More This and That from Florida!

This is the last set of our Feb./March 2011 trip to Florida.

We went back down in April for my daughter Kim's wedding....

but we didn't get to do any sightseeing then!

So, sit back and enjoy!

I am still smitten with HIM:

What are you waiting for?  Here is YOUR chair!:

One more shot of the lovely coot ducks we saw:

Looking south down Madeira Beach at dusk:

Colorful flowers were such a treat to see in February:

That wonderful egret with the green around his eyes that visited  us on the causeway!:

Palms!!:

Ruh-roe.

This sign kinda freaked me out!

(But thankfully, we didn't see any):

Some of my FAVORITE tropical birds: Pelicans!!:

Every night we would go down to the ocean to catch sunsets!:

All of them were breathtaking:

Sigh!:

It may be a few years before we return to that area of Florida again...

my daughter and husband and grandbaby are moving back to Michigan!! SQUEE!!

(Can you tell I am one happy grandma?)

I will miss going there, but hey, we can always go on a trip together back down next time!!

Next up on my blog? My Savannah, Georgia photos!! Stay tuned!!!

Florida Trip: Part FOUR (otherwise known as Florida is for the birds!)

Florida is for the Birds.

Literally.

I love the birds there...and it is part of the reason I go there.

I am smitten with ALL of the tropical birds and shore birds I see.

To today, I will focus on some shots of them.

Like most folks, the Pelican is one of my favorites.

I am happy to report that after the Gulf oilspill crisis,

we did see a LOT of them again..healthy and beautiful:

I wanted to wrap  him up and take him home.

(But I rather doubt he would like my upper Michigan weather!):

I wanted to PET him!:

And, even though beach folks think the seagulls are pesky, I really like them!:

Look at those BLUE peepers! Sigh.  I am in LOVE!:

Another Pelican beauty:

Reflecting seagulls:

I think these are Sandpipers:

I loved how they ran scattered on the waves' edge and back....

kind of like ME (only cuter).

Stay tuned, there will be plenty more photos from the Sunshine State

to make you long for spring and summer in your neck of the woods!!

Trip to Florida: Part Three

Here we go..

on to Part Three of my Florida Photos!

We ALL can use some cheerful flower pictures

THIS time of year, no?:

I was totally smitten with this large Ibis by our hotel.

He had GREEN around his eyes.

GREEN, people!!

I LOVED it!:

SEE???

See why I was smitten"??!!:

My feet in the Atlantic ocean.

By the way, the Atlantic was SOOOO much warmer this year than the Gulf waters!:

(Try NOT to look at my freakish bunions. My apologies for the nightmares ahead of time).

A kayaker!

(I would be too afraid of high waves and huge fish. God Bless him.):

A very cool dead tree on a rest stop when we first got across the Florida

state line.

We stopped there last year too because it was such a pretty spot!:

Palms leaves!!!:

A lovely, fuzzy, pelican head:

One of the delights for me every time I go to Florida

are the Pelicans.

There are always some by our hotel:

There are plenty more pictures of my Florida adventure....

so keep stopping in!!

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This month's theme is:

RED

That's right...use your imagination and send me your winning photo for the theme of red.

You don't have to be a Blogger to enter...
just follow
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and enter no later than midnight, on March 31st.

Florida Vacation Photos: The LAST one in the set!

This is the last of my set of Florida vacation photos, which is probably a good thing, since I did quite a few posts! :-}

Have you ever seen an angel?

Are you SURE?

Because I saw one, hiding in the trees:

If THAT wasn't an angel's wing, I don't know what is.

Oh, sure.....

There was also a white pelican hiding in the tree, too:

Just LOOK at his huge wingspan!

It is amazing that he could land there at all:

Magnificent!

I think maybe they are the ones that give angels lessons on how to use their wings, once they've earned them:

Time for a little bath:

And this one is doing his daily walk:



I have never been lucky enough to capture a picture of an owl in the wild.
But the bird sanctuary gave me the next best thing:

I loved this HUGE tropical plant!:

Doesn't it look like the kind that reaches out and eats people?







Oooooo...

another chance for a darling little owl face:

And this little guy, airing out his wings!:

But I am still SCARED from this PLANT!:


Time to head back north, to home.......

But not before I got this last shot of a my favorite: a Pelcian (with ATTITUDE!):

He is saying: "You HAVE taken enough pictures of "our kind" now?

"Go HOME already!"

Fine.

But I will be heading back down again in April (because our youngest daughter is expecting her baby then).

So they may want to assume another identity with the FBI and go into hiding.....

Florida Pictures: Part Eight

One day we had the opportunity to go to a nature park and walk around.

It was one of our best days in Florida, because I love all the wild birds there.

I sure wasn't disappointed.

Right there on the shore were beautiful white birds with huge wings:

Entertaining me with standing on one leg and fishing about in shallow water:

Is there anyone in Florida who can tell me what kind of birds they are? They look like a white pelican, but I am not sure? A stork?

There were the regular pelicans I see all about, and I love them (as you know!):

And then I spied this bird!

I think it was a blue heron:

The clouds got dark and I got this profile of a pelican:

I think this is a baby Cormorant playing in the water:

These guys were spotted as we first arrived and didn't even walk into the park yet:






He was looking for fish so hard, he didn't even see me for quite some time:







I loved this weird position the pelican got in as the dark clouds shadowed him!
Perfect for a horror movie, right?:

The wing span was SO AWESOME:

I thought of Karate Kid when they were teaching him the position of balance!


We had such a good time there.

Sometimes, you don't need the glitz of Disneyworld, Sea World or Universal Studios...
you just need a wonderful park and a camera.

Disney=nice, but expensive

Bird hunting for tropical birds at the park=PRICELESS.....