Category Archives: Florida

Birds, Birds and more Birds

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Birds, Birds and more Birds

Hawaiian NeNe (Goose)

Birds are a popular photo subject with me. My friends often tell me it’s time to stretch my wings and get a new subject and I do. I chase all kinds of wildlife. But sometimes the birds are just there. They are an easy subject because I don’t have to search for them. I can spend days trying to locate a fox or a moose or even a deer to photograph but birds are always around me.

Bird on a wire

I was near a pond in Norton taking shots of the fall foliage. Birds were the farthest thing from my mind when a hawk settled right above my head on a wire. How could I not take his picture?   Besides birds are a challenge to get a good shot. Although the hawk was right on a wire near me the background was filled with tree leaves. He also spend quite a bit of his time on the wire with his back to me. Not much of a picture if you can only get the back of a head!  So I continue to take pictures of birds.

 

 

 

 

Birds in Florida

Some of my best photos were in Florida. I always seem to have good luck there. I try to take most of my bird pictures in the wild. I may be at a wildlife sanctuary but the birds are wild and free to fly away. I got a second class photo of a very rare bird from an airboat. It’s called a snail kite and I didn’t realize how rare it was until I returned home and saw a special on the bird on PBS. The photo is blurry so I’m not going to share but the odds of me going back for a better one are pretty slim. 

Egret with Hot Dog

Accepted in Nat Geo “I Shot It” Contest

Maine Puffins

Another great bird trip was with the Audubon Society, I joined them for a trip to see the Maine Puffin Colony. What a trip! Who knew it could be so cold in the middle of July! We were in the Bay of Fundy where we could see the evidence of the 12 ft tides the area is known for.  I may have to think about doing it again because I’ve improved my photography skills since then. But I did get a few  ‘Braggable” shots.

Loons of New England

So now I have a new Bird Challenge. I need to get a decent photo of a common loon. Loons can be found in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and now the Lake George area of New York. I’ve seen them. I’ve heard them but always at a distance. So now my goal is to get close enough to get a good photo because I can do better than this!

 

I have some locations and ideas in mind but I think spring nesting season will be my best chance. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Puzzle update

No update this week. I’ve moved into the browns and purples and they are harder to match and I haven’t had much time to work on it.

Jigsaw Puzzle Update

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The Bird Jigsaw Puzzle Update

Brought to you by  popular demand is my Jigsaw Puzzle update. The Bird Jigsaw Puzzle is proving to be a challenge. As you recall a few weeks ago I was excited to share that I had used my pictures to have 4 – 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles made up.

 

 

For photos I chose a mountain in Grand Teton National Park, A Sunflower with a butterfly, and a seal with a fish. The last photo I chose was of a Bird. A purple Gallinule to be exact taken in the Everglades.

Purple Gallinule

I thought is would have a lot of detail to make the puzzle easier but my friends thought this would be the hardest of the 4.

Progress is slow But Steady

With my friend’s observations in mind I decided to tackle the bird first to see just how hard it was. Of course I’m a little rusty with jigsaw puzzles. I’ve had cats for over 20 years and during that time I gave up the puzzles. My cats were just too helpful. I hated little cat teeth-marks in the pieces. Needless to say things are moving a bit slower than I expected. I got the border done quickly but I’m running into trouble finding the inner bits on the corners.  Still I don’t spend hours working it. Its more like 15 minutes here, a half hour there. I try to spend a little time on it every day but I’m not obsessive. After all, I’m in no hurry.

 

I’m getting lots of little combos so once I figure out where they go the puzzle will start to move faster.

The Felt Mat

I was complaining to my friend JR that the pieces  were hard to identify against the wood grain of the table. He told me about the puzzle mats. I’d never heard of them. They aren’t expensive and they do make puzzle-ing easier. The pieces tend to stay in place once they are snapped together. According to the instructions on the box you can roll up the mat with the puzzle on it and it will keep the puzzles in place. The box included an inflatable cylinder around which you roll the felt with the puzzle. I haven’t tried rolling it up yet. I think I’ll wait until it’s finished before I try that. 

We’ve Played this Game Before

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We’ve Played this Game Before

Have you ever seen those games of lists on Facebook. You know the ones. They ask you things like how many of the following list of books you’ve read or how many classic films you’ve seen. There’s even a list of foods you hate! Well I was trying to visit all 50 states but I kind of got off track. So let’s play another version of the game called How Many states have you visited?

Rules of the GameWe've Played this game before

For a state to count you must have spent time there. You can’t count changing planes even if you do have a long layover. No you need to spend at least one full day there. Even better is a weekend or a vacation. For example, I had changed planes in Washington DC many times but I couldn’t cross Washington DC off the list until I spent a long weekend exploring the National Mall and looking at frozen cherry blossoms. If I truly want to experience the Cherry Blossoms I’ll need to go back but I can put a check by Washington DC.

