Life Is A Mystery... Get Closer!

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It's just a little thing... but as someone has been quoted as saying: "GOD is in the details!"

Yeah, well, that could mean a lot of things, eh? But seriously... When you look at this closely, it's easy to think it might be man made, machine made, constructed rather than evolved or grown...

I think Dr. Seuss had the right of it when he wrote Horton Hears A Who!

What Spring Looks Like

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Green is my absolute favorite color, and this is pretty much why... it's a GROWING color. It is life. It is nature. It is, to me, spirit and fresh and alive! This picture captures the newest leaves on an oak tree that is growing on the bank of Lake Paloma, in Dunedin, Florida.

Bug's Bounty

Okay, honestly, I have no idea who or what might eat these berries, but I gotta believe they will end up being someone's dinner! There are various trees around Lake Paloma (in Dunedin, Florida), where I took this picture. I just don't know for sure what kind it is that shed these.

I do know that I have always wondered what it is like to live at this altitude, in a world that I normally see from so much higher up! You have to admit, there seems to be lots and lots to explore down here.

If you would like to see more of the area around Lake Paloma, check out Dunedin Daily Photo, Clearwater Beach Daily Photo, and Clearwater Daily Photo. Thanks for coming today!

OH! I Hate It When They Watch Me Dive!!

Even now I feel bad when I look at this photo. I know it's silly, but I really think I totally broke his concentration. I was out on Pier 60, on Clearwater Beach, and he and some other pelicans had been swooping and diving and having a nice lunch. Then I came closer and closer to the rail with my camera.

Having watched the rhythm of their feeding dives for a little while, I was able to have my camera in the right place at the right time. Just as I was ready to snap the shot... he looked straight at me. I think it really put him off to have the camera pointed at him like that. He choked, as it were, hit the water way off target, and came up empty-billed.

I admit though, I do like the photograph, just the same. And hey, there are plenty of fish in the sea!

Check out my other blogs to see more of Clearwater Beach, Clearwater, and Dunedin.

Getting Down To The Subject At Hand

There is an office park in Clearwater that looks more like a botanical garden in some ways. It is called Arbor Shoreline Office Park (or Complex). I have written about it before. Scroll down to check out "Hawk After Bath", "Swamp Lily", and "Green... Yellow... Flower Power". Click here to see one of the buildings there.

This is a small drain that runs from one of the parking lots into a small pond. In fact, the "Hawk After Bath" photo was taken just a few feet from this spot. The hawk had been bathing in this pond. Although not all things can be done with so much attention to beauty and form, it's nice that they did not completely give into function.

Now please take a moment and bookmark this page. I would love for you to come back and see more! Thanks! :D

Rust: Nature's Slow Moving Paintbrush

This old tractor has seen better days. But now it is seeing sunshine again for the first time in years. It was 'recovered' from being covered up in overgrown vines. I am sure other people look at it and think "How are we going to get rid of that thing?" I look at it and think "How can I get that thing home?"

Hawk After Bath - Clearwater Florida

Of all places, I found this beauty in the midst of an office complex in Clearwater, Florida. The place is called Arbor Shoreline Office Complex (or Arbor Shoreline Office Park). And they have done a wonderful job of making it seem more like a botanical garden. Meanwhile, this hawk had just jumped out of his bath in a small pond when I noticed him on a boardwalk railing. By the time I got my 300mm, he had moved to the trees. Well, that was not going to stop me! I have never seen a hawk behave like this before in my life.

Swamp Lily - Americanum Crinum

Another flower shot? YES! Swamp Lily, which when Googled, appears to have the scientific name of Americanum Crinum. I knew the Crinum part, but I'm not convinced on the Americanum part. Either way, it is a splendid plant. This one was found on the grounds of the Arbor Shoreline Office Complex (also known as Arbor Shoreline Office Park) in Clearwater, Florida. I hope you like it.

Green... Yellow... FLOWER POWER

I don't know what it is about flowers... I think I could be happy taking pictures of flowers for weeks on end. They are so beautiful from a normal distance, and then so incredible when you get closer, when you get to know them.

Taken with my Nikon D80. This camera is wonderful. I have never regretted for a moment the money I spent on it. Worth every penny.

Keeping An Eye On The Man

Well, I'm no OML, but I am pretty pleased to have got a neat snap of these little beauties! These are the latest new ducklings at Lake Paloma, in Dunedin, Florida. I will get to watch these little guys grow as I walk around the lake every day, during my get-out-of-my-office-and-breath break. In the meantime, this little guy was keeping a close eye on me. What a look, eh? Click on the pic to see his/her pretty eye.

I have lots more photos of these little guys, and their cousins, and lots of other birds that loiter around this tiny little lake. I will be posting more and more of them as I sort through them all and find the best for you.

Thanks for coming by.

