Yearly Archives: 2010

Gulf Watch (Three)

Friday, September 24, 2010 Posted in Music, Travel

Murphy’s Law has taken over my life for the past two months. I will not go into the details because I would end up throwing myself a pity party.   Although everything that happened can be repaired or accepted,  all those nasty and annoying “events” led me to ignore my blog posting.  So, here I am again!

To celebrate my birthday and get some relief from the mayhem, Jim and I spent two wonderful days in the Keys and it revived our spirits tremendously.

I had wanted to do a series of shots in Bahia Honda but there was so much to do we didn’t have time. So now it has become a perfect excuse for another quick trip in October!  If you’re familiar with the Florida Keys, you’ll know that the chain of islands is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other.  The water is an amazing kaleidoscope of blues and greens that never fails to thrill me:

Every few yards, you get a glimpse of something like this:

Chickens roam free in Key West and are protected by law.  Here is a link to some history on  Key West’s chickens.  This cutie was crossing the street to join a bunch of pals on the other side:

I am not ashamed of admitting that I ADORE the old cliché of coconut trees lining a whispering shore.  I’m also not ashamed of giving you a glimpse of the view I had from our room:

I could have spent hours lolling on the docks and piers that dot every inch of these islands:

For now, all is well in our little spot on the Gulf of Mexico. May all be well in your spot of the world.

I’ll leave you with a link to When the Coast Is Clear by Jimmy Buffet.  Y’all come back soon:)

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Gulf Watch (Two)

Thursday, August 26, 2010 Posted in Music, Wildlife

August is usually a hot, wet, stormy and steamy month in these parts. This year is no different and walking in near fainting weather in search of wildlife and seascapes to photograph is not exactly at the top of my pleasant experiences list.  But I can’t help myself and going for long periods without seeing the spectacular local wildlife, makes me feverish.  Last week, we went to Pine Island,  and spent some time in Bokeelia.  Bokeelia is a charming area where I contracted the avian bug some years back.  Allow me to  elaborate:  it was here that I took my first pictures of two giant birds.  That is how I saw them at the time.  I was smitten when I saw the flawed jpeg of them in iPhoto.  The two giants were a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret.  My Christmas card that year carried a graphic of the giants at the back.  I’ve moved on since then and with this blog have indulged  my imagination with stories of  local wildlife.   I’m guilty of anthropomorphism and proud of it!  So, when I saw this particular giant last week, I did an inner yell:  “There’s Baudelaire the Great Blue Heron!”

Grande Bouche the Brown Pelican was doing a goofy dive and showing off to his pals on the dock:

I regretted not bringing a little picnic for this perfect setting:

I know it’s a tired old cliché but I can NEVER resist those golden sea oats:

Another thing I can never resist is the gun metal skies on our coast in August:

Time to leave and head for home before the storm but not before visiting this wonderful gem of a gallery:

For now, all is well in our little spot on the Gulf of Mexico.  May all be well in your spot of the world.  Here’s a little music from the movie, August Rush.  Enjoy!

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Odd Duck Day (Two)

Thursday, August 12, 2010 Posted in Wildlife

Shhhhh!  Getting close to butterflies is difficult and it is even more difficult to photograph them.  Over time, I’ve learned that I have to approach very quietly if a butterfly lands on a flower, like this one here:

Luckily, this one (a Swallowtail) hung around and sniffed the flowers for quite a while. I was able to get quite a few shots with several wing poses.  That way, I could admire the beautiful colors on his immense wings:

If you want to capture butterflies in flight, you’ll need a fast lens.  In the past, I’ve managed to capture some with a shutter speed of 1,000 and a decent range in my depth of field.  Today’s cameras offer high ISOs with little or no noise so, it’s much easier to capture these dancing sprites.  I’m dreaming of the day when I’ll have such a camera with a 3,000mm lens that weighs an ounce!!!!  Yeah, laugh all you want!!  I CAN dream, can’t I?  Meanwhile, take a look at these lovelies that were shot at a shutter speed of 400–hence the blur:

Look at this little one here–its antennas (sorry, cannot remember the correct term :{-) are so cute:

Butterflies love Lantana and Porterweed, so if you can, grow some in a pot or in the ground and they’ll come! Monarchs are very drawn to Tropical Milkweed, too.  As I write this, I can see 4 or 5 wafting around my butterfly garden.  I try to capture  them backlit if the moment arises, like this one here:

So, everyone, I hope you have a lovely weekend and manage to see some butterflies along the way!  Here’s a little music to inspire you :D

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Gulf Watch (One)

Monday, August 2, 2010 Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Wildlife

Yesterday, I went to one of my favorite spots on the Gulf of Mexico—Sanibel Island. It was the “wrong’ time of day for acceptable photography  but I went ahead and shot some images at Ding Darling. There, the ponds spewed out diamonds from the crushing August sun and the birds–for the most part– were mottled silhouettes.  Life is short and if there are rules you can break without doing damage, then photography is the way to do just that!   I got a few laughs out of the Reddish Egret doing its wild dance and then I noticed this odd creature:

Oh, it was a Snowy Egret in the the middle of its molt cycle.  Those gorgeous mating season feathers were swirling around for a last hurrah!  He proceeded to wrestle with a giant, unfortunate shrimp:

He tossed it and crunched it and flung it; and for a while he had a  bit of competition from a Little Blue Heron:

Want to bet who won?

Oh yes!  You were right.  Snowy One was the winner! He gave a massive heave and gulped it down:

[caption id="attachment_2122" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Yum! Time for the next one.""][/caption]

Before leaving I caught a trio of Brown Pelicans and behind them–a trio of American Avocets. I had first seen these little darlings on Merrit Island but never here.  I must make a note to be on the lookout for them:

At the Pier–where I almost camped out during my Osprey Chicks project–more Snowy Egrets were enjoying the end of the day:

The sun was about to set when I left…:

And The Eastern sky blushed in homage :

The real show started afterward with a sky like I’d never before witnessed here.  It is beyond my capabilities to describe it but I may go back tonight.  Perhaps I’ll see a repeat performance and if so, I’ll use my camera to show you a smidgen of the magic.

For now, all is well in our little spot on the Gulf of Mexico.  May all be well in your spot of the world.  Here’s Jeff Buckley with Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.

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