Chilly bike ride

Posted on May 4, 2023 by dinajohnston

It was a little chilly in early March (meaning 60 degrees) and I decided to bundle up and go out for a bike ride on my favorite cow pasture trail. There were a few cows near the trail but the almost grown calves were far back.

This time the turkeys were fairly close to the fence. Tom was really showing off for the ladies. The ladies were ignoring him.

A kildeer was cruising along one of the ponds.

This was an interesting grasshopper. Not the usual lubber but I’m not sure what kind.

Blooming along the trail.

I found a big invasive rosary pea plant near the beginning of the trail. Most of the pods had opened up and revealed the bright red seeds. These seeds are highly toxic to humans and many domestic animals but birds can eat them without any problems. I’ve read that one seed can kill a horse or cow and this plant was right along the cow pasture with a horse barn on the other side. I’m surprised they haven’t pulled this out.

“I’m walking on sunshine, yeah!”

Posted on June 30, 2022 by dinajohnston

There’s something magical about standing in the middle of sunflowers.

There were all types of sunflowers here at Sweetfield Farms in early May. Some had yellow faces and some had black faces. Some had big faces and small petals and some had small faces with long yellow petals. I grabbed a pair of clippers and went out to pick a bunch to take home but it was tough to decide which ones to pick. I ended up with a bunch of different ones.

Most of the faces had bees on them but when you clipped them the bees flew off. If you are really afraid of the bees, you can buy the ones in the barn that are already picked. Either way they were $2 a stem. I really didn’t feel like there were a lot of bees swarming around me though. There are plenty without bees as well.

There were other critters on them as well.

It was a beautiful morning out and I was loaded down as I was walking to the car with my camera, zinnias, sunflowers and a few vegetables I picked.

Fun on a farm

Posted on July 19, 2021 by dinajohnston

I love going to see the sunflowers at Sweetfield Farms in the spring. Not just because there are fields of flowers but there’s also farm animals. They had baby goats when I visited in mid-May. They were so cute They would come right up to the fence and you could feed them hay. The kids were going crazy over them.

It’s always fun seeing the male turkey showing off when the female walked by.

And you know I love chickens.

They also have vegatables that you could pick. I think the zucchini blooms those yellow flowers.

A grasshopper on a leaf. I’m sure it’s not a good thing to have a grasshopper on your farm. Assuming a lot of them would eat through your plants.

I found a bluebird near the edge of the farm.

So many sunflowers. These were some of the smaller ones. More to come on those.

Tampa across the bay.

Posted on July 30, 2020 by dinajohnston

A fever of stingrays came by just as I walked out on the Safety Harbor fishing pier. They must call a group of stingrays a fever because you’re going to get a fever if you step on one. I’ve seen grown men cry from getting stuck with a barb from one after not doing the stingray shuffle. It’s supposed to be very painful. Luckily I don’t know that personally. Brett and I saw a man get stuck in the ankle at the beach a few years back. He could barely talk and was turning blue. It was a big barb. I helped his wife pack up their stuff and 2 sons and Brett helped him walk back to their car. We told them to stop at the ranger station on the way out to get some relief. The rangers would have put his foot and ankle in a big bucket with the hottest water he could stand to help stop the pain along with pain relievers.

Standing at the end of the fishing pier, I could see Tampa. Zooming in I could make out the airport and the football stadium. It was hot and hazy in early June.

Not many people on the pier.

I found some osprey taking a break in the water in the shallow area and one flew right over my head.

People have started putting locks on one end of the boardwalk. What they may not know is that so many people were putting love locks on the bridge in Paris that part of the bridge collapsed. They have since removed all of the locks in Paris but now people are putting them everywhere. This is symbolic of “locking” in your love for someone. Eventually the rangers will take them down so the rail of the boardwalk doesn’t collapse and cause injury to someone. And those locks are going to rust quickly in the salt air.

A small mangrove growing along the water.

Grasshoppers are everywhere.

Pretty things in early April

Posted on May 18, 2020 by dinajohnston

Blooming things at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo.

Critters at the gardens.

Baby moorhens are popping up everywhere now.

Yes, the botanical gardens were open during the “Stay At Home” phase. Lucky for me most people must have thought they were closed because there was only a few other people there. Lots of space to move around in.

All kinds of critters

Posted on May 4, 2020 by dinajohnston

Someone is leaving bird seed along the boardwalk at Chesnut Park.

I think the squirrels eat most of it.

Lots of little gators under the dock.

It was close to Easter.

A northern parula trying to hide from me.

A tiny grasshopper. Soon central Florida will be over run with these guys.

Our World Tuesday Graphic

Early May at Fort Desoto

Posted on June 22, 2019 by dinajohnston

High up in a tree, I watched this yellow warbler stuff himself with snacks.

There were still a few other birds in early May at Fort Desoto including the blackpoll warbler in the last picture.

Frigatebirds were flying high overhead.

At the east end of the park I could just barely make out Downtown St. Petersburg.

Birds at the fishing pier.

Recently I keep seeing parakeets popping out of trees.

The sand trails are covered with these grasshoppers.

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

Big birds and little birds at Fort Desoto

Posted on July 16, 2018 by dinajohnston

The nanday parakeets are always goofing around.

A male and a female ruby throated hummingbird.

A great egret going by with a snack.

Little critters in the park.

A manatee cruising by the fishing dock.

Big boats going by.

From the fishing pier at Fort Desoto Park.

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

Botanical Gardens in the heat

Posted on July 17, 2017 by dinajohnston

Little critters.

Cute critter. I think he was afraid I was going to steal his nut.

I’m don’t know what this bird is. Any ideas? I think it may be a juvenile.

A woodpecker chewing on this pretty flowering tree.

Pretty colors.

Crazy ducks.

It was already hot in late April when I stopped by the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. The summer rains hadn’t started but the heat had already arrived.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing

After work walk at Sawgrass Lake Park

Posted on July 10, 2017 by dinajohnston

Little critters.

Swimming critters.

A scarlet tanager high up in a tree with a snack and a pair of doves that were flirting.

A squirrel eating a branch.

Stopped by Sawgrass Lake park after work in late May for a quick walk before heading home. I didn’t expect to find too much but the scarlet tanager was nice.