater International, and they're like that.) Maybe it's the dated fashions. It could just be the slick glossy photo-quality cover. Whatever it was, it was enough for me to invest a dollar. The LP in questions is The Ray Charles Singers-Take Me Along! (Command/ABC RS 926 SD, 1968). Before you ask, no, it's not that Ray Charles. This Ray is the guy at the bottom of the ramp in the captain's hat. According to the liner notes, the title song was used as a commercial for United, and when the Ray Charles Singers recorded it, United saw a great opportunity for a tie-in, and loaned them one of their jets for a photo shoot. The people you see in the photo are actually members of the group on the LP. And the ladies in the group were quite miffed about only have their backsides on the album cover. Those are the breaks, ladies, those are the breaks.

Thinkin' 'Bout Last Night

Did I show you sunset last night? I don't think I did...

Foghorn (Not Leghorn)

As promised, this is the warning sign on the backside of the small square lighthouse I shared below. Pretty scary, eh? I was there on a clear day with nothing but blue sky, but I was nervous about what might happen if I stood there too long.

Let There Be Light

While in Ohio, I had the pleasure of visiting three lighthouses. Well, I at least saw three lighthouses. The one above, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River in Lake Erie, was so far away I could only get a slightly blurry picture using a very long lens. I had hoped to take a boat ride and maybe get a closer view, but fate conspired against that scenario. (You saw this light before in the background of this sunset picture.)

This was the second lighthouse I got to visit, and I actually was able to walk out to this one. This small outpost marks the entrance to the Grande River (I think) and isn't really very old. I should post the sign on the far side that warns fishermen of the very, very loud foghorn.

This last lighthouse is across the river and up the hill from the last one. It's older than the other two, and no longer in service. If I'd been in Ohio a week earlier, I could have actually toured this one. But the tourist season was over, and I was out of luck.

What The???

You didn't think I'd forgotten about my Ohio pictures, did you? I've got plenty more of them to share. Here's a little teaser for you of some shots to come. Any idea what you're looking at here? :)

Florida v/s Ohio

It's supposedly Fall now, which means some of the country is starting to get cooler, and the leaves are turning. Here in Florida it just means that it's almost time for the snowbirds to fly back down from up North and tell us how much better everything is back where they come from. But on a different note, here are a couple of pictures that illustrate the difference between Fall in Ohio and Fall in Florida. The colorful gourds and pumpkins above show the color I found at a Fall Festival in Ohio. The colorful bougainvillea flowers below show the color I found at a Fall Festival in Florida. Two pictures, six days apart. Big difference, eh?

Out Of This World

I wanted to share this LP cover with you as a sort of corollary to the X-15 I showed you yesterday. This is from Eddie Layton At The Hammond Organ-Great Organ Hits (Mercury SR 60639), and as you can see, he's hitched his organ to this rocket, and he's about to blast off for points unknown! Far out, man! (You saw Eddie Layton here at Ernie (Not Bert) in a doodle previously, and it even included an autograph!)

The First Full Week In October

I usually post my weekly calendar picture on Monday, but I'm getting a jump on the week and putting it up today. Enjoy it while it lasts. I shot this Super Bee at a car show up in San Antonio, Florida, during the Rattlesnake Festival. The rattlesnakes were practically non-existent, so I had to make do with a small car show. When was the last time you saw a logo on a car that was as cool as this little guy? I'm sure it's been a good long while.

Before And After

I keep talking about storms today, so here's the proof. Take a look at the above picture. The shy is black, but you can still have pretty decent visibility across the bay. See the base of the bridge ramping up to the right? Now look at the shot below, taken two minutes later. Now do you believe there was a storm? Of course, this being Florida, it was bright and sunny ten minutes later, but still, I had to run for the car to keep from getting soaked.

One Of A Kind

If there is anything we have too much of in Florida, it's development. But if you know where to look, there are still some places that remain relatively quiet and serene, or at least quaint in their arcane charm. One such spot is the Blackburn Point Pivot Bridge onto Casey Key down in Osprey, Florida. The key is filled with million dollar homes, but the bridge to the island is a small, one-laned steel span that rotates 90 degrees to allow the boat traffic to pass. I've never found a good spot to get a picture of this bridge, so I apologize about the composition of these shots. But hopefully you get the idea. I think the clearance under the closed bridge is about 6 feet, so it has to open for almost all the boat traffic, and there is a lot. And believe it or not, the operation of the bridge is not automated. A bridge tender has to activate the gates to block the traffic, then walk to the center of the span to operate the controls and rotate the bridge. I wanted to ask if I could walk out with the operator and ride the bridge, but I was too shy. Maybe next time...

