Birding in Lake Morton

I took up bird watching about a year ago.  I started by watching the birds in my backyard, and progressed from there.  The big impetus, I suppose, was that I got a new camera, and what better way to learn to use it, than to take pictures?  Walter is not always available to be my model, and still life doesn't really interest me that much, so I started taking pictures of birds.  And that's how I got hooked.

Lake Morton is a small lake in the town of Lakeland, about 30 minutes from Kissimmee along the I-4 toward Tampa.  The lake itself is more like a large lagoon.  Its
shore is built up in some places.  You can actually walk all the way around it, as it is in the middle of a park. It's a great place to see birds, sometimes quite close up.

 Black swan.  Although he looks like he's relaxing, he's actually keeping an eye on me.  Swans can be very territorial.  I've no doubt that if I had got too close, he would have attacked.

 Blue heron.  He was on shore, watching the world go by.  Walter and I took several pictures of him (from a distance).  He perked up at one point, and that's how I got this shot.  Then he decided that the water was a safer place, and moved back a few feet.

 Moving to safer ground.

 Snow geese.  I always thought they were white, but apparently not.  There is a fairy tale about a snow goose that I read when I was a child.  I can't remember if it was Hans Christian Anderson or Grimms Fairy Tales.  I'll have to look it up.

 Mallards.  One of my favourite ducks.

Mute swans.  This pair were engaged in a courtship ritual.  I looked it up when I got back to the condo.  They will mate for life, although, apparently 'divorce' is possible if nesting doesn't go well.  I got several photos of them while they were doing their mating routine.

After spending about an hour at the lake, we walked across the street to where our car was parked.  Behind the public library is the Polk Museum of Art.  What a find that was.  Unfortunately, no photography allowed so no pictures to show.  There was an exhibit of light painting (I don't know how else to describe it) that was really beautiful.  Various pieces of glass with coloured filters in them, arranged along a wall with bright lights shining through, creating an explosion of colour and shape.  For a better explanation, check out http://www.stephenknapp.com/.  It's beautiful work.

First week in Florida

We're back in Florida, after spending almost three weeks in the Cayman Islands.  The first thing we did, after settling in and getting the necessary groceries, was head to the golf course.  Driving range, actually, because neither of us had played golf since August or September of last year.  Hmmm............  about that.  I know there is a golf swing in there somewhere.  Luckily for me, I'm not trying to make a living out of playing golf.  Still, I hit some good shots.   Walter, of course, hits the ball about 300 yards.  As an aside, it turns out our next door neighbours in our condo complex are golfers.  They're from Rainy River, Ontario, down here for a month or so.  We promised to get together for a golf game at some point.

Anyway, after hitting a bucket of balls, we decided to do some exploring.  We ended up in Melbourne - not a surprise, as we both like the place.  We decided to have lunch at the Bald Strawberry, a place that got really good reviews on TripAdvisor.  So, we plugged the addressed into our GPS, and drove there.  Found the place. Looked great.  And then noticed the sign.............  Closed on Mondays.  Just happened to be the day we were there.  Oh well, Back to TripAdvisor and off we went again.

 Had lunch - fried clams, yummy - at Squidlips Overwater, a great little place near the Eau Gallie pier.  Would definitely go there again.

Then we walked along the pier.

We met a charming fellow, Pat, originally from Brooklyn NY, now retired and living here.  He regaled us with stories about his life in Brooklyn, and told us what we can expect to see at the pier.  Including the occasional dolphin.  While he talking about that, two dolphins crested the water and dove in again.  The sun was out, disappeared, then it rained hard for about 20 minutes, after which the sun came out again.  All while spending our time talking with Pat.

I had forgotten that Florida has toll roads.  On Sunday, when we were heading to Costco, we ended up on a ramp to a toll road.  This particular ramp had only two lanes - the EZPass lane, and the exact change lane.  I guess Florida has had problems with people not having exact change, as one of the options was 'drive now and mail in the toll'.  So we grabbed an envelope and off we went.  As we entered the toll road, we heard alarms go off.  I'm pretty sure that triggers taking a picture of the license plate.  We have 10 days to mail in the toll.  The envelope indicates the ramp, and all we need to is indicate date, time and our license plate.

The toll was $0.75.  No cash in the mail, just cheque (or as the Americans say check) or money order.  So on Wednesday, we went to the post office to get a money order for $0.75 - which cost me $1.20 and $0.34 for the stamp.  Oh well, better than a fine, I'm sure.

The post office is in Celebration - a Disney built town, just down the road from us.  Of course, while we were there, we had to explore.  Couldn't let that opportunity go by.  The market square area is very nice.  Very clean (it is after all Disney).  There are some walking/biking trails around the lagoon that I would like to explore later.

The hotel from the other side of the lagoon

 Great American ibis.

 The post office, seen from the bank tower.  Someone described it as Disney meets Dr. Seuss.

Walter walking toward the square.

Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Gardens

We all went to the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Gardens as an outing.  The gardens were opened by the Queen, hence the name, I guess.  There were supposed to be orchids growing wild, but we found out we were too early.  Apparently, May or June is the best time for them.  Oh well, there was lots else to see, so we were not disappointed.

