I Wish I Had Four Hands.

High tide wasn’t until late afternoon. What is one supposed to do? Hit the inter coastal. Right before you get to the bridge on Walsingham, there is a turn off next to George McGough Nature Park. We had planned to enter the inter coastal there, but Linda didn’t like the idea. She had a far better one - Keegan Claire Park in Indian Rocks Beach.

It’s not a large park. I think it has 4 parking spots. But it has beach access. We carried the canoe and kayak to the beach and off we went.

(I know. I was in my kayak on Sunday, and now on Thursday, I’ m just getting around to posting pictures. Hey it takes me a while. Sometimes to figure out what bird is which. I sometimes sit here with 3 different books, and still hit the internet to make sure I’ve named the bird correctly. )


One bird I didn’t have to spend time on was the Yellow Crowned Night Heron. He was every where.

Kayaking with a dolphin. That was just fun. I can’t row and take pictures at the same time. He was swimming right next to me. When I stopped to get the camera ready, he took off in another direction. I felt abandoned.

This little Snowy Egret wasn’t angry. It think he was just cold. I was wishing I had brought a jacket. It must have been in the lower 70’s when we first hit the water. (Sorry to offend all of you in the north. That’s cold when you get accustomed to 90 degree weather.)

I never realized how close the 3 nature parks are. We passed McGough, Bonner and Indian Rocks, and the birds were just having a great time. There must have been some good eats in all that mud. I snapped the Roseate Spoonbill swallowing something.


I don’t understand how so many pelicans can sit in the mangroves. I sat in the kayak as more and more of them continued to fly in. The little bird sanctuary had plenty a room in the mangroves for them to spread out, but they just wanted hang out close to each other.

I love the picture of them taking off. Some woman had gotten out of her kayak and walked the sand bar. She got a little to close for their comfort. She did me a favor. I’m always trying to get that shot of birds in flight.

Woodstork were on the prowl for food as we turned rowed toward the Indian Rocks Nature Preserve.

The Gulls were a little feisty. This one wouldn’t leave the poor Ibis alone. The other Ibis hung out together, and no gulls bothered them. This one decided to go it alone, and he was harassed.

I told you it takes me a while to figure out what some birds are. It’s these little shore birds that drive me crazy. The Spotted Sandpiper doesn’t look spotted. The non breeding feathers are just gray.

So are the feathers of the Willet. I’m not completely sure of this bird. But I can’t find anything else he could be.

The identity of this bird was easy. He fits the description. Non breeding: back speckled gray, short straight bill and big black eyes. He was very difficult to get a clear shot. Not that he moves too fast , or that he wouldn’t let me get near him. He blends into the mud. I use the view finder on my camera, and some times I would lose him. The camera’s auto focus often focused in on everything but the bird.

Once I again I left the water as a tormented soul. The call of the Belted King Fisher mocked me. Like the previous weekend, they flew past me at such speed, I had no chance of getting a picture.

My Picture

For those who wonder what I look like, this picture is for you.

We dress up for Halloween, at least some of us do. I was the only one on the team. To me it is another opportunity to wear jeans. Just throw on a mask, off to work I go. No ironing!!!

Fred Howard Park

We were all to meet at Panera Bread at 6:30 AM. Forget getting a bagel for the road. They don't open until 7:00 AM. But we were still in the parking lot at 7:00. Mayra had to rush home and retrieve her camera. It seems Deb showed up at Mayra's at 5:30 AM.

We hit the road shortly at 7:00 for Tarpon Springs. Driving through downtown Clearwater I got the creeps. There were men and women walking the streets, wearing white shirts and black pants. I kept thinking about the Charleton Heston movie Omega Man. It was about a group of people that all dressed a like, and could only come out at night, because radiation poising made the sun their enemy.

Fred Howard Park has 2.5 miles of marked kayak trail. Deb, Linda, and Mayra decided they had had enough and headed in to St. Joseph Sound. (only one person can paddle throught the mangrove tunnels, and it seems both wanted to paddle. Which caused them to row into the mangroves. Linda didn't like the idea of fiddler crabs in the canoe.)

It was a really overcast day. The weather was the right temparature to be on the water, but the over cast sky caused nothing but trouble with my autofocus. I had noticed the camera's limitations when I was in Washington State, but I had thought it was me. It was a brand new camera back then. After today, I've come to the conclusion it doesn't focuw well with grey skies.

