RSS Feed (xml)
Gone with the Wind Memories,
in Plant City, is the largest gift shop in the world
dedicated to the movie.
in Plant City, is the largest gift shop in the world
dedicated to the movie.
27 February 2009
24 February 2009
Mystery solved
Y'all were so close. PREM guessed Cuban anole.
We, thankfully, don't see those alien invaders up here in Arctorida. When we stopped at the park on the north end of the Sunshine Skyway, we spotted quite a few scampering about the Australian pine roots. (Aussie pines, by the way, aren't really pines). Much as I'd love to move back down there, I do love the lack of all those invasives up here. The one that really struck me was the Brazilian pepper, once euphemistically dubbed Florida holly. The stuff is EVERYWHERE! Unfortunately, all these illegal aliens are so well established by now that they're virtually impossible to oust. >:\
We, thankfully, don't see those alien invaders up here in Arctorida. When we stopped at the park on the north end of the Sunshine Skyway, we spotted quite a few scampering about the Australian pine roots. (Aussie pines, by the way, aren't really pines). Much as I'd love to move back down there, I do love the lack of all those invasives up here. The one that really struck me was the Brazilian pepper, once euphemistically dubbed Florida holly. The stuff is EVERYWHERE! Unfortunately, all these illegal aliens are so well established by now that they're virtually impossible to oust. >:\
23 February 2009
20 February 2009
Florida Factoid Friday
During the early to mid-1800's,
two salt ponds were operated on Duck Key.
This was the first venture of this type in the Keys.
two salt ponds were operated on Duck Key.
This was the first venture of this type in the Keys.
17 February 2009
Mystery solved
Jena guessed it... it's a bobcat. This was the best shot I got of this handsome fellow. The refuge was about to close, but I had to slam on the brakes and back up when I saw him stalking through the grass. The sun was dropping, so I had to shoot fast.
Many thanks to y'all for all your encouraging well-wishes and prayers. Cold, rainy days and a minor gum infection got me a bit run-down, but I'm pretty much up to snuff again now. God bless! Have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^
I saw another bobcat a couple weeks ago, near the same spot. This poor guy was limping across the road. I just hope it was something simple and temporary.
Many thanks to y'all for all your encouraging well-wishes and prayers. Cold, rainy days and a minor gum infection got me a bit run-down, but I'm pretty much up to snuff again now. God bless! Have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^
16 February 2009
Monday Morning Mystery
Hope this isn't too murky for y'all. This, that and the other have me a little draggy right now. In the past week, I've left the house once, to drop off some recycling. I didn't even take my camera with me then, coz it was rainy all day. So I dug down into last February's files and grabbed the first pic of something we haven't done before I came to. (Yeah, that sentence made sense, right?) Hopefully, echinacea tea and improving weather will get me back out there this week.
Y'all have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^
12 February 2009
Nice while it lasted
WARNING: Not for the soft-hearted!
Well, I've had my car about 2½ months now. I've really enjoyed all the little luxuries my last car lacked. All that came to an abrupt halt Saturday night. DS and I took a long day trip over to the ocean coast to do some birding and around midnight, the white line fever got to be too much for me, so we switched seats in Perry. Now between Perry and home, there's about a 50 mile stretch of black nothingness. I perked up a little when we started seeing deer grazing offsides. This was not unusual, but there did seem to be a lot more than we normally see out there. And there was fog. The thickest fog I've ever seen. It would roll down over us, slide back up, then cover us again. DS is a pretty good driver and I know I'm a horrible passenger, so I tried not to mention how much slower I'd be driving.
If I ever wondered how anything could 'just come out of nowhere', I won't ever again. It was like slow motion. Suddenly there was a huge deer face looking at us from the front left corner. It seemed, in that instant, that all motion stopped. Then there must have been a THUD. (My memory's a bit hazy on that point). It didn't sound or feel so bad. The deer vanished just as suddenly as he'd appeared. (I asked DS where he went, then decided I really didn't want to know). The odd thing was that each moment seemed like a separate still-life picture. DS let off the gas, then drove on as he realized the car was driveable and nothing could be done for the poor creature. There was no sense in stopping in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. So we kept going, me in tears, knowing I'll never forget that face, the car with one lopsided bright headlight left functioning.