 Walter, the intrepid photographer.  I'm not sure what he was trying to shoot, I just know it wasn't me.

 Jaime taking a moment to relax.

 Some of the beautiful flowers in the garden.

 A blue iguana - one of several we saw in the gardens.  They are used to people feeding them (even though people are not supposed to), and so will allow us to get fairly close to take a photo.  But....... beware!  They move surprisingly very quickly.  And, will go after food when it's left to close to them.  Definitely wouldn't want a bite from one of these.

 Another blue iguana.  This one sitting patiently in the picnic area, waiting for some unsuspecting person to bring out food.

  Posing for the family photographers. They were all sitting on a large tree branch that was growing parallel to the ground. 

We had a great time in the Caymans, and after 18 days it was time to move on to the next phase of our journey, Florida.  So, for now, so long to the Caymans and hello to Kissimmee.

Play time at Dart Family Park

Sydney at the bottom of the slide,with Lennox there to catch her.

 Lennox enjoying the slide.

 A great smile.

 A look of wonderment - coming out of the playhouse in the park.

 Lennox was excited and wanted to continue, but he moved on to................

 'If You're Happy and You Know It'.  Lennox is quite the showman.  I think there's a future in the entertainment industry.

Governor Gore's bird sanctuary

While visiting Jaime and Jon, Walter and I made two trips to Governor Gore's bird sanctuary.  It's a small sanctuary located about 10 minutes away by car.  The birds were beautiful.  The iguanas were a big surprise.  Both in that I didn't expect to see any there - not certain why - they are, after all, native to the Caymans.  Also BIG in size, especially the orange ones.  We got some great shots.  Here are a few.

 One of the ducks feeding on the reeds.

 A green heron.  Actually, I would not have seen it at all if it hadn't been for a bird watcher who pointed it out.

 A red dragon fly.  It landed on a reed just below my feet. I took the shot and hoped for the best.  Didn't have time to adjust the settings.

 An iguana.  A face so ugly, it's actually beautiful.

 An orange iguana.  From head to tail, he's probably about nine feet long.  He was across the lagoon when I took this.  Iguanas can move quite quickly when they want to.  He seemed to be more interested in enjoying the sunshine, rather than climbing down from the trees.

 Another orange iguana, in another tree, on another side of the lagoon.  Can't imagine what it would be like if these two beauties met!

Cayman Islands

Walter and I spent 18 days in January visiting our daughter and son-in-law, and our two grandchildren on Grand Cayman.  It's one of three islands that make up the Cayman Islands, coral islands between Jamaica and the Mexican coast.  It was wonderful to see everyone and to get to know Lennox and Sydney.

 The view from edge of the property.  The gazebo at the end of the wharf has two hammocks.  A lovely way to spend a few hours in the afternoon, soaking up the sun, watching the cruise ships pass by on their way to George Town and watching the birds fishing for food.

 A typical Caymanian sunset, seen from the gazebo at the end of the wharf.  Any wonder I liked spending late afternoons and early evenings there?  The sunsets on the water were beautiful.

  Another day, another sunset.  

  Ibis and heron looking for food.  All I had to do was sit in the gazebo and watch.

 Another day, another ibis.  Beautiful bird, and  I just happened to have my camera out and ready.  I can't tell you how many shots I missed because I wasn't prepared.  This time, though, I was lucky.

  Following the leader.  Sydney following Walter on the way to play.

 And here is the game.  Sydney would push the hammock (with a lot of help from Walter).  Walter would laugh and make faces.  That made Sydney laugh, and 'push' the hammock even more.  Then it would be her turn to be in the hammock.  Walter would gently push the hammock, Sydney would giggle, and away we went.  A great way to keep her amused.

 Jon and Lennox relaxing in one of the hammocks on the dock.  Seems to be a favourite place for us to hang out.

Another visit to Huntington Beach State Park

Today, we went back to Huntington Beach State Park.  We decided to visit Atalaya, the home of Archer and Anne Huntington, who created Brookgreen Gardens.  The house was built in the early 1930s, and was used by the Huntingtons as a winter home until 1947.  All that is left today is the shell of the house, and the grounds. 

The house was built in the Spanish Moorish style, and had two inner courtyards separated by a covered walk.  Even in its current state, it is easy to imagine how grand the house would have been in its heyday.

 The walkway between the two inner courtyards. Ralph is peeking around the corner.

 

 The inner studio where Anne Huntington did some of her sculptures.

 

 The shower in Mr. Huntington's bathroom.  Mr. and Mrs. Huntington had separate bathrooms off the master bedroom. 

 

 The bathtub in the housekeeper's bathroom.  She was the only servant who had two rooms, a bedroom and a bathroom - each with a fireplace.

 

After touring Atalaya, we went back to the marsh area to see what birds were out.  Not much this time, compared to when we were there in March.  But I did get a couple of good shots.

 

 This egret was intently watching something in the water.

 

 He (or she - I'm not sure which) finally gave up and flew off.

 

 

 An osprey in the air with a fish in its claws.  I got this by accident.  I saw some smaller birds take off and was trying to focus on them when the osprey flew into my line of vision.  Just pressed the shutter release at the right time.  Not exactly in perfect focus, but still pretty good.