Tag: mural

Fish for breakfast

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I was out for one of my usual morning walks in early June at the Dunedin Marina and parked in front of this mural which is on the front of the small restaurant that sits on the marina. It’s a good central place to park and I always look for manatees and dolphins before my walk. From here I can walk in 3 different directions. South towards Clearwater is on the water but there’s no shade so I usually take that route on cloudy days. East takes me through downtown Dunedin and north takes me along the water through neighborhoods with lots of old oak trees.

The north route has lots of blooming things to look at.

A bunny along the grass.

A Momma duck and her 2 tiny babies walking across the street.

I got back to the marina and saw 2 osprey chasing each other. They were heading for the osprey nest in the big pine tree.

One of the osprey had a fish with him and landed and started to dig in to his freshly caught breakfast. They have a big nest in this tree and hang out here all year. Nesting season for them won’t start again until mid-winter but they are still here. I guess there’s good fish in this marina.

A few days later my walk started at the Safety Harbor waterfront.

Someone had tied  a flag to the railing in front of the closed pier.

After my walk I was standing in front of the pier before leaving and saw an osprey fly in with a fish. I ran back to my car and got my camera and he was still eating. It looked like he was struggling a little in the wind and the poor fish kept flopping. Osprey, also know as fish hawks, only eat fish so they can be found along the water. Osprey were almost completely wiped out due to the wide use of DDT (a pesticide) that made their egg shells too thin to develop. The pesticide was banned in 1972 and these guys have made a big rebound although now mercury from the fish they exclusively eat has caused concern. When I would come down to the Tampa Bay area to visit my parents in the early 90’s I rarely saw an osprey and now I see them everywhere.

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A holiday walk down Main Street

On By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights3 Comments

Downtown Dunedin is all decked out for the Holidays.  The small business owners on Main Street each decorated a light pole on the sidewalks. It was fun to walk around and look at each one. This is only a small sampling of them. I was here early in the morning, before the stores and restaurants opened so I didn’t have to dodge the crowds but the challenge was the shadows on the shaded side of the street. It was a festive way to get my walk in that morning.

Decorations in the parking lot.

Murals along Main Street. Notice the dogs painted on the right side of the top shot. Dunedin is also know as Dogedin. Most of the restaurants have outdoor seating and encourage people to bring their dogs. One has a dog menu and your table comes with a bowl of water for the dog. Everyone is out walking their dogs and many of the long time residents can point out their own dogs that were painting on the murals.

SkyWatch Friday

Beautiful red heads

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

The view during my walk at Chinsegut Wildlife Area in April. Lots of shade walking along the trail.

I saw a couple of red headed woodpeckers go by. One landed in a tree right in front of me. I don’t see them in the Tampa bay area so it was a treat to see several here, only an hour north of Tampa.They have to be one of the prettiest birds around here.

I found one working on a hole. Maybe he’ll nest here.

Later sitting at the nature center I could see one across the field with a bug in his beak. I jumped up and walked over and he caught another bug.

I want to get back here to see if these guys nest. So many birds, so little time.

Hit the ladies room before heading home. The bathroom wall was really fun.

My Corner of the World

 

A new attraction coming

On By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights4 Comments

After leaving Crescent Lake Park, I headed over to the bay to see what the new St. Pete Pier was