Ride The Wind

Before I caught the rainbows you see below, I was looking for things to shoot, and I found some windsurfers on Sarasota Bay. I thought some of the shots came out pretty good, so I'm sharing one with you. I don't think they are going to be publishing me in their trade papers just yet, but I'm still practicing. If you look close at the picture above, you can see the dark sky in the background. That's the storm that produced the second rainbow below.

I'm Forever Chasing Rainbows

This is one of two rainbows I caught today. They were from two separate storms that blew in over Sarasota. One storm dumped more water on me than I care to think about, and the other one seemed to rain itself out before it got across the bay to the island I was shooting from. Both rainbows were about the same size, so you aren't missing much from me not posting any pictures of the other one. Well, maybe you are, because I shot the other one with the long lens. Hold on while I find those pics... Here ya go!

The Fantastic 50s

I found another great LP cover to share with you today. This is Earl Bostic Plays Sweet Tunes Of The Fantastic 50s (King 602, 1959). I'm not sure why they decided to ornament the cover with a lovely painting of the X-15, but they did. The artist is L. Paleno. Pretty cnazzy, eh? The lady at the junk store where I found this suggested I frame it. I told her that if I framed all the great LP covers I have, there'd be no wall space left in my humble condo.

Oodles of Doodles CXXXIII

You know how I love doodles of musical instruments, so here is a whole passel of instruments from the flipside of Henry Mancini And His Orchestra-The Mancini Touch (RCA Victor LPM-2101, 1960). You also get a tag from the front cover, "Swing Softly". Henry Mancini is one of those composers who was just about everywhere you looked. From the 50's to the 90's, from Peter Gunn to The Pink Panther, he scored it all.

Like Herding Cats

Some things are hard to do. I've had my cat for something like four years now, and taken hundreds, if not thousands, of picture of her. This is the first picture of a yawn. I don't even mind that I cut off part of her ear.

The Month Of October, 2005

The calendar page for this month is a great shot of the old Plant Hotel (on the campus of the University of Tampa) silhouetted against sunset. I shot this from across the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa, Florida. I was really shocked when it turned out as well as it did. I wish I could tell you how I set up the shot and planned for just the right moment, but that's very rarely how I get good pictures. I just take lots of shots, and then pick out the best ones. It's more fun that way, I think. And their digital, so all I've lost is my time if they don't turn out.

Oodles of Doodles CXXXII

Here's a fun little doodle for you from Six Family Mountain-Takin' A Ride With The Wind (National Ski Patrol). I don't know much about this LP, other than it's a little bit more modern than most of the LPs I feature here. But I couldn't resist the little skier going up and down the slopes, especially when he goes down the really steep one and meets with a pretty unfortunate end. Sales of this LP appear to have benefitted the National Ski Patrol.

A Single Day In October

There's only one day of this week in the month of October, so you won't get to look at this picture for very long. Which is a shame really, because this is a pretty good picture. I shot this pelican flying into the setting sun while standing on the North Skyway Fishing Pier. I had no idea it would even turn out, but I was very happy with what I got. I think I even used this in one of my monthly calendar pages, so you've seen this shot before.

Wild In Ohio-Part 4

Here's some more of the not-so-wildlife in Ohio. I shot this frog at Stan Hywet in one of the decorative ponds behind the house. I have to admit that I didn't spot it first, though. A group of young girls with their mother had noticed it, and I wandered over and got the picture. The girls were almost as excited about me taking the picture as they were about finding the frog in the first place.

The Buckeye Stops Here

I was in Ohio over for something like ten days, and I only found this one buckeye. And I found it on the last day of my trip. You'd think that since everything in the state is named buckeye-this or buckeye-that, they'd be more common, but that turned out not to be the case.

Closest Thing To Snow

This was the closest I came to a picture of snow in Ohio. It's some sort of fungus, and you know how I love that fungus. Beautiful, isn't it?

Who's Gonna Complain?

Three years ago when I first visited Ohio, I drove past this cemetary and was fascinated by the masonary wall you see above. It circled the entire area and looked like it was made from old factory walls and recycled city streets, even bricks from old chimneys covered in once-molten slag. And then all these items were thrown together in a bizzarely random pattern. So I made it a point to get some better pictures on this recent trip. The wall is every bit as interesting now as it was then, just a little bit older. I also got a shot of the funeral home on-site, which is made in a similar style. I called the cemetary to ask about the wall, and their only comment was that it had been built by drunken masons. And in a cemetary, who's gonna complain?

