🎵 “Don’t let the sun go down on me” 🎵

On December 10, 2025January 3, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights5 Comments

I usually like to get my walks out of the way in the morning but every once in a while I have something else going on so I walk later in the day and try to catch sunset. In late August I started my walk at the Dunedin marina and walked for about an hour around the area before coming back to my car before the sun set.

I walked down a neighborhood street that runs along the water before getting back to the marina.

The sun was going down on the “still damaged” dock. They are currently repairing the damaged areas in the marina and are supposed to start on the dock early next year.

Going down along the jetti in front of the marina.

🎵 “Sittin on the dock of the bay” 🎵

The End.

Critters on the causeway

On November 12, 2025November 17, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Another summer walk along the Dunedin causeway.

I saw a spotted eagle ray as I walked over the bridge. I don’t see them often.

As I crossed under the bridge to get to the other side (safer than crossing this busy road) I paused to watch boats go by and clouds start to form.

Birds are always keeping an eye on the fishermen hoping for a lost bait fish.

It’s common to see a reddish egret here. This one was just walking around and I didn’t have my camera with me so I quickly snapped the above with my phone and kept walking.

I was wishing I had my camera as I noticed the oystercatcher family at the bottom of the bridge. The two in the far left of the bottom picture are juveniles, probably born a few months earlier and the parent was on the far right. A young little blue heron was walking across the seaweed at the bottom of the picture.

I took several videos of them looking for little sea creatures to eat for breakfast.

Hurricane damage in a small town

On May 5, 2025June 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights3 Comments

Brett and I made the creepy cross over the Sunshine Skyway bridge in the fog in early February. I guess it was better that we couldn’t see how high up we were. We had a fun foggy walk at Robinson Preserve (earlier post here) that morning and then drove to the small fishing village of Cortez, north of Sarasota.

I had read that the area got hit really hard from both hurricanes (Helene in September and Milton in October) and some of the local restaurants were just opening up. They needed customers bad. A lot of hotels hadn’t opened back up yet and there wasn’t a lot of tourists in the area. We found a cute little seafood place right on the water.

We sat outside and had a view of a seafood intake processing plant next door. It was quiet that morning but the pelicans were using the roof to nap on.

One sat right in front of us. We didn’t stay long in Cortez. One of the main streets was closed off and there was still a lot of damage in the area.

After lunch we crossed over the bridge into Anna Maria Island. That restaurant on the right side of the picture was closed and I just read last week it was torn down due to extensive damage from one of the hurricanes. It had been opened since 1971 and is not going to be rebuilt. I’m sure luxury condos will end up there someday.

The parking lot was closed at the small municipal beach on Anna Maria Island. Parts of the beach were fenced off. We were able to find a parking spot nearby and walked over to take a look. Most of the old trees were blown over and had already been cut up and in piles. There was one remaining that will only have little shade this summer.

I could see the city pier down the beach. The pier building was still standing with some damage. The pier leading to it was gone. I’ve heard they will start rebuilding the pier soon and repair the building that housed a bait shop and small restaurant.

Cormorants floating in the still water on the gulf. The Sunshine Skyway bridge was somewhere in those clouds.

At the other end of the small island sat a 75 year old restaurant on the end of a pier. Brett and I had lunch at the Rod and Reel restaurant in 2015 and I took the above then. It was a fun place to spend the morning and have a great seafood lunch. Hurricane Helene wiped out the pier leading to the building and then Hurricane Milton wiped out the restaurant. There is nothing left but the sign, which was found on the island. The owner says he will rebuild but it will take years.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Looking for ducks before my walk

On March 26, 2025April 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

At the beginning of January I went out for a walk and stopped to look for ducks first. Not just any ducks but wintering ducks. Every winter the water reclamation facility pond in Tarpon Springs fills up with winter ducks. When I got out of the car I saw a robin under the tree and quickly snapped the above before walking over to the pond.

The top picture was about half the ducks. They were all redheads. Usually there’s a mix of redheads, lesser scaup and ring-necked ducks. In the past if you zoom in and look closely you can find a random rare duck but all I saw this morning were redheads. The males have the red heads and the females are all brown. They will leave by the end of February.

As I was watching the ducks a few more robins landed in front of me.

Zooming in on the redheads, many were taking early morning baths.

Since I was up at Tarpon Springs I did a quick walk on the causeway at Fred Howard Park. The tide was super low again and the sky was clear. It was 58 degrees. I wish it would stay this way through at least May but that won’t happen. Winters here are so short.

On my way home I stopped at Craig Park on the bayou. The boats for the Greek Epiphany celebration were already in the water, a few days before the event. I attended the Epiphany a few years earlier and you can read about the event and it’s meaning here.

Being a tourist in my town

On April 22, 2024May 12, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, Tampa bay sights9 Comments

I finally made it to the Tampa airport to see the big flamingo statue. It’s really big and right in the middle of the airport. I was there picking up my sisters. Both were in town for a week of Florida fun. We had a busy week doing tourist things and eating a lot.

