The sea fog rolling in.

Posted on March 31, 2022 by dinajohnston

I love being out in the fog so when I peaked out the window in mid-February I got ready quickly and headed out the door for a walk on the Dunedin causeway. It kept getting foggier as the morning went on. I guess the sea fog was rolling in. The tide was super low which made it even cooler.

I had my camera in the car so I pulled it out to get some shots of the oystercatcher couple that was feeding along the causeway. Someone walked up behind me and spooked them to fly to the other side of the causeway.

A few of the other birds included a sanderling, a snowy egret, a marbled godwit and a young ring billed gull feasting on a dead fish.

Later I saw the oystercatchers again and snapped a few more pictures before leaving. They seemed to be having a lot of luck with whatever they were eating (tiny crabs?).

From one side of Tampa bay to the other

Posted on December 2, 2021 by dinajohnston

It was a two waterfront kind of day in late October. I went for a walk along the waterfront on the bay in downtown St. Pete early in the morning and then went to the Dunedin marina on the gulf side for a sunset walk.

I got to the marina late in the day right as the moon was coming up.

Fun boat at the marina.

This little spot is one of my favorites to catch a sunset. I think it’s also a lot of other people’s spot as well because it can get pretty crowded on the weekends.

Maybe it’s because watching the sunset here makes you feel like you are on vacation. Until you drive home and have to cook dinner and do the dishes. Then back to work the next morning.

A sad story on a beautiful afternoon

Posted on March 29, 2021 by dinajohnston

It was a beautiful afternoon in late January and I was able to get outside for a little while on a late Friday before sunset. I jumped in the car and headed over to Dunedin, thinking I would stop by the fishing pier and then go over for a quick walk at the causeway. I was snapping the shot of the water when I turned around and noticed the two osprey that had built a nest on top of the building next to the pier. I was pretty excited to see the camera up on the top but when I got home and searched it, you could only see over the building so the camera wasn’t look down on the nest. Would have been fun to watch that nest up close.

I found this cute little boat in the marina that I hadn’t seen before.

I headed over to the beach area on the causeway and saw the sailboat that has washed up back in November during Hurricane ETA. I had seen many pictures of it posted on the internet, people climbing and playing on it. They had it roped off which didn’t make for a pretty picture. I have since heard that it was hauled away a few weeks after I took this. The state of these old damaged sailboats are sad. At some point years ago, someone paid a lot of money for this boat. Probably used it at first. Then it sits out there for a long time and becomes a hazard. The owner, if they had insurance, probably just collected and moved on. Many people with these old boats let their insurance lapse and the city pays for the haul. Not sure if they can sell them for scrap.

On a sad note, at the end of the causeway, a dead dolphin had washed up on shore hours before I arrived. Everyone was standing around watching the marine life rescue team (with Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where Winter the flipperless dolphin resides) get him ready to be taken away. They will do a necropsy on him to find out the cause of death. Was he old? Sick? Eaten something bad? Hit with a boat? Swallowed too many fish hooks from stealing fish from the fishermen at the pier? So many questions. Everyone was watching from a respectful distance. It was sad to watch these volunteers do their work.

Always a perfect sunset

Posted on March 4, 2021 by dinajohnston

Nothing says Florida like a walk around a marina especially right before sunset. If you want to get a good sunset spot here, you have to get here early.

This was actually back in late October when I headed out for a long walk before sunset at the Dunedin marina. Even thought it sits on the intercoastal waterway and Clearwater beach is across the water, the sunsets here draw a large crowd. There was still plenty of room around the pier and marina the night I was there. It’s totally worth getting up off the couch on a late Sunday afternoon and driving 30 minutes away.

Since parking is hard to find around the marina, a lot of people who live close by have golf carts. It’s easier to get a spot for dinner at the nearby restaurants. The one above was decorated and they were very friendly, talking to everyone. I had to take a picture.

It was time to start hiking back to my car but I turned around and took one more shot.

Things at the marina

Posted on January 18, 2021 by dinajohnston

Trying to stay off my legs (due to hip bursitis) but not wanting to stay at home, I headed out for the Dunedin marina and fishing pier early one morning in mid-November. I spent the morning just hanging out, sitting on benches watching the activity around the marina. From the shots above, it was pretty quiet that morning.

I did see a manatee cruising around the boats in the marina.

This anhinga was having fish for breakfast.

Some of the birds also hanging around the marina, a green heron and lots of pelicans.

A spotted sandpiper was digging around the exposed muck at the boat ramp.

Sunday night walk in Dunedin

Posted on November 2, 2020 by dinajohnston

I headed over to Dunedin fairly early for a long walk in late September. It was a hot sunny night. At least there was a breeze coming off the water.

The building above was built in 1927 and had been many things including several hotels up until the 60’s, It became Trinity Collage until 1988. It’s now run by the Marriott Corporation under the Fenway Hotel name.

It’s always a beautiful walk along the water here.

The pier is a perfect place to catch the sunset.

image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup Our World Tuesday Graphic

After dinner walk on the water.

Posted on September 17, 2020 by dinajohnston

This summer I’ve been going for a long walk on Sunday nights after an early dinner to get out of the house and stretch my legs. Just me and my phone. I’ve been taking some short road trips to go somewhere other than my neighborhood (even my neighborhood walls are closing in on me). There was a good chance of rain but I still headed over to Dunedin (a little less than 30 minutes from my house) to walk along the intercoastal waterway. The sun peaked out a few times during my walk but the above are the shots I got along my walk. Most of the people were at the pier or on main street so the neighborhood street I walked on was quiet. This won’t be my last walk here.

On the way home, stopped at a red light, the storm was moving in.

A small town feeling.

Posted on September 14, 2020 by dinajohnston

Dunedin is a small town that sits on the intercoastal waterway just north of Clearwater. It’s an artistic town with cool shops and restaurants and doesn’t have any big hotels nor that touristy feeling. I went there for a Sunday night walk recently to get a cool breeze and change of scenery from my neighborhood. I stayed off main street though since the sidewalks can get crowded and now some of the sidewalk areas are being used for outdoor dining. I walked along the water and through some of the neighborhoods close by.