This bird just plunged into the water about 20 feet from us. We were walking a trail at the DeSoto National Monument. (More on that next week in the parks blog.) The first year Brown Pelican is brown (clever, right), like our subject, but as they mature they get a white head and neck and lighter back. During breeding stage the back of the neck is dark brown and the white tinges with yellow. This fellow was learning to fish as the two adults were much more adapt at catching fish.
Its Here! /
You have been waiting, hoping and writing hundreds of emails (just not to me) but your wait has ended, welcome to Bird Week II. It is back and millions will have something to do post Super Bowl. This time it is an all Florida lineup. We start with a new bird for me, number 342, the Common Moorhen. That is the bird in the background with the bright red "helmet" beak with a yellow tip. This bird is just entering breeding plumage. You can also see the white slash across the flank and the white band near the tail. The smaller bird in the front is a Pied-Bill Grebe. Clearly we are off to an exciting start. But don't start sending emails like the last Bird Week, we will not send out previews.
Couple of Cuties /
We went to TECO Manatee Viewing Center, the power plant near Tampa where the warm water attracts lots of Manatee Watchers. Scores of them. There were also some Manatees, fewer I suspect than the Watchers but there were a lot. They just loll around in the 83 degree water and occasionally surface to snort at the Watchers gathered on the pier or the upper deck or the gift shop or the refreshment stand. Lots of Watchers.
One More /
Another performer at Disney Springs. She was part of a quartet. And they were quite good. I counted six groups in our walk around the whole place.
Plantation /
Just out of the city of Jacksonville is this very early plantation, founded in late seventeenth century and continued for generations. Kingsley Plantation house dates from 1814. The slave quarters were built of tabby and arranged in a very large semi-circle.
Toot /
We were walking in the historic district of Fernandina on Amelia Island and heard a train horn and I saw this locomotive inching through town. There is a pulp mill and this engine moves the train cars back and forth from the mill to mainline tracks. Kinda neat.
Street Performer /
Actually not really a "street" performer but at one of the spaces at Disney Springs. He was near the ice cream shop, so of course, we were near by and listened a bit, pretty good.
History Not Remembered /
This is the entrance to Fort Caroline near Jacksonville, FL. It was built by the French in 1562 but it has a short and dark history. The Spanish destroyed the fort and killed most of the people. The French sent a force three years later and destroyed the Spanish and sailed back to France.
On the Wing /
The egret took off as I approached.
"I lie awake,lonely as a solitary bird." Psalm 102:7a NLT
Soft Light, Soft Breeze /
Amelia Island just before sunrise. It was 72 degrees and holding coffee, can you say, perfect.
A Different Perspective /
This shot is not the normal one you would take of the striking statue of Abraham Lincoln in DC. I find the Lincoln Memorial to be an amazing oasis in the swirl of languages and conversations that surround most of the sites in DC, where almost everyone becomes very quiet. You can feel the quiet in this perspective.
National Oldest! /
This armory began in the Revolutionary War and remained an active and critical cog in the military for well past WWII. It is a neat piece of history with some very cool weapons and machinery. Located in Springfield, MA not too far from the village of Sturbridge.
States /
Around the perimeter of the WWII Memorial are columns representing each state.
Glimmer /
In Lancaster Pennsylvania the sun sets while we are driving among the farms. Always a lovely place to travel.
Hidden /
In the attic of the Arlington House, once the home of R. E. Lee, you can see graffiti from the Civil War soldiers that were stationed here. This one is from 1863 and in a twist is also a Lee. The ranger told me that up to fifty men would have lived here. It was a treat to see this as she had to unlock the attic door and allow us entrance to the area. I think I saw about thirty different places still preserved from the era.
A. Lincoln /
"Let us neither express, nor cherish, any harsh feeling towards any citizen who, by his vote, has differed with us. Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in the bonds of fraternal feeling." - Abraham Lincoln
Long Ago and Far Away /
Cindy and I made a trip to NYC shortly after I acquired my first nice digital camera, a Nikon 40, I think. Anyway enjoyed our time in the city and I took photos of nearly everything. No plan, no skill, no real thought just shoot and shoot some more (a bit like today actually). Anyway, those first photos were on an old Aperture library that I had not opened for a long time but Thursday night I did to see if there were any photos of National Park sites (yes!) and just before I quit searching I found this shot of the Trump Tower. Did not know I took it but there it was and since I found it on the eve of 1/20 decided it was a sign. I hope you got the joke I had to work hard at that one.
World History Changed in this Field /
Sorry to be a few days late for this post because 236 years ago on January 17th the Battle of Cowpens occurred. You can and should read more about it here: http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/this-battle-for-independence-changed-the-world-235-year-ago
or go and watch or re-watch the movie, The Patriot.
Excellent Place to Stay /
If you are in Elizabeth City NC. Or if you want a great place to get away for a couple of days GO to Elizabeth City. The Grice-Fearing House B&B is amazing. You will not find a nicer place to stay, you will not find a more luscious breakfast prepared by nicer people anywhere. Staying in the oldest house in EC, circa 1799, was the best stay I have ever experienced. Poached pear in maple syrup and toasted pecans for a starter is not that different than my bowl of bran flakes. Well, actually it is. Can't wait to go back.
Crossing the Beartooth /
From the official website for Beartooth Highway:
...one of the most scenic drives in the United States, the Beartooth Highway, a National Scenic Byways All-American Road, features breathtaking views of the Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains, and open high alpine plateaus dotted with countless glacial lakes, forested valleys, waterfalls and wildlife.
The Beartooth All-American Road passes through what is known today as the Beartooth Corridor. Surrounded by the Custer, Gallatin, and Shoshone National Forests, traveling parallel to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, and abutting Yellowstone National Park, the Highway sits in a million-plus acre wilderness. Visitors have the rare opportunity to experience and explore pristine, untouched alpine and montane landscapes, lush forests, and alpine tundra in the space of a few miles. It is one of the highest and most rugged areas in the lower 48 states, with 20 peaks reaching over 12,000 feet in elevation. In the surrounding mountains, glaciers are found on the north flank of nearly every mountain peak over 11,500 feet high. The Road itself is the highest elevation highway in Wyoming (10,947 feet) and Montana (10,350 feet), and is the highest elevation highway in the Northern Rockies.
This photo was taken in 09 with my first digital camera. In June!