Meeting Of The Board

I am not sure what the meeting was about, but it was serious business I can tell you! In fact, the chairman, with his veto powers, even refused to be in the picture. He is standing just out of the frame to the right. It was he that suggested Mr. Billit, second from left, lift one leg for effect, as if making a point.

All in all a successful meeting I think. Although I did not stick around to hear the closing remarks, actions items, and conclusions.

DUCKLINGS!

This picture is for my friend, M.S., who does NOT believe me when I tell her about the ducklings at the pond! No, not my best shot ever, nor with my best camera. But it does capture the moment. And this way M.S. can finally see the ducklings I keep talking about.

These ducks live in Dunedin, Florida, though I doubt they realize that. Perhaps they do. Perhaps they even know they were born on the banks of Lake Paloma. I don't know for sure, they wouldn't tell me.

This is a sign some nice folks put up across the street from the lake, which is surrounded by streets on all sides. I hope it helps!

Storm Crows Sunset Flight

I was clicking away, discovering the powers of my Nikon D80, and catching some really strange weather as I looked East. Behind me, the sun was setting over Clearwater Beach (not the same sunset as in the photo below). Then I heard these birds calling, and I could see a flock of crows heading my way. As I looked I realized there were hundreds, if not thousands! Seemingly fleeing the mainland for some rookery or such on the spoil islands in the bay around me.

I cannot be sure why they were all heading my way, perhaps the weather had them 'running for higher ground'. But it was indeed impressive, and way EERIE to experience it. It was like something out of a scene in the Lord Of The Rings movie, when the crows came after the good guys.

So, in order to make it so you could get the full effect, I am posting a pretty big version of the file, although not the original. So please be patient if it takes just a little longer to bring it up. And forgive me... but I really want you to be able to see this! By the way, this picture was taken from the top of the Clearwater Memorial Causeway Bridge.

Thanks for checking it out!

Clearwater Beach Sunset Meltdown

Here is a photo I promised to post a little while ago. Oops! So here we go. Taking one of many highly pleasurable sunset walks on Clearwater Beach. It is a beautiful thing, I tell you. I have a series of these, as it went down. Perhaps when I get my act together, they will appear together on this site.

Speaking of Fall(s)

You're just riding along in the car. You see a gravel pullout, so you pull over to see what the view is all about. Of course, in the Smoky Mountains, where we were, you are almost always high enough to look out over some beautiful valley. Well, we walk over to the guard rail, look around, and then look down... WOW!

A narrow, slippery path leads down to a small platform, overlooking these wonderful falls. But believe me, it was just the platform that was small. The falls must have been 50 or 60 feet from top to bottom.

Next time you are on vacation, think about heading up to the mountains of NC or TN. You won't be disappointed. Myself, I'll be back.

Fallen Leaves

I just wanted to sit down there and stay for a long, long time. You don't see this in Florida much. And I have missed it ever since I left Washington two years ago.

This shot was taken in the Smoky Mountains, in Tennessee, with my Nikon D80. I love the camera, and I love that it lets me take home stuff like this. Memory candy that I will savor for years to come.

Thanks for enjoying it with me!

Fall Color!

Or, How I Spent My Vacation...
Fantastic fall color in the Smoky Mountains. Just south of Gatlinburg, TN. Or just north of Cherokee, NC, if you prefer. We ended up hitting it just right, it seems like. There was color everywhere I pointed my camera... just about. What a blast!

So, I heartily recommend... GET OUT TO THE MOUNTAINS!! Or... head for the hills, if you prefer!

Time Traveling

As I enjoy my daily walking break, around the pond across the street from my office, I often contemplate this hunk of wood embedded in the road. It has been there for many years, and sometimes it takes me back in time. I can almost imagine the men working on the road, many years ago, in a very different time in Dunedin, FL.

And if I ponder longer, and deeper, I start to drift back further in time to when the piece of wood was still part of a tree. Perhaps a tree somewhere in Florida. What kind of tree? And when was it 'harvested'? And how long ago was it just a seed? It goes on and on... and suddenly so many things are so very closely connected.

The Will To Live

Isn't it wonderful that we are born, and fight for our first several breaths, on pure instinct? I mean, if we had to make a deliberate decision, and then will ourselves to this level of action and determination, would be make it? This little mushroom worked hard to get its head above ground, and then through all the debris, in order to have a life. Bravo, little mushroom, bravo!

Mayhaps, I shall take some inspiration from the little mushroom. Surely, if the little mushroom can make it, I can overcome the obstacles in my path, yes? YES!

Stalking On The Rail

I can never get enough of these beautiful birds. This is the Great Egret, in non-breeding plumage. Not to be confused with the Great White Heron, which is larger and has greenish-yellow legs.

This shot was taken with my Nikon D80, in John Chesnut Sr. Park, in Clearwater, FL. It involved several more shots being taken, as I stalked the poor bird down the railing. But in the end I was able to get the shot and move away without scaring him into flight. And that makes me feel all the better for having gotten the shot without unduly alarming this wonderful creature.