Down On The Farm

The countryside up in Ohio is dotted with little farms and barns like this one. I spotted this barn while I was lost and trying to get back to a place I was familiar with. I knew I had to stop and get a quick shot though. I pulled off the road and it felt like my van was about to roll over. The shoulders on the roads up there are much steeper than what I am used to here in Florida, and I was afraid my weight was all that was keeping the van from rolling over or sliding down into the bottom of the ditch. But I survived and got the shot to boot. The dome near the center of the roof up there is actually a silo behind the barn. I couldn't get around to that side to get a shot, especially with it being on the shaded side of the building.

Undercover

As I've mentioned, I took lots and lots of pictures in Ohio, and I'm slowly in the process of sharing them out. This shot is a covered bridge on Everett Road, again in the Cuyahoga Valley. This bridge is a rebuilt version of a similar bridge that was destroyed in a flood back in the seventies. It's now closed to vehicular traffic, but there is often plenty of equine traffic clip-clopping back and forth across it.

Yes, Deer

Did I mention they have a lot of deer in Ohio? I spotted these guys running across the back nine at some golf course in the Cuyahoga Valley. I spotted deer about 5 times during my trip, but only one buck. They're wiley little critters, so I had a hard time getting any photos. Most of the time it was late in the day when the light was poor. These golfers were out at around 11 am, so I had pretty good light for once. They kept running back and forth for no good reason, ignoring the human golfers on foot and in carts, as well as the large mower you can see at the right.

Wild In Ohio-Part 3

How about a curled-haired alpaca? You don't get much wilder than that. Actually, these guys were very calm, almost sedate. They put up with lots of people wanting to pet them and take their pictures. I came across these guys at a winery in Ohio. Don't ask me what a winery was doing with alpacas...

More Brandy, More Wine

I showed you Brandywine Falls earlier, but I had to revisit it later after it had rained. You can see there is a little more water in it now than before. And there's a little more color in the leaves, too, I believe. In the springtime, this entire rockface will be covered in snowmelt.

Wild In Ohio-Part 2

I came across this guy along a trail near Brandywine Falls (which I showed you earlier). I don't know if a goat counts as something wild, but it's all I've got at the moment for you.

Oodles of Doodles CXXXI

Been a while since I had a doodle up for you, so here's a pair from Lawrence Welk. Everybody loves Lawrence Welk, right? Or maybe they just liked the champagne. These two doodles seem to exist along those champagne lines. The first is Lawrence Welk And His Champagne Music-Shamrocks And Champagne (Coral CRL 57036) and the second is Champagne Dancing Party (Coral CRL 57226). Pretty similar, eh?

Thinking Of You

I knew that Cleveland had a copy of Rodin's The Thinker somewhere, but I had forgotten about it. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across him in front of the Cleveland Museum Of Art. Pretty impressive, sitting up there on his big pedestal, looking down over the world. Hard to tell from this shot, but the base of the figure has been badly damaged from an act of vandalism back in 1970. Some people have no respect. (I love my polarizing filter. Look at that sky!)

Leaf Me Alone

I was in Ohio a couple of weeks early. They told me that in two to three weeks, the leaves would be a symphony of orange, red and yellow. The best I found while I was there was this young maple that looked to have been recently transplanted. Perhaps the stress caused it to turn colors a bit prematurely. Other than this tree, the only color I saw on the trees was green, with an occasional leaf or branch turned. I could tell there were more and more little bits of color as the week went on, but nothing solid like this guy. Maybe next year they'll have me back up, and I can go later in the year.

Wild In Ohio-Part 1

OK, gang, I'm back from my little sojourn to Ohio, but that doesn't mean you've seen the last of the pictures. I have days and days worth of stuff I didn't share because I was really busy and the internat connection at the hotel was flaky. So over the next week or so, I'll throw up some more of my trip for your perusal. This shot is the south end of a northbound Canadian goose. I tried to get a picture from the other direction quite a bit during my trip, but to no avail. It's hard to scare them towards you for a good picture. I was lucky to get this one, I thought.

The End Of September

Here's a nice little water lilly for you. Well, at least the flower is nice, the leaves behind it look a little bug-eaten. If memory serves, I shot this in the courtyard of Mote Marine here in Sarasota, Florida. They had quite a few of them in a fresh water pond there. Everyone else was looking at the sharks and rays and exotic fishes, and I was shooting flowers.