Tag Archives: craig park

A cold Tarpon Springs walk

Posted on by
6

You know it’s winter here when you see the water plant in Tarpon Springs full of ducks. There are mostly redheads but also a few scaup and ring necked ducks mixed in.

The few times I stopped by in the morning they were all sleeping but I caught a few bathing and shaking off one morning.

I saw one female bufflehead in the mix.

Heading farther north to Craig Park I saw 2 eagles sitting on a tower. I pulled over and took the above. When I was heading home later they were still sitting there. I’m assuming they don’t have a nest since both are spending the morning on the tower.

When it’s cold the bayou in Craig Park fills up with manatees staying warm.

All was quiet and calm the morning I was there in early January. The boats were still in the water from the Epiphany celebration a few days earlier where the high school boys dive in and try to be the one to retrieve a cross thrown in the bayou. The celebration (in remembrance of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordon river) is over 100 years old. I attended it back in 2022 and you can read about it in my post here.

SkyWatch Friday

An early morning walk in Tarpon Springs

Posted on by
7

It was a hot summer and I was trying to do my short morning walks near water. One morning I drove up to Tarpon Springs and started a quick walk along the bayou at Craig Park. In the winter this bayou will be filled with manatees but on this morning there was nothing in the water but the reflection of the sun.

Bright colors on a nearby building.

The park has many great old crooked trees. Some over 100 years old.

I stopped at nearby Sunset Beach before heading home. The water was crystal clear and it was low tide.

This tiny beach has a lot of trees along the water.

Another stop was nearby Crystal Beach pier. The water isn’t as nice here, mostly grass beds along the shore but it’s still a beautiful view looking at the water or back at the palm trees.

SkyWatch Friday

Ducks and humps

Posted on by
3

I was heading north to Tarpon Springs for a walk and decided to stop by the water reclamation facility to see if the winter ducks were here. There were a lot of ducks but not as many as in past years. The water pond is huge and they really need to be on the far right side to get any shots of them. They were almost in the middle of the pond the morning I stopped. They were mostly redheads and a few lesser scaup mixed in.

There were a few stragglers along the fence and I realized this was a greater scaup with that round bright green head and almost white sides. This was a first for me.

Not too far away were a few lesser scaup as well.

After shooting the ducks I was on my way to Craig Park for a walk around the bayou. Last year at this time I had seen two manatees in the small bayou and was hoping to see some again this year. After a few minutes I saw 2 snouts come up for air.

There were at least 10 manatees in the water. They didn’t come close to the sea wall since the water was low but you could see their backs coming up as they dove back down in the water. Here were 4 different backs. The top one had a lot of algae on it. The 2nd one had only a few barnacles on it. The 3rd one had some algae and a lot of boat scrapes. The last one had a clean back.

There was one with a lot of barnacles on his back but for some reason I only got a picture of his tail. I went back a few weeks later and they were still there. I guess the shallow water in the bayou stays fairly warm so they spend a good part of the coldest months here.

Sun comes up over Tarpon Springs

Posted on by
3

It was early October and we had a nice break in the heat so I headed out for a walk at the Tarpon Springs sponge docks. I like walking here early in the morning before the workers and tourist are out on the sidewalks. It feels like a different place when it’s quiet, almost like I can feel the history of the street.

Some of the old boats along the water.

The above boat was built in 1935 and was used for sponge diving until 1943. It was then used as a rescue boat for the Navy during World War 2. After the war it went back to being a sponge boat until it was retired in the early 80’s.

A view of the working part of the docks.

More shots away from the tourist area.

One of my favorite houses along the bayou. It was built in 1885 by one of the founding fathers of Tarpon Springs. It is still a private home and was last sold in 2010. I would love to see the inside but it’s probably already been updated.

The sun coming through the crooked tree at Craig Park along the bayou.

Inspire Me Monday

 

Summer skies in July

Posted on by
6

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.

SkyWatch Friday