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Photos under the Sun bio picture

Well, now that you've arrived, why don't you stay a while!

I am Patricia Downey, owner of Photos under the Sun, a Southwest Florida pet and wildlife photography enterprise.  I am living a lifelong dream by  merging my love of domestic animals and wildlife with my passion for photography.  In my region, we are blessed with an abundance of wildlife.  This is  due to the many wonderful people whose hard work through the decades made this abundance possible.  My immense gratitude goes to them as well as to  those who continue with the preservation of wildlife and the conservation of our environment. 

Here, you'll find images of pets and wildlife as well as musings and glimpses into places I've been and loved.  Now, here's the best part:  select your favourite piece of music - plug in those earpieces and shut out the noise and enjoy... I'd LOVE  to hear from YOU.  Don't be shy, come on - leave a comment in the area below each post. 

Informational and image packed WEBSITE

For information on the services we offer; pets' resources; close encounters with Southwest Florida's fantastic wildlife; slideshows; and more, please visit Photos under the Sun's website by clicking  Web on the menu bar above.

Filling in for Ms P

Monday, February 1, 2010 Posted in Music, Wildlife

Hello, y’all. I’m Julio the Cormorant and today I’m fillin’ in fer Ms P.

Ms P is losin’ her mind–her words not mine or Maya the Great Egret’s!!!!  See, Maya the Great Egret is my bestest friend and we hang out on the barrier islands fishin’ and havin’ fun every minute of the day with her bestest friend, Juno the Osprey.  We hadn’t seen ole Ms P fer some time so we did an investigationne and here’s the scoop.  It seems that Basilio the Roseate Spoonbill over on Ding Dee overheard her say:  “OMG, I fergotte ta do the blog on tha rosies”.  OK, so she doant talk like that but ah jest caint git that weird accent a’ hers.  Anyways, heere’s a pic of Basilio, the new crush on the Ding Dee circuit:

Basilio the Roseate Spoonbill

He’s the guy Delila and Delice the Roseate Spoonbills gotte their first ivver crush on…Say what, Ms P????

"Sheesh, Ms P--she look laik a volcano comin' outta her ears!!"

Oh, yeah right–ya didde telle me aright! OK.  Here’s the scoop fer realle:  Ms P has been losin’ her min…say wha??? Ms P is bahaindde on the blog cos she bin bissee with settin’ up her bidness.  Thank yuuu, Ms P.  No prob!!

She says life goes on and on and on at tha rookerie (sp?) and now the Great Egrets (cousins of Maya the Great Egret) are busy gettin’ ready for Valentine’s Day and gathering bookays a flourers:

Speakin’ a’ Valentine’s Day, Baudelaire the Great Blue Heron is back from Paris and is going ’round talkin’ ’bout a new book by Ms P’s sister, Brigitte.  Maya got her beak stuck in thet book every day fer a month now!  Sheesh!  Wish I cudde read human words.  Anyheydadoodle, Ima askke Baudelaire fer some tips on how to romance.  He quite the dude ’round tha rookerie (sp?):

Oooowwww!  That Ms P’s got such a hollerin’ voice!!!!  Nearly broke my sonic nerve there!!!  It seems that Ms P is takin’ over the story ta “clear things up.” Herre she is an’ I’m off ta do what I do best–fishin’ an’ havin’ fun.  Ms P shudde take a lesson.. OOOOOOWWWWW:

Thank you, Julio the Cormorant. I’m very grateful to you for “helping” me out with my apologies to all for the delay in blogging.  Soon, I’ll divulge where I’ll be in SW Florida with my products.  For now, I’m including a sound byte from Julio about Paris is the Pits–a wonderful romantic comedy by Brigitte Downey:  “Maya the Great Egret say she gotte her book at Amazon an’ Baudelaire typed in a link fer it HERE “  And I, Ms P,  will say “Aurevoir et à bientôt” to all with this wonderful song from Adamo who reminds us that “Spring is just under the snow”.  Enjoy and talk to y’all soon!  :D

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Update on Rookery Activity

Sunday, January 17, 2010 Posted in Music, Wildlife

Yes, I know I said that I’d be back with the Roseate Spoonbills on this post but I just couldn’t help myself.  I had a quick look-see at the Rookery this afternoon and here’s the report:  looks like things are going swimmingly with Great Blue Heron pairs overseeing the nest:

The Great Egrets with their ethereal fan of mating feathers and key lime “eye shadow” were there en masse:

And while egrets and herons seemed to co-exist peacefully for the 45 minutes of my time there, I did hear a few grunts and signs of imminent fracas.  It turned out that this particular Great Blue wasn’t too happy to find a Great Egret in his backyard:

"Hey, whachay'all doin' in my yard?"

