Which do you prefer?
I only noticed the Loggerhead Shrikes this year. They are suddenly abundant, loud and nearly completely fearless. I like them.
With and Without Feather
1 + 2
One planted, two of the unplanted garden variety.
A crinum blooming of course… I’m very consistent.
And two ‘weeds’. I like the weeds, actually. The birds and bees feed off them.
On the Wing
Young Ibis…
…and this magnificent dragonfly was sooo far away it was a dead cert I missed the shots.
As Shot
How often can I claim that now? Lightroom is my best friend.
Butterfly from 2012.
Luna
I captured (and subsequently released) a Luna moth caterpillar. Couldn’t help myself; it was huge. Easily the largest I’ve ever seen. And so close to his pupal stage.
He was the length of the mason jar.
His legs were nightmarish. Seriously. They have ‘faux legs’ that look harmless and then the things you see when he’s turned over, which grab leaves and… elongate.
Tell me that won’t give you bad dreams.
Two Things
We hit the beach again yesterday. Cloudy days are the best… next to evenings.
He looked for buried treasure and I walked up and down glancing at snowbirds. Every other license plate in the parking lot said Québec.
Here are two things that drive me crazy:
- People sitting nearly at the water’s edge of one of the most beautiful beaches in the world… playing games on their cellphones. REALLY?
- Tourists wearing shoes (flip-flops are shoes) walking on the beach. Down near the surf, where the sand is packed well enough to walk without looking like you’re falling. Sure, we all do that. The sand and the water… they’re for digging your toes into. They’re really good for buffing the callouses off your feet and let’s not discount the pure sensory pleasure of it… If you don’t want to feel that, just go to DisneyWorld and be done with it.
Beach
My Valentine roses have nothing whatsoever to do with the beach. But I think they’re pretty and since I didn’t have my camera last night…
Ever since we moved to Pompano Beach in 2002, I’ve been looking forward to leaving. Never ‘blooming where I’m planted’; never putting down roots of any kind here. Made few friends and don’t see them much. To my embarrassment I never even reach out to them, preferring an insulated existence. Why would I want to become good friends with people only to leave them? That’s happened before and I hate it.
The virtues of the area have made themselves known over the years… aside from a hurricane once in a while, the weather is usually wonderful. But the cost of living is so high we’d never be able to retire here, which means within the next couple of years we’ll be forced to make a move.
The beaches… are quite exquisite. I’ve always lived near the ocean and this time it’s only 10 miles due east. We went last night as the sun was setting; was able to stand at the water’s edge as it roared and look west as the orange and pink sky put on a show. The power, the sheer magnitude of it always leaves me awestruck.
One has to wonder why I’ve been trying to run from this place back to Texas… wasting years of my life looking back, just because it was my home, because of faraway friends? I miss them, but how blinkered is that?
Just when I’ve come to really appreciate the place, we’re preparing to leave. And that’s very sad indeed.
Over the Hedge
What must it be like to see something other than palm trees? Maples, tall oaks, even Elm? I’m looking forward to it…
