Late August into early September brought some beautiful skies to our neighborhood. These were taken with my phone from the front yard or the backyard. The rainbows always end up in the backyard since the storms usually come late in the day and the sun is setting from the front. We were getting them almost every day for a week.
Lightning from the upstairs bathroom window.
I was out for an early morning walk and stopped by RE Olds Park (named after Ransom Olds who invented the Oldsmobile and developed what is Oldsmar now) to see if there were any storm clouds moving in. After walking the pier I looked up in the big tree at the end of the pier and saw an eagle sitting there. I was bummed I didn’t have my camera. I took the above with my phone. I was glad to see it back here. Last fall I saw them here pretty regularly.
The storms were far away this morning but I could see a little bit of lightning so I didn’t stay long on the pier. They were coming off the gulf coast.
A few days later I stopped by the pier again with my camera and of course there was no sign of the eagle. This time there were storms out in the bay and over land. The sun was out over the park but there wasn’t any rainbows.
I caught some great blue herons cruising by.
I was surprised to find black terns here. I’ve only seen them at Gandy beach before. There was a small flock of them flying around trying to get bait fish. They were in all stages of molting with a few still having mostly black feathers. By now they are somewhere in South America for the winter.
A pelican with a pouch full of bait fish.
A creepy mangrove crab was walking along the railing.
A sunset walk on the Dunedin causeway in early August.
It had been raining most nights so it was nice to see the sun for a while (although the rain is usually good in the summer since it cools down the heat). The causeway was packed for a Wednesday night so I was trying to get some shots in without so many people. Here it almost looks like I had the place to myself but that wasn’t the case.
Almost the end.
Turning around, the rain was coming from the mainland quickly but the sun cast a glow on the clouds.
One last look before heading home.
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.
We had stacked up the outside chairs next to the hanging plant when we were having the house painted and the squirrel found it really easy to sit there and eat the plant. Half of the purslane plant had been eaten before I realized what was going on and caught him red handed.
This guy visits the backyard occasionally. I call him Notch.
I hadn’t seen a northern parula in a couple of months and then this guy showed up in early August. I was able to get a shot through the window right after it stopped raining.
This young cardinal had caught a lizard.
We had a lot of Carolina wrens in the backyard in early spring when they were nesting and then they disappeared. Then in early August we had a few show up again.
I was out riding my bike with my camera and saw this guy crossing the street. I was able to get a few shots of him with this huge meal before he took off down the creek so I don’t know if he ate it. I would have never thought there were fish that big in the small pond nearby.
Front yard skies in early August.
I was heading out to the Dunedin causeway for a walk when this rainbow popped up.
Out on the causeway I could see rain far out in the gulf and I didn’t see any lightning so I started a quick walk but stayed close to the car.
When I got to the nearby bridge I could see rain all around me out in the water but the sun was out over the causeway. Even with the sun out the wind was blowing pretty hard so it stayed cool for my walk.
This great blue heron hangs out under the bridge. There’s usually people fishing under here so he’s hoping for a handout.
There’s a small tree on the causeway that has tropical white morning glory (also know as moonflower) all over it.
Right when I got back to my car most of the rain had moved out and a rainbow came out. I love mornings like these when the sky does crazy things.
It was sunny and hot early in the morning during my walk around the Safety Harbor marina. I was traveling light so all of the shots in this post were taken with my phone. The local news said this was the hottest July on record in 40 years.
Another sunny morning at the Dunedin marina.
A rainbow on the 4th of July, coming home from a late afternoon cookout with friends.
We had an early dinner in Tampa one weekend and hit the causeway coming home right at sunset. Brett was driving so I snapped this through the windshield.
From partly cloudy to dark clouds during my walk around Olds Park.
A sun halo in our backyard one day around noon.
A walk at some parks near Tarpon Springs. This was the first time I had seen this mermaid statue. She is called “Ama” and was installed in 2014 as part of the Amaryllis Art for Charity project. There’s a small sponge on the base to represent the sponge diving industry here and there’s a small manatee on the left front of the base. Manatees are common in this area.
It was a beautiful cool morning when I went out for a walk at the Dunedin marina. You could still see the blue sky through the blanket of clouds.
The clouds made a great reflection on the water.
Reflections in the marina.
I stopped at close by Weaver Park to walk on the fishing pier on the way home. The sun was trying to come out. I realize now I miss those cold mornings. Now that it’s warmed up the park and marina are packed with people. Even early on a weekday morning, parking is a challage now.
I found this park close to were I now live. It’s mostly a ball field but it does have some trails and boardwalks and it sits along the Lake Tarpon canal. I found this cool painting on the sidewalk as you walk into the park.
It was a cold drizzly morning so I had the place almost all to myself. I don’t mind mornings like this once in a while, especially if I don’t have anything special to do that was planned outdoors. It was nice to bundle up and get out and I was breaking in my new hiking boots before our trip to Utah.
The boardwalk winds forever through the mangroves and then there’s a paved trail along the canal. The sun was trying to peak out on my way back.
Part of the trail was lined with these trees that had these big black seed pods on them and all over the ground. After searching the web, I still can’t figure out what these are.
This is a brazilian pepper bush. They were all over the park (and all over central Florida) and are an invasive bush. You would think they would be good food for migrating birds but I’ve only seen mockingbird and blue jays eating them.
It was cold and drizzly right after Christmas but I was determined to get out for a walk. I headed to the Safety Harbor fishing pier as the rain was slowing down. It was barely a drizzle when I got there. There were a few other people out, joggers and dog walkers, as well. I left my camera at home and only had my phone so I was traveling light.
People have started putting locks on the fairly new boardwalk nearby. I guess they are copying the Love Locks bridge in Paris where people write their names and loved ones on the lock, lock it on the bridge (to lock in your love) and throw away the key. There were over one million locks in bridges around Paris and it was starting to do damage to some of them. All of the locks were taken down and now it’s illegal to do so. I’m assuming these will eventually get taken down as well. Many were starting to rust.
The sites around the spa and downtown Safety Harbor.
A great blue heron walking along the dock at the marina and a night heron were a few of the birds hanging around the marina.