While trying to capture a picture of a Belted Kingfisher, I caught a picture of a Wood-Stork in flight. There weren't a lot of animails or birds. I thought early in the morniing on a cool days we would have seen more wild life.

I'll continue tomorrow. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Linda drank 1/2 case of beer Saturday, and her snoring was louder than my table saw. I need sleep

Frogs for Frank

Frank is the lizard in the Rescuers Down Under. There is also a certain person that reminds me of Frank, but I will not mention her name. She doesn't like the nickname. She does like Frogs.

I can tell you, it isn't easy to take pictures of frogs at night. Even though the camera throws out a light, it is only for a second. I had to guess where to point the lens. I thought I was only taking a picture of one frog. Each time I took a picture, I was surprised by what was revealed in picture review.

Pig frogs are every where.

Frank I hope you like the pictures.

Strange Bedfellows

Tonight Susie was chewing on her Kong Toy. Charle had already retrieved the goodies from hers. She was sitting on the love seat coveting Susie's Kong toy. Susie jumped up on the love seat and went after Charlie. Now Charlie won't leave my lap. It's really hard to type with a 12 pound puppy in your lap.

As you can see from last Sunday, they were just the best of friends.

Just Don't Do It

If you have a few tiles falling off the wall, take my advice. Glue them back up, add a little grout and forget about them. My simple tile job, has be come a complete bathroom make over. It’s also the reason why have posted any pictures lately.


I did spot this big guy roaming around neighborhood. Strangest thing, Charlie will sit and watch the bushy tailed rats (squirrels) walking on power lines in the backyard. But this juvenile woodstork didn’t catch a second of her attention.

Weeki Wachee

Blame it on Tim Dorsey or Carl Hiaasen. They both describe old Florida in their novels. Tim Dorsey’s main character in his novels is a history loving serial killer. Serge Storms travels around Florida pointing out historical points of interests to his drugged out side kick Coleman.

Blame it on the developers. In the eight years I’ve been down here, I’ve seen the view of the Gulf of Mexico disappear from Gulf Boulevard. Mammoth condo building are replacing the beach bungalows that were built in the 40’s, 50’s and 60. Indian Rocks and Indian Shores are quickly losing their beach community charm, while Clearwater Beach strives to be a clone of Miami Beach.

Sunday was just another beautiful Florida day. Steve and Lisa had told us they would be here around 3:00 PM. We had time to drive up to see the Weeki Wachee mermaids. We had talked about seeing them, before the park becomes another thing of the past.

Oh you are wondering about mermaids.

For the last 60 years, along US highway 19 you can stop and see a mermaid show. Today it cost 23.00 and an additional 3.00 for parking. (They also have a small water park. The yearly pass wouldn't be bad if you lived in the area.) It’s not only a chance to see old Florida, but to see a part of America before the interstate helped wipe out the Mom and Pop places along America’s highways.

Sunday the Production Was Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid. The story wasn’t as interesting as the athleticism of the participants. These young people even lip sink to the songs while they are under water. (I know Blogger is trying to make it easier to upload video to the pages. Video would really allow you to see just how amazing this show is.)

The Sea Witch made her appearance, and the little girl sitting next to Linda, grabbed Linda’s arm and didn’t let go, until the witch was gone.

We didn’t take the canoe, because we needed to be back by 3:00. We did take a half hour boat ride ride. The first one left at 10:15 AM. The park opens at 10:00 AM and there was a mad scramble for the dock. We passed a couple, when Linda said she needed to use the bathroom. I watched that same couple board the boat as were told it was filled. “next departure is 11:45, after the mermaid show”.

We walked around the park. Took a few pictures. Like this one of Linda. That took up about 20 minutes. Linda was determined we weren’t going to miss the next ride. She had us standing in line 1 hour before they would begin to load the next boat. At least I can say I wasn’t bored. The eastern sky gave us a lightening show, while the fish lazily swam around the clear water.

I couldn’t believe how clear the water was, or how shallow it is. Because of the drought, the river is 3 1/2 feet below normal, according to the guide. If you look at the black spot on the cypress tree's trunk, that is the water mark during normal years.

Missed Steve and Lisa. We were a half hour late getting home. Ask Mayra or Deb, we are never on time.