Our first stop was the Manatee Viewing Center at the electric plant. They had put in a new dock that goes half way across the channel. The electric plant seemed so big seeing it this close.

It was much better seeing the manatees close up as they swam under the dock to get to the inside of the channel. The view from the old deck (which is still there) is much farther away. Since it was late February and the water had been cold there were hundreds of manatees in the channel that stays warm from the water flowing out of the electric plant.

I was hoping to see some birds here. Last time I saw an eagle but this time I only got a turkey vulture.

After a morning watching the manatees swim by we headed into Tampa to eat lunch at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City.

One morning we headed up to Tarpon Springs to walk along the docks and shops and get some Greek food for lunch. We ate at the famous Hellas Restaurant and then stopped in their bakery to get some desserts to take home.

One day we drove over to Orlando to go to Disney Springs for lunch. Debbie and I were hamming it up with Tigger.

On Debbie’s last day we spent the morning at Honeymoon Island looking for shells. I was tired from the week and took a break on the sand while she continued to look for shells. Somehow she fit a box of shells in her carry-on bag.

We did much more but I’ll save that for later.

A foggy morning

On January 23, 2023January 14, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

Another foggy walk along the Dunedin causeway in early December. I thought the sun was going to break through when I first got there but it seemed to get foggier as the morning went on.

After my walk I pulled my camera out of the car and walked down near the edge of the water. The tide was low and there were a few shorebirds feeding or sleeping. I caught a lone marbled godwit flying in to nap with the laughing gulls.

I stopped by the marina before heading home. I could see a bright red Santa on top of a boat, really popping with color in the fog.

The usual birds (a pelican and great egret) hoping a fisherman will show up to steal his snacks.

Chasing the clouds

On September 15, 2022September 5, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights6 Comments

The clouds started to move in on my early morning walk at the Dunedin marina. The wind had cooled the air down so I wasn’t in a hurry to get home.

I could see it raining far out in the gulf. I decided to head south down the beach to see what storms I could find.

I stopped at Sand Key Park, just south of Clearwater Beach. The sun was out over the beach but a nasty storm was heading inland quickly. I didn’t see any lightning but here that can change in a second so I didn’t stay long. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t any rainbows.

Heading back over the mainland, the storms stayed right behind me.

I stopped at the Safety Harbor fishing pier on the way home. The clouds were just rolling in here.

Morning walks at the marina

On July 25, 2022July 15, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

The Dunedin marina area is one of my new favorite places to walk in the mornings. Even though it’s miserable hot, there’s usually a breeze here on the water. During the week, before 9am, it’s pretty quiet and easy to get a good parking spot.

Two juvenile osprey were trying to catch some food. After a while they both ended up on the same tree on the water’s edge.

This anhinga had no problem catching her fish. I think she was showing it off.

Juvenile house sparrows were digging in the sand for bugs to eat.

I found these fuzzy plants on a fence near the water. It looked like cotton but a month later I would find out what they were. More to come on these.

A great egret ready to take off.

Walking in the Greek fog.

On April 7, 2022March 29, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights6 Comments

I got up early and was headed to see some eagles north of Tarpon Springs. It was only barely foggy at my house with the sun peaking out but as I drove north the fog got so thick I could barely see. I was thinking the eagles would be tough to shoot in the fog so I decided to stop for a long walk (I was going to walk after the eagles anyway). I parked along the main strip in Tarpon Springs where the sponge docks were and was one of only a few out that early. It was weird to walk around in the fog here. I’m usually here at lunch on the weekends with all of the other tourists.

A few of the sights along the strip.

At the far end of the strip away from the restaurants and shops, I found some local fish markets. I made a note to get back up here for some seafood to take home.

The water was quiet and I could barely see some pelicans still sleeping in the mangrove bushes across the way.

I thought this was a cool old building, off the beaten path. I’m sure there’s some great history here.

After my walk I finally made it to the eagles nest. There were two babies in the nest but I could only see one of them sitting up. They were fully grown at this point but hadn’t left the nest yet. An adult was sitting in a snag close by, looking all magestic even in the fog.

Starting vacation

On December 7, 2021November 30, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights3 Comments

The Monday before Thanksgiving I headed to the airport to pick up my sister who was coming to spend the week with us. I had a few minutes before she got off the plane so I snapped the above of this beautiful tree near her concourse. Even though it was a bit early, it still put me in the vacation spirit.

It was beautiful outside so after lunch we headed over to Clearwater beach. It’s always fun being a tourist in my own town when she comes to visit. We ended up at the Clearwater marina later that afternoon and watched the fishing boats come in (it was something we use to do with our parents when we were growing up and came here to visit our grandparents).

We decided to stay for sunset even though the clouds were moving in quickly. The sky looked like it was on fire as the sun went down. While we were there we thought we might as well have dinner on the beach too. A great way to start the week.