IMAG8R

It's good to know that even on Capitol Hill here in DC, there are a few Gators. It's not all diplomats and Congressmen. But the diplomats do drive nicer cars...

Where's Ernie?

Anybody want to guess where I'm at for the weekend?

Raccoon Family Album

I thought you might enjoy these family photos of a trio of raccoons I spotted this evening on South Lido Key. They were alongside a nature trail I was walking down, and even though they ran off as I approached, I coaxed them back out by tossing little sticks towards them as if they were food. I know, I know, it was mean, but I wanted to get the shot. Something you can't tell from these pictures is that the mommy, or at least the big one in the front, had an injured foot. Her right rear paw must have hurt, because she didn't walk on it the whole time I watched her. These are much better pictures than the last raccoon family I saw in Ohio.

Too Short

Well, as luck would have it, I spotted a bald eagle today. He was circling overhead as I roamed around the ground of The Ringling Museum. Unfortunately, all I had on the camera was a 17-55mm lens, which meant I couldn't get any shots that showed very much. These are both minuscule crops of much larger pictures. But there is no mistaking that white head and the white tail. By the time I got back to the car and grabbed a longer lens, he was half a mile down the waterfront.

Frangipani

I walked around the grounds of the Ringling Museum today for a few minutes (until it got too hot to physically bear), and I came across a familiar frangipani tree (or, if you prefer, plumeria). I shot the picture above just a few hours ago. The picture below, was the very first month on the very first yearly calendar I ever put together. That was for 2004, and that means I took this picture in 2003. That's a long time ago! I think I took a better picture back then, oddly enough.

Still Trapped

Some years ago, I brought you a picture of this statue at the Ringling Museum, and commented on how he was rapidly being enveloped by the adjoining banyan tree. Well, fast forward to today, and here's what he look like now. You almost have to know he's there to find him. Another four years and he'll be gone.

No Sunset

Not much of a sunset tonight, I'm afraid. Too many clouds at the horizon. Shame, too, because I happened to be passing near a cool spot with some nice vistas you don't get every day. Looking west into where the sun should have set, above, you can see the distant skyline of St. Petersburg. Looking north, below, you can see the skyline of Tampa.

And looking back east, you can see the Big Bend Power Plant. So that must mean I was in Apollo Beach.

Wildlife In Distress

I spotted this poor limpkin on Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland today. If you look close, you'll see he's got one of those plastic rings from a milk jug wrapped around his neck, and it's holding his beak open. When I saw this, I trekked off to see if I could find the number of some animal rescue place to come out and help him. I finally found a security guard at Florida Southern College across the road, but he said they'd tried to get wildlife rescue out for similar situations before and it's next to impossible to find somebody on a weekend, much less a holiday weekend. So I'm hoping someone else helps this guy get unstuck when the workweek rolls around on Tuesday. I tried to get closer to him to see if maybe I could help, but he's still quite mobile, and either walked or flew away every time I tried.

Another John Henry

Spotted this sculpture in Lakeland, Florida, today, in front of the Polk Museum of Art. Yep, it's another John Henry, as if you couldn't tell. This one is much smaller than the others I've seen, and is titled Hudson. What's the other one I've shared? Star Pointer, I think. And there's Alachua at the University of Florida that they installed back when I was in school. To my eye, they all pretty much look the same.

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.

Mysterious Mickey

This is the roof of a building near the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World. I shot through the window of a moving monorail hoping that I would be able to capture an image of what I saw. This odd Mickey Mouse cutout was perched on the side of the building facing a parking lot. That alone was cool enough, but I happened to pass overhead at the exact correct time to catch the shadow on the opposite wall of the building, making two Mickey's for the price of one.

Somewhere Under The Rainbow

Look over the shoulder of Unconditional Surrender and you'll spot an odd little piece of a rainbow I saw yesterday. Clear blue sky, lots of little fluffy clouds, no rain in sight, but there was a rainbow in the sky. I guess it was somehow raining in just the right spot to produce some diffraction. I thought it was pretty cool.

Coming And Going

I thought you might enjoy these photos of a hippopotamus at Disney's Animal Kingdom Saturday. Pretty cool how they have it set up like an aquarium, allowing you to see how graceful these guys are under the water, instead of how cumbersome they are on land. In the few minutes we stood there watching, he made four laps, so he must be pretty happy in there. Or maybe he was looking for a way out. Anyhow, these are much better than the previous pictures of a hippo I shared with you.

Long Time, No See

Hey Gang! Sorry I haven't been around much lately, but I really needed a break after the long Christmas In July holiday. There's a reason Christmas only lasts one day, a whole month of Christmas is enough to kill even the hardiest blogger, and I'm far from hardy. So today I got the chance to shoot the first recreational pictures I've taken in a month or more, and I got real lucky. At my parent's house, I saw a big hawk in the old dead tree, and it turned out to be a red tail! I don't think I've ever seen one of these guys in the wild, although I see them at sanctuaries and shows fairly often. This guy took off before I got too close, but I got some shots as he circled around above me. Pretty impressive, I think.