Flamingo Gardens

Posted on February 22, 2013February 22, 2013 by Dusty Roads

My early start had been side tracked by the unwelcome visit to the Welcome Center. Now that I’d wasted a good 45 minutes I decided Everglades National park was best delayed until tomorrow.

So where to head today? In my brochures of the area I found a one for a Botanical Garden and Wildlife sanctuary. In my travels I’ve had really good luck with botanical gardens and wildlife sanctuaries. I am about to see if my luck will continue.

Flamingo Gardens is located at 3750 South Flamingo Rd ,(Davie) Fort Lauderdale. My GPS said it was about a 20 minute drive. My full “kit” was loaded in the car including tripod and telephoto lenses. I would not be traveling light today.

To my surprise when I arrived there was a flea market well underway. The botanical gardens had not opened yet so I wandered around the stalls. I didn’t see anything I was interested in so I made my way over to the entrance.

I watched a Peacock preen while I waited for the doors to open.

The entrance was through the gift shop.

I was handed a map of the grounds with my ticket.

As I passed through to the grounds on the other side I spotted a huge tabby cat. It gave me my “kitty fix” of the trip.

The paths were almost jungle-like with flowering plants and overhanging vines and branches.

It was only about 9:30 am and the morning light filtering through all this lush growth was an artist’s dream.

Eventually I arrived at the Aviary. All of the birds and animals in the sanctuary are rescues. Their injuries prevent them from ever being released back into the wild. The sanctuary allows them to live out their lives while serving as animal ambassadors for their species.

I entered the aviary with limited expectations. I was quickly surprised. I first spotted some white wading birds..egrets or maybe white herons but as I came closer I realized there were many more birds than I first noticed.

Continuing along I met more birds… wood storks

and anhinga,

ducks,

pelicans

and spoonbills

were just a few of the residents.I even spotted some good sized turtles.

I found my self spending hours among these feathered creatures with my camera working overtime.

I was surprised that there weren’t more people passing through the aviary. In fact only one small group came through while I was there. Maybe being surrounded by uncaged birds wasn’t to everyone’s liking.

Airboats and Alligators

Posted on February 19, 2013February 19, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Ok so I guess I wasn’t on dry land for long. Off the cruise ship in the morning onto the airboat in the afternoon.

This airboat was different from any I’d been on before. This one was enclosed so there were no bulky ear protectors to muffle the sound.

There was also no wind in your face or water in your lap. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this.

I tried to manuver around the groups that wanted to sit together so that I could get a seat on one of the ends so I could take pictures. A good-sized man and his family scooted over so I could have a seat next to them so I had my prime spot. Now it would all depend on where the animals were.

We cast off with a roar ramping up to a pretty good speed. The operator zigged and zagged so spray would fly in all directions then just as quickly he killed the motor and we drifted into a clump of razor grass. While we sat there our guide explained about the eco system of the Everglades…how it isn’t a swamp, the water is not stagnant, how fragile it is even touching on some of the problems of invasive species. Then he reached over to start up the boat so we cold look for the main attraction, alligators, but nothing happened.

After trying a couple of times more he called the main office for a rescue. While we waited he told us stories about his childhood growing up in the glades and how the sun is your friend. If you are ever lost in the Everglades after dark it won’t be alligators and snakes you need to worry about…it will be the “skeeters”. As he went on about the “Skeeters” and what would happen at dusk we watched the sun sink lower and lower on the horizon. Just about the time we thought we should get out and start wading/swimming back, the rescue airboat arrived.

Lashed to the side of the new comer we all climbed over the side and into the new boat. All safely aboard we set off again. We hadn’t gone far when we heard our disabled airboard start up! Ok well at least it was a story to tell…Rescue in the Everglades.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. We saw several alligators and learned about the role temperature plays in determining the sex of the babies. Also the affect climate change seems to be having on the eco-system.

In one of the cuts we saw a little back and red bird that seemed to hop over the big leaved plants. The plants looked like water lilies but our guide said they were not even related. He said he had saved the little bird as a chick and raised it at his home only releasing it as an adult. Sure enough, when he called it, it came.

We spent a bit of time feeding the bird and then it was time to head back. As always the time was too short for me. I wonder if I could get a job as an airboat operator???

