Remembering Italy

On October 5, 2026October 4, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn VacationLeave a comment

Flying into Italy last year. We had such a great time on our two week visit to Italy this time last year. We were supposed to go to Maine this year but I had a knee injury (torn meniscus) in late May and had surgery in late June so we pushed our plans to next year. The surgery went well but physical therapy and getting back to long walks is taking months. Brett and I were looking back at the 500+ pictures I took and I realized there were so many I didn’t post. Below are some of the different shots other than the iconic sights.

I took these from the train going from the Rome airport into Rome. The landscape here was beautiful.

Shots from the bus trips to different cities in Tuscany.

We passed the “House of Gucci” headquarters twice on the way to Florence.

More views from the bus as we drove through La Spezia on our way to Cinque Terra.

Train shots on our way back from our day trip in Naples to Rome.

Bright colors in the windows along the streets in Florence. So many things to look at as we passed by.

A lampredotto stand in Florence. They serve sandwiches with cow’s stomach. Stanley Tucci talks about this in his Italy tv series. Luckily we didn’t have the time to try it. 😜

Their version of pizza slices to go. We saw this everywhere.

A fabric shop and a wine shop in Chianti. My Dad loved chianti and those odd shaped wine bottles reminded me of him.

A spice shop in Florence that you could smell from the sidewalk.

Lots of critters at the marina

On October 3, 2026September 16, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

It was just me and my shadow out at the Dunedin marina early one morning in May.

A pelican was drying off on the post while a great blue heron looks on.

Another great blue heron was enjoying the quiet on the damaged dock.

A frigatebird was cruising high above.

I came to check on the osprey babies. They were not babies anymore. They were fully grown but still sitting on the nest.

One of the babies was flapping hard, working on his wing muscles.

Dad flew in and landed on a post nearby and started feasting on the big fish. He ate a good bit of it before taking it to the nest for the babies to finish with Mom.

The nearby purple martins were busy bringing in dragonflies to the babies.

Some were bringing in moths.

A female purple martin keeps an eye for her mate.

A few days later I took a walk down the neighborhood side street next to the marina. I heard what sounded like a baby woodpecker screaming right as the Dad came flying in with food. There were two babies in the tree and they were almost ready to leave the nest. I was bummed I only had my phone with me.

I stood there half hiding behind a bush for a while as both parents flew in with food. Those babies have a very distinct cry.

An anhinga was far back in a mangrove bush trying to tenderize his breakfast before swallowing it whole.

A house finch was singing for his mate on a sailboat mast.

Butterflies, birds and blooms

On September 30, 2026September 14, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

I hadn’t been to Chinsegut Wildlife Area in Brooksville in over a year. I was hoping to see some migrating birds but since this year has been mostly a bust that didn’t happen. It was cloudy when I first got there but the clouds moved on quickly.

I saw lots of butterflies on the trail including a common buckeye, many zebra swallowtails and a skipper.

The local sandhill crane couple came by for a snack. They usually have almost grown babies with them but a ranger told me they only had one this year that got hit by a car.

Red headed woodpeckers are common here but I still take a ton of pictures of them because I don’t see them around where I live often.

A bluebird was working a nest.

A towhee couple were in the feeder area behind the nature center. I see them often here during spring migration.

Another common bird here is the great crested flycatcher.

Zooming in I could still see the moon.

Everything was dry since we were still in a drought mode. The 2nd shot is the lake. Where is all of the water?

Blooming in white included morning glories and magnolias.

🎵 “Here comes the sun” 🎵

On September 28, 2026September 28, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Just starting to bloom out at Sweetfields Farm in mid-May. The farm, just under an hour from Tampa, has their sunflower festival in May. I got there right when the gate opened at 10am since it was going to be a hot day.

What a beautiful morning to see so many sunflowers!

There is a sunflower maze that I have been through several times but it was just too hot this morning so I took pictures from around the edges.

Although smaller, I love the darker colors.

Little critters in the field.

They have lots of other things blooming including a huge zinnia field and the above, yellow and orange safflower and pink hoary stock.

I was at the farm for several hours and took tons of photos so more to come.