I couldn't bring myself to even look at the damage for three days. Before the tow truck came yesterday afternoon, I went out and took some pictures. It was worse than I imagined. The more cracks and dents I found, the more I felt like crying again. Honestly, I hope they total it. We have a $500 deductible to scrape up if they fix it. And, considering how the economy keeps going, we could do without those car payments. (Speaking of which, why on earth are gas prices rising? And why is nobody complaining?!)
Well, I've had my car about 2½ months now. I've really enjoyed all the little luxuries my last car lacked. All that came to an abrupt halt Saturday night. DS and I took a long day trip over to the ocean coast to do some birding and around midnight, the white line fever got to be too much for me, so we switched seats in Perry. Now between Perry and home, there's about a 50 mile stretch of black nothingness. I perked up a little when we started seeing deer grazing offsides. This was not unusual, but there did seem to be a lot more than we normally see out there. And there was fog. The thickest fog I've ever seen. It would roll down over us, slide back up, then cover us again. DS is a pretty good driver and I know I'm a horrible passenger, so I tried not to mention how much slower I'd be driving.
If I ever wondered how anything could 'just come out of nowhere', I won't ever again. It was like slow motion. Suddenly there was a huge deer face looking at us from the front left corner. It seemed, in that instant, that all motion stopped. Then there must have been a THUD. (My memory's a bit hazy on that point). It didn't sound or feel so bad. The deer vanished just as suddenly as he'd appeared. (I asked DS where he went, then decided I really didn't want to know). The odd thing was that each moment seemed like a separate still-life picture. DS let off the gas, then drove on as he realized the car was driveable and nothing could be done for the poor creature. There was no sense in stopping in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. So we kept going, me in tears, knowing I'll never forget that face, the car with one lopsided bright headlight left functioning.
I couldn't bring myself to even look at the damage for three days. Before the tow truck came yesterday afternoon, I went out and took some pictures. It was worse than I imagined. The more cracks and dents I found, the more I felt like crying again. Honestly, I hope they total it. We have a $500 deductible to scrape up if they fix it. And, considering how the economy keeps going, we could do without those car payments. (Speaking of which, why on earth are gas prices rising? And why is nobody complaining?!)
10 February 2009
Mystery solved
Suze was right, it was a bird's beak. And KellyRae, amazingly, guessed which bird! Yep, it's a pigeon, AKA Rock Pigeon or Rock Dove.
Pigeons are so much a part of the urban landscape, we tend to forget they're an invasive species. Efforts to control them have been, quite obviously, unsuccessful. Over the years, many escaped or released domestic birds have gone feral. Interbreeding of the ferals and the wild birds has resulted in a relative scarcity of true wild Rock Pigeons.
Pigeons are so much a part of the urban landscape, we tend to forget they're an invasive species. Efforts to control them have been, quite obviously, unsuccessful. Over the years, many escaped or released domestic birds have gone feral. Interbreeding of the ferals and the wild birds has resulted in a relative scarcity of true wild Rock Pigeons.
09 February 2009
06 February 2009
Florida Factoid Friday
German immigrant Harry Sperl has collected more than 1,000 hamburger-related items, including a hamburger waterbed and a hamburger motorcycle. Sperl, AKA Hamburger Harry, owns and operates the International Hamburger Hall of Fame in Daytona Beach.
04 February 2009
Mystery solved
Again, y'all were on the right track. We spotted this at the marina near Oaks on the Bay Park in Panama City. Apparently, it is about to become part of Florida's artificial reef program. I googled till I got goo-goo-googley eyes, but couldn't find any specific information concerning this ship or FAMI. Anyhow, I thought it was a pretty cool sighting and snapped off numerous shots of it and its surroundings. 8-]
After fighting Picasa all morning, I didn't notice, once I finally got the stupid collage done, that it cut off parts of some pics. If y'all are interested, the whole pics can be seen here. Bon voyage.
After fighting Picasa all morning, I didn't notice, once I finally got the stupid collage done, that it cut off parts of some pics. If y'all are interested, the whole pics can be seen here. Bon voyage.
02 February 2009
Monday Morning Mystery
This week, thinking y'all will need the extra hint, I'm gonna go ahead and post it now. Just in case I don't get back to it in a timely manner. Have fun. 8-]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