Roger Williams Park and Zoo

Posted on September 10, 2012September 10, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Back from Maine life did not slow down. Summer is flying by. The deadline for the opening of my stall at Cape Cod Crafters was looming so much of my time was concentrated on getting the type of pictures they said would sell for my cards. A quick photo shoot at Nantasket and then back home to fold and package cards.

Finally the big day came, the stall was open and I was hopeful life could return to normal.

That’s when Nancy reminded me that we owed the kids their annual summer outing. I enjoy it as much as they do so we had to squeeze that in. We wanted a zoo or Aquarium so we had narrowed it down to 3 choices…the Zooquarium in Yarmouth (Cape Cod), Mystic Aquarium (Mystic , CT.) or Roger Williams Park and Zoo in Providence , RI. I compared prices and travel time and Roger Williams was the closest and in the middle for price so Roger Williams it is.

I hadn’t been to the Zoo there in quite a while. I went the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular the last 2 years and I like the Carousel Village for pictures but it’s been closer to 20 years since I’ve been to the Zoo itself.

Here are some of the sights and scenes from the trip.

We saw a dominate tortoise “beating up” on his “lesser” cage mate. Yup. It’s 2 males jousting for dominance. It’s pretty clear which one was winning.

No Lions, Tigers and bears but for once the Snow Leopard was where it could be seen.

The Flamingos were nice and pink.

And look at that tongue on the giant ant-eater.

We spotted a cute little red panda. That was quite a hit.

Our national bird, The American Eagle was majestic as he perched in his enclosure.

I think it’s safe to say that we all had a good time.

Too many pictures, not enough room!

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The kids played in the “misters” and we found the green eggs to go with the ham, but I do not like Green Eggs and Ham, I do not like them Sam I AM (Dr. Seuss)

Photo of the Week~ Week 34

Posted on August 25, 2012August 25, 2012 by Dusty Roads

American Bald Eagle

The Becky Thatcher

Posted on August 6, 2012August 6, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Remember Becky Thatcher from Tom Sawyer? Well our riverboat was the Becky Thatcher and it was quite roomy. After the safety orientation to show us the life jackets we cast off and headed upstream. The river was beautiful.

We had a young man acting as a commentator to point out the sights like eagles nests, a ferry, the Goodspeed Opera house. It was his first time so he was nervously reading the script. If they let him do it again I’m sure he will get better.

The views of the Gillette Castle were extraordinary from the boat. The mansion is an amazing sight anyway any time of the year but with the green foliage and bright blue sky it was truly magnificent.

Even with a full complement of guests the ride was relaxing. I find being on the water like that is very soothing.

When we reached the opera house and the East Haddam swing bridge we did a big , slow, sweeping turn that gave us plenty of time to take in the views of East Haddam.

We passed marinas and private docks and even a monestary! What a beautiful day for a riverboat ride!

Traveling back down the river we spotted the train on its last run of the day.

So that was how we would get back to the station.

The train stopped at Deep River Landing just as we pulled in. While I waited for my turn to leave the boat I watched two large birds swoop over the island across from the boat. Osprey! I was thrilled to actually see them fish, swooping down to brush the surface of the river and then climb back up with their fish. At first I thought they were eagles but closer scrutiny proved them to be osprey. They were too far away for photos but I did try..just a couple of spots came out.

Back at the station the office recommended Bill’s Seafood if I wanted to have a nice moderately priced dinner before I returned home. They gave me the address and directions and it wasn’t long before I spotted it. The weather was still wonderful so I took a seat at a picnic style table on the outdoor deck. I was glad for the umbrella, not for the sun but as protection from the birds. Sea Gulls were flying everywhere. Marshland spread out from the deck and I spotted white ibis, great blue herons and more Osprey. There were 2 osprey nests and they were both occupied. I watched the adults hunting and returning to the nest with their catch to feed the babies while I enjoyed a lovely meal of fish and chips.

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Children were feeding the ducks and gulls bits of their lunches and the birds were clearly enjoying the attention. This would be a wonderful place to come back to with a big telephoto lens. But even without the camera, it was a wonderful way to end the day.