The List of States

  1. Alabama – No
  2. Alaska – Yes- Breathtaking and majestic. Loved the glaciers
  3. Arizona – Yes- Sedona and Red Rock Country. I took my first helicopter ride in Arizona.
  4. Arkansas – No
  5. California – Yes but not for vacation (I spent 3 days in San Diego at a business convention)
  6. Colorado- No
  7. Connecticut – Yes (I spent a weekend in Old Saybrook but I don’t remember why)
  8. Delaware – No
  9. Florida – Yes- Love Florida, too bad it’s going to be underwater because of Global Warming. I go often to enjoy it while I can.
  10. Georgia – Yes The Georgia Aquarium is huge and don’t forget to go to the World of Coca Cola
  11. Hawaii –  Yes  Oahu, Big Island and Maui. Still need to go to Kauai. Best time is February when the whales put on quite a show. I also snorkeled with Manta Rays and watched Kilauea prepare to blow her top.
  12. Idaho – No
  13. Illinois- Yes But I need to go again. It was a business trip to Chicago, one of the first times I’d ever been on an airplane (a long time ago) I don’t remember much.
  14. Indiana – No
  15. Iowa – No
  16. Kansas – No
  17. Kentucky – No
  18. Louisiana – Yes, New Orleans. Great food!
  19. Maine – Yes Saw my first wild Moose there
  20. Maryland – Yes Went to the Navel Academy in Annapolis when my brother was a midshipman.
  21. Massachusetts – Yes I guess I can say Yes. I live in Massachusetts
  22. Michigan – No
  23. Minnesota – No
  24. Mississippi – No
  25. Missouri – No
  26. Montana- No
  27. Nebraska – No
  28. Nevada- Yes – Vegas Baby!  Great Shows Great Food Fun Times
  29. New Hampshire – Yes I explored the White Mountains
  30. New Jersey – No
  31. New Mexico – No
  32. New York – Yes My childhood home plus I have visited Niagara Falls several times
  33. North Carolina – No
  34. North Dakota – No
  35. Ohio -No
  36. Oklahoma – No
  37. Oregon – No
  38. Pennsylvania- No
  39. Rhode Island – Yes- Walked the cliff walk and visited the Mansions. Even went to a black tie ball in one
  40. South Carolina- Yes My brother’s wedding
  41. South Dakota – Yes That was an awesome vacation- So much to do there!
  42. Tennessee – Yes – Stayed in Gatlinburg and visited Pigeon Forge. Skipped Dollywood
  43. Texas – Yes – San Antonio. Stayed right on the River Walk
  44. Utah – No
  45. Vermont – Yes Maple Syrup anyone?
  46. Virginia – Yes Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Garden Christmas Town
  47. Washington State- Yes Spent a week on a business trip in Seattle. Took pictures from the top of the space needle and visited Chihuly Gardens
  48. West Virginia – No
  49. Wisconsin – Yes Say Cheese. Actually My brother’s retirement party from the Navy was held in Kenosha
  50. Wyoming – Yes One of my favorite places. Jackson Hole (Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone)
  51. Washington DC – Yes, On a frozen , icy weekend (as mentioned above)

Now Its Your Turn

What does your list look like? How Many states have you visited? Which of my “No” States should I visit next?

 

The Best 4 Hours

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The Best 4 Hours

The Best 4 Hours The Best 4 hours I’ve spent in a long time were those at the Theater of the Sea. Oh , you could spend the whole day. They have a beach and you could do extra events like swim with dolphins but if you just want to experience the shows you can do it all in 4 hours. I did and I had a blast. I had arrived right when the ticket office opened but even so the reptile tour had already started. I managed to catch it before it was too far along.

The Parrots

After the reptile show we moved on to the Parrot show. There were metal bleachers for us to sit on and everyone settled in while we waited for the parrots to be brought out. A quick little movement caught my eye. There was a little crab trying to get across the cement floor of the enclosure. I crossed my fingers but he made it!The Best 4 hours

When the parrots joined us it wasn’t quiet any more. Parrots are nothing if not outspoken! I loved watching them count and play games. Beautiful birds.

The Best 4 Hours 

Next up, the Dolphin Show

More bleachers and I sat in the “splash zone”. I thought the cool water might be nice about now but these were very polite dolphins. They splashed their trainer but not so much on the audience. The lighting was challenging. I was in the shade but the dolphin show was in the sun most of the time. Still I caught a few of their tricks.

The Best 4 Hours 

The Best 4 Hours 

Saved the best for lastFascination

The last show was the Sea Line show. More Bleachers and more fun. The Dolphins had been really good. Lots of exciting leaps and splashes but the sea lion had the personality. They just made you laugh. Kids were fascinated.

Sea Lion

Sea Lion

A fish Gift

My 4 hours were coming to a close and they were the Best!

The Photos

I hope you enjoyed the photos from my visit as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Theater Of The Sea

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Theater of the Sea

Theater of the SeaTheater Of The Sea

Theater of the Sea is located on Islamorada in the Florida Keys. It’s a Marine Mammal Park. I read the web site but I was still a bit overwhelmed with the choices. You have general admission, swim with Dolphins, wade with dolphins, and meet the dolphin. If dolphins aren’t your preferred mammal then you can swim with a sea lion. Are reptiles more your speed? Then you can sign up to feed and interact with a sea turtle. So many choices, so little time. Plus your choices can really eat into your budget. Each interaction will add on $65.00 – $200.00. I just couldn’t decide.

General Admission

I was excited to be going to Theater of the Sea. I’d been thinking about swimming with Dolphins since I missed out when I went to Nassau many trips ago. But how to choose between Swimming, wading or meeting the dolphins? I decided to test the waters by sticking to a general admission ticket. A general admission ticket was only $40.00 ($39.95) and offers dolphin, sea lion, and parrot shows, a bottomless boat ride, a lagoon-side beach, as well as a fish and reptile tour with tropical fish, sharks, sea turtles, stingrays, alligators, and crocodiles. It sounded like I’d cover all of the options. 

Arrive Early

The Box office opens at 9:30 am and I was there on the dot. There were only a few cars in the lot when I arrived. You enter through the gift shop. The clerk gave me a friendly greeting and took my money for the general admission. She told me the shows are continuous so I could join in or drop out at any time. I could rejoin any that I missed. 

Theater of the Sea

 

I caught up with the fish and reptile tour first. Alligators and crocodiles, loads of sea turtles, the tour was fun and informative. At each enclosure the guide stopped to spend time with the animal. The animals all recognized what was coming- food! They were all hand fed by the guide. 

Theater of the sea