We had a warm morning in early January so I headed out for a quick trip to nearby Folly Farms in Safety Harbor. The neighborhood community garden has a small butterfly garden and if there isn’t any birds around I can usually find some tiny critters. There was still enough blooming to keep the garden full of bees and butterflies. The fun catch was the ladybug. I don’t see them very often.
I was out for a walk at Hammock Park in early December. I wasn’t expecting to find any birds so I was just out enjoying the walk with my phone. We hadn’t had much rain so the creeks along the trails had only a trickle of water.
There were small bursts of color if you look closely.
Built in 1888, this small chapel is now used for weddings, memorials and other small ceremonies. It sits at the entrance of the park. It’s a cute little church but I have not had the chance to go inside yet.
In mid-November I went looking for some fall color near my home. I wasn’t expecting to find much but the bald cypress trees turn orange during this time so I was hoping I wasn’t too early or late. The trees at Kapok Park were mostly still green or had already lost their leaves. While there was only a hint of orange, the park still looked pretty with the lake surrounded by the cypress trees.
One of the many crooked trees at the park.
I can’t remember what this plant is but when the wind blows it looks like it’s snowing.
The sun was just coming up over the trees at Chesnut Park in late October. I was out for a walk with just my phone and the weather was perfect. It was all blue sky out on Lake Tarpon.
The rest of the walk was through the swamp (although I was on a boardwalk for most of it). The back boardwalk area was flooding after all of the rain we got from Hurricane Nicole coming through.
There were also some dry areas along the trail as well. The sun was making weird shadows through the trees and my phone picked up some alien looking light forms in one of the shots. Was it just tricks with the lens or was I not alone???
It was a beautiful morning to be out.
You can always find alligators along the ponds and lakes here. This morning I only found this tiny one.
Color blooming in downtown Safety Harbor in late September.
It was a quiet morning during the week at the gazebo. This is usually a busy spot on the weekends with events going on here.
Murals off Main Street.
This guy is a regular visitor to the park in front of the pier. HIs owner was busy looking at his phone instead of enjoying the morning out (I know, I’d be doing the same thing).
It was late August and I was coming home from the grocery store and saw 2 eagles sitting in the utility tower in my neighborhood. I quickly put the groceries up and grabbed my camera and ran out the door thinking they would be gone but they were still sitting there. They were sitting in different towers that are next to each other. I was glad to see my neighborhood eagles back for the winter (at least I was hoping it was them).
A few of the regulars in the backyard. Bluebirds have been checking out the nest box I put up last year. Hopefully they will nest in it this year. The turkeys come cruising through the backyard every couple of days.
Blooming in the front courtyard.
Fungi in the backyard from all of the rain we had in September.
I had been having shoulder pain off and on through the summer but by early September it had really been bothering me. I haven’t been using my heavy camera much so I went for walk near the Safety Harbor pier with only my phone.
The fountain in front of the marina had been vandalized but was recently fixed. They caught the kids who did it.
Flowers around the fountain. I’m so use to looking at birds from far away so it’s harder for me to find things close up to take pictures of. There’s so much out there, especially near the water.
In early September I went for a walk at Wall Springs Park near Tarpon Springs. I found some mallards swimming around the natural springs area but not many other birds.
The small butterfly garden that’s near the playground was in full bloom, almost overgrown from the summer rains. I keep saying there are less and less butterflies around but I did manage to find a few flying around the bright colored blooms.
Bok Tower Gardens was bursting with color this summer.
I struggled to get a decent shot of the hummingbird. The light was bad but I managed to get the above. It was hot and muggy so it makes it harder to wait to get the hummer in those fleeting seconds of feeding.
It’s hard to ignore the cute cottontail bunnies
The bell tower
After leaving the gardens, I headed to a nearby fish camp to see if I could find any birds. It was quiet the morning I was there but I’m sure on the weekends it’s busy.
I did find two sandhill cranes feeding along the drive in.
Looking out over the lake, it was such a beautiful calm scene. It’s these small hidden places that make Florida special.
It was early August when I visited Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales. I knew there wouldn’t be a lot of birds there since fall migration hadn’t started yet but I was ready for a road trip. There were a lot of other flying critters though so I had a fun morning torturing myself trying to get pictures of little things buzzing around.
I found this spiny orb weaver with a bee in his web.