Green Grasshopper in the AM

Susie and Charlie have a routine. They get up a 5:00 AM every morning to do their morning business, and then have breakfast. As Charlie was finishing her breakfast, I headed out to the drive to retrieve the paper.

As you can see, there was a fairly large bug on the screen door. What can I say? My camera is always near, and even the bugs catch my attention. I should modify my last statement. The "Florida State Bug", isn't fascinating at all. It being the cockroach, creeps me out.

When we first moved here, we were standing in the garage with the door wide open, at night. Something flew in and hit Linda in the head. It was the size of a hummingbird. Turned out to be a Palmetto Bug, a cockroach with wings. It was one of the reasons I used to refer to this state as, "this God forsaken state!"

A bit of odd ball news. People are actually importing cockroaches to Florida. To either feed their exotic reptiles, or keep as pets. One of these, is the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. Just what we need, a cockroach that gets up to 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. If the size doesn't freak you out, the hissing will.

Where's Charlie?

I'm not a very good dog owner. I let the dog dig in the back yard. She's so cute. She'll dig so deep that you can't see her head. Lucky for us, she doesn't dig near the fence. I just have to remember to fill the holes. With Linda's new hip, I don't want her stepping in one of them.

I think Charlie would have a great time in my home state. We always had moles in Bellingham, WA. On the other hand, I probably wouldn't have such a great time. When there is something in the star fruit tree, she won't come in until she's tired of jumping and barking.

Largo Central Park

Every year Linda and I look forward to the Christmas Decorations in Largo Central Park. I believe the park is 70 acres, in "downtown" Largo. (I used quote marks on the word downtown, because this city looks like a giant strip mall. I lived in Bellingham, WA and they had a real downtown.)

I won't write too many comment. Most of the night I was changing shutter speeds, ISO, and white balance to see what I could come up with.
Santa wants to be Elton John?


Usually I have to beg Linda to get in the photo. This time she suggested it.


Gingerbread house.

Getting Closer

I don't know why, but the cardinal seems to like to perch in the tree with the sun behind him. On the 13th I caught him in the morning, just east of me. Wouldn't you know, I forgot to change my ISO setting. I had been fooling around with night shots, and it was set at 3200.

Boat Parade

Joan invited us to her 9th floor condo in Gulfport to see the boat parade. Every year members of the Boca Ciega Yacht Club decorate the boats with lights. This year there were many participants.

We've had a cold front move into the state, and I thought I would need more than a sweat jacket. But it turned out quite pleasant, even down near the sea wall. We got a break, because we didn't have any wind.

Can hardly tell that this is a sail boat.

Little Grasshopper

I heard something above me. Then I seen something leap onto a branch. At first I thought it was a lizard. (There everywhere down here) Then I looked again. "It's a bug." A grasshopper on steroids. In Western Washington, the grasshoppers I grew up with were approximately 1" long. Here in Florida they are monsters. This guy was about 4 inches.

What's For Lunch

I had just finished eating my lunch (yogurt), when I spotted a hawk fly into a tree. It wasn't the frequently spotted Red-Shouldered Hawk. Its markings looked more like that of the Red Tailed Hawk. As I tried to get myself into position for a picture, he spotted me, and took to the air.

I walked the edge of the water to see if he had flown to some tree close, and that's when I spotted two dragonflies. I thought that they may be mating. The two landed, and I began to snap pictures. That's when I discovered I wasn't the only one on a lunch break. One dragonfly was devouring the other.

The dragonfly book I have doesn't mention anything about them being cannibals.

On a brighter note. I also spotted this Gulf Fritillary. I have a lot of pictures of these guys, but I really like the angle of this one.

By the way Gerry, I took your advise, and fixed my comment settings.