“Oh say can you see!!”

On May 29, 2017May 30, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

This is what you see when you drive into Fort Desoto. This picture does not do it justice. It’s huge.

Blooming things on the trail.

Usual birds on the pier. A cormorant and a few snowy egrets.

Pelicans everywhere.

The osprey have been very accommodating with their meals. Usually they fly off quickly if you get anywhere near them. The ones on the boardwalk don’t even flinch.

Bye, bye, Ibis (take me with you!)

It was strange seeing 2 mallard ducks swimming in the salty gulf.

Summer fun at Fort Desoto.

More from downtown Tampa

On January 12, 2017January 12, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights5 Comments

One last post from my walk along Riverwalk in downtown Tampa on Thanksgiving weekend. The white tent with the Bucs sign is the ice skating ring, set up for the holidays. The orange and yellow trimmed building is the Children’s Museum.

Across the river is the University of Tampa. The main building was the former Tampa Bay Hotel built by Henry B Plant and was finished in 1891.

Happy Labor Day Weekend

On September 4, 2016September 3, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants1 Comment

Things that remind me of July 4th.

On July 4, 2016July 5, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation9 Comments

This was way to easy. A permanently injured eagle at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. Whoever added the flag on the back fence was a genius.

Mount Rushmore several years ago with my sister who lives in nearby Sioux Falls.

Bay Pines National Cemetery in St. Petersburg Florida where members of the Armed Forces are buried. My parents are here. My dad was in WW2.

My cousin and his family are all in the Tampa Bay Water Ski show. This is the opening from their free shows every Saturday afternoon.

Practicing fireworks before dark in the neighborhood.

I found this flag hanging on a wall in a tourist shop in Tarpon Springs. It’s made of shells and starfish.

A very young bald eagle learning to fly.

A bald eagle souring across the sky.

I was looking through some older folders of a flag picture to post for today and came across all of the above. I couldn’t decide which one to post so I added all of them. All reminders of the summer season. From Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day.

Small town parade

On July 8, 2015July 5, 2015 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights4 Comments

I went to Chesnut Park early Saturday morning. It was very quiet and very few animals were around. I walked the entire park in less than 2 hours so I decided to stop by Safety Harbor fishing pier on the way home. I got stopped by the 4th of July parade coming through. I caught the tail end of it before walking over to the pier to look for manatees. Safety Harbor isn’t a small town out in the boonies. It’s really just a small neighborhood wedged in between Tampa and Clearwater. It sits on the water in upper Tampa bay and has a few shops and restaurants. At first I wasn’t going to stop and head home but instead I parked blocks away and I was glad I did. It was a fun way to start the 4th of July while Brett was at the gym.