Oh, oh, things are getting a little heated up:

"Go on, now, git!!!"

The Great Egret made a wise decision of flying to more friendly bushes:

"Y'all got no bidness in mah bush!!"

So, all is normal in the bushes at the rookery and life goes on. Meanwhile in MY yard, every bush, tree, flower and plant has withered to either brown and black stalks or dropped its leaves giving the false impression of “green” lawns after the Florida Freeze.  This morning, surveying “Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang” to quote The Bard himself, I noticed  a lone grackle screeching to unseen cohorts to come and git the bird seed.  In comparison to the immense tragedy in Haiti, this is trivial stuff indeed.  The grass will grow again; the trees and plants will spurt forth in new leaves and fronds; and blossoms and flowers will whisper joyful sonnets in the butterfly-filled air.  :D

Here’s a link to something that’s going through my head after my time today at the rookery. Enjoy :D

VHYKEQMS8UQN

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Great Blues Herons Surviving in Freezing Florida Weather

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 Posted in Wildlife

Southwest Florida did not escape the frigid weather other places in the nation and world have been experiencing lately.  There are reports out about thousands of fish and wildlife dying or suffering from the  sustained cold and freezing temperatures–a cold spell longer than we’ve had in many years.  I had planned for this post to be about Roseate Spoonbills having fun but under the circumstances, I decided to post a picture of vibrant activity at the rookery.  I’m not sure if the Great Blue Heron baby chicks survived the freezes but as of Monday, January 11 this was what I saw:

"For me??? Oh, ya shunnnt hev!"

It is some consolation to know that romance, presenting and nest building is not only surviving but going at a feverish pitch at the Venice rookery.  I’ll keep you posted on these gorgeous birds over  the next weeks and  I’ll be back in a few days to talk about the Rosies and their antics.  Meanwhile, wherever you are, keep a warm hearth and heart going.  :D

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Tutorial on Crab Fishing from a Yellow Crown Night Heron

Tuesday, January 5, 2010 Posted in Music, Wildlife

Some time back, I wrote about the art of fishing. I’ve provided a direct link to that post at the bottom but now I’d like to introduce you to a Yellow Crown Night Heron who has become a fast friend of mine and the avian community in general. Though she doesn’t mingle with the crowd over at Ding Darling (she’s a bit shy and tends to wander by herself along the pond shores), out on the barrier islands she is quite the social butterfly.  She is very popular with Maya the Great Egret, Neptune and Juno, the Osprey siblings, Julio the Cormorant, and Baudelaire the Great Blue Heron. Juno the Osprey teases her endlessly about her penchant to fret and fuss and dissect every possible nuance of every possible situation she comes across. She had counseling about this several times.  In the end, she admitted defeat and declared to all:  “Laik Popeye, I yam what I yam and I’ll be who I yam. ‘Nuf sedde!!”  A huge whoosh of clapping wings went up when she had finished her speech and her name was changed from WorryWart to Fretelletta the Yellow Crowned Night Heron. (Hereafter known as Fretelletta the YCNH—hey carpel tunnel and all that, you know…!)

So, here she is and today she’ll talk about her mode of catching crabs:

"Hello, y'all. Today, I'll show ya how I catch a tasty crabbe as seen in the next photo Ms P puts up."

"This tasty one was caught one evening as the sun was settin'--lovely time fer crabbe fishin, in my opinion."

"First, I tekke a look-see round the water ta see if anythin' worthwhile is stirring..Oh, is that me??/ I look kinda cute in this light, I...yes, Ms P. I'll get on wif the tutorial."

"Thainne, I plunge the ole yellow head in and squish around unnerneath."

"Most times, I come back out a tha water wif a mighty tasty bit o' crabbe."

"Ms P, canne ya give the folks out thar a better look-see? Nice, hein????"

'Now, the crabbe ain't what y'all call ready ta dance yet so I hafta do somefin extra. Next photo, pleez Ms P"

"Yup, I gotta flip 'im good fer 'im ta dance right while keepin' all my eyes on tha prize."

"Mmmmmmm, yup, that wuz goooooooooodddddddeeeee if a tad over salted at tha end there!"

"So, y'all, I hope y'all learned how ta ketch crabbe and come back soon, an' leave a comment or Ms P will lose....yes, Ms P. Fretelletaa the YCNH here wuhsin' y'all Happy New Year ."

So, now you’ve met my new friend. Thank you Fretelletta the YCNH, you did very well with your tutorial.   I’d like to wish everyone a very, very fruitful New Year and please, be good to our earth and its wildlife.  Here’s ABBA to sing Happy New Year. And here’s a link to the post on the  art of fishing . ENJOY :D

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