Along the water at Chesnut Park

On September 26, 2026September 26, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

It was the very end of April and I was back out for a morning walk at Chesnut Park. I found a deer hiding in the back woods. I realized it was a male with those short stumps on his head.

Walking across the picnic area by the lake I could see several deer up ahead. I don’t see them in this area often.

A young parula still had his baby yellow beak.

Ginger, the domestic duck, was still hanging around the docks. This was the last time I saw her. I’m hoping she just moved on.

A grackle showing off his colors in the sun.

A green heron was still in breeding colors with those glowing orange legs.

Flying by the dock included an osprey with a fish, a night heron and wood ducks.

I thought this wood duck was going to land on top of that alligator’s head.

The elusive least bittern made a quick appearance in the reeds. I was lucky to get a few shots of him before he went back into hiding. These guys are usually hard to spot and we don’t see them often here. I just happen to look across the area and saw the reeds moving thinking it was just a green heron. I’m glad I was paying attention.

A purple gallinule flew across the water with a worm in his mouth. Where was he going? He could have eaten that worm on the other side of the spadderdock.

He was skipping along with that worm and I realized there was a baby following him into the big leaves.

There were 2 baby purple gallinules hiding under those big leaves but they both came out in the open when the parent came over with that big worm. They are so cute with that bit of pink on their beaks.

An afternoon storm on the water

On September 23, 2026September 16, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights7 Comments

I was having knee problems on and off since February. It flared up again in mid-May so I was on my way down to the doctor’s office and saw the rain in downtown St. Pete.

After my appointment I drove over to the water and was able to get a front parking spot along the seawall in time to see the above. I was hoping to see some lightning but none appeared the short time I was there.

Cotton candy colored sky

On September 21, 2026September 21, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights3 Comments

Sunset one night in the middle of May. We had storms most of the day and they moved out just as the sun was going down behind the pond across the street. I ran out the front door with just my phone.

The sky started out bright orange.

I was keeping an eye on the alligator in the water just at the edge of the grass.

The sky turned shades of purple and pink at the very end.

Cute baby ducks and the waxwings

On September 19, 2026September 19, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

The usual alligator swimming by on yet another trip to Possum Branch Preserve near the end of April. It’s so close to my home and I was hoping to see some migrating birds. I guess I should name these guys. This one isn’t the biggest one here. Maybe Skippy? Or Slider?

I hadn’t seen baby ducks in a while. Mom had her hands full. The babies were staying close to Mom.

The big one was close by, lurking in the shadows. Maybe I’ll call him Brutus.

Mom eventually moved the babies over to the far right side of the pond.

A juvenile great blue heron flew in with Mom but they stayed hidden behind the trees.

Of course the cedar waxwings were still there. They had been hanging around for several weeks now.

They spent weeks filling up on mulberries but the big tree still had a lot of fruit on it. The local birds will continue eating them as well as squirrels.

They were still flying back and forth from the mulberry tree to the cypress trees.

Around the yard in late April

On September 16, 2026September 11, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

My neighbor’s pots blooming along the sidewalk in late April. I kept admiring them as I passed them during my walks.

Videos of ibis taken through the window. They often come by and poke around in the dirt for bugs. If they see me in the window they come up to the window or door hoping for a handout. Someone close by is feeding them.

A lizard looks at me through the window. This isn’t Fred, the lizard that spent last summer sleeping in front of the window. He had a weird humped ridge on his back.

A bunny was eating right under the bird feeder. The grass must taste good in that spot.

The young Carolina wrens still had their fuzz on the top of their heads.

The parents were always close by. One afternoon I was outside with my camera and caught the parent on the roof with a snack.

A swallow tailed kite cruises by overhead. I saw them regularly during the spring. They leave in late July to head back to south America for the winter.

A chickadee hanging around.

Rainbows from the backyard.

Sunsets from across the street are best after a storm.

The flower moon on May 1st.

Butterflies and reflections

On September 14, 2026September 14, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Monarch butterflies were loving the blooming thistle when I was at Possum Branch Preserve at the end of April.

I was passing by a small pond and noticed several water birds. A roseate spoonbill, a tricolored heron and a great egret were all feeding together. Or, were they looking at their reflections in the water? Do they know it’s themselves or do they think they are looking at another bird?