I attended a conference in Baltimore, Maryland and we decided it would be a fun road trip so we drove. What should we spy on the road going home? A smiling caravan. We passed it and discovered that the smile was not necessarily intentional given the overall design, but it was still quite pleasing!
Today we were witness to the nesting habits of the yellow-crested night heron! It was late afternoon and we had just been talking with Tom the sax-man in the coffee shop after visiting the beach for some sun. He made a fabulous cuppa joe for Rich and I had some fresh-squeezed orange juice. Turns out his wife, Tammy, is a watercolor artist and she was exhibiting at an outdoor fair just one town up on the beach. She is really quite the amazing artist! She combines ink with watercolor to create lovely paintings - we saw mostly birds. The ink gives it a sharpness and texture that is very attractive. And who should be making their nest in a tree in middle of this fair? A pair of yellow-crested night herons!! The male would bring her some twigs and she would take them and work them into the nest. Then he would leave to find some more. Quite the sight on such a fine and sunny afternoon. We were tickled!
This morning I visited Weedon Island Preserve under threatening clouds and mild temperatures. I figured if I went early I'd miss the rain, which I did. I moseyed around the trails and if I hadn't seen it move out of the corner of my eye I would've just thought that hermit crab was a bleached out shell, albeit a larger shell than I usually find intact. I crouched patiently until she creeped about again. As long as the only thing moving was my arms she put on quite a show. This park is mostly an amazing mangrove forest with sprawling boardwalk trails and some paved and sandy trails.
They practice prescribed burns here and I couldn't help but think these charred palm tree remnants resembled snail-like creatures or maybe even a kind of sea anenome. The "antennae" are the charred palm leaf stalks.
Just as I was wondering if I wanted to keep walking or turn around and try to find a bathroom, I spied this nine-band armadillo. I couldn't believe it! Who knew there were armadillos in Florida? Apparently plenty of people whose perfectly manicured lawns have been burrowed through know all about them. After reading a bit about them afterward, it's clear from his behavior he was digging for food on the gray day.
I was taking a picture of the kitchen today and who decided to walk right in front of me? Moonshine of course. She is just this very old lady who has to constantly check on her food dish. One day she's willing to eat the poultry platter flavor and the next she turns up her nose. Believe it or not, she has even started hesitating in front of leftover steak and chicken. Hence the constant monitoring. Who knows? Maybe she thinks I'm trying to poison her!
This bare bathing beauty is resting in front of the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, a creation of Fernando Botero. Rich and I decided to have brunch in the cafe and get to know the museum better since we are full-fledged members now. It helped that they had an "Art in Bloom" exhibition and at every turn the flowers teased us with sweet scents.
And it was a fine discovery mission. Who knew there was this delightful garden outside? Ever since Rich has refused to be my muse I've gotten shamelessly intimate with my camera's timer function.
There is more to discover though and we will have to return continuously. They have live music on occasion and I peeked through the door to another garden waiting for me to come out and play on another day.
"They looked like stepping stones in the water!" exclaimed Helen. We were hanging out at our usual watering hole on a weekend night and one of the regulars told us how she went to see the manatees as the Tampa Electric Company power plant. If you click on the picture below and look closely at the shadows in the water you'll see what she means. Rich and I hopped in the car and took a visit in for ourselves. It being a particularly cold winter, more than 100 hundred manatees have been taking advantage of the warmed waters provided by the power plant. The picture above shows a mama and her baby gawking at the humans. They just hung there in the water looking up at us on the platform.
This is the morning sun peeking into my new office. It is still somewhat jumbled, but it's coming along nicely. There's a good balance here between office and guest bedroom. And the colors are warm and friendly, cherry and pine. And I LOVE working in the morning sun, watching the drawbridge go up and down and listening to the boats blow their horns in thanks. Occasionally I even hear balls popping in the tennis courts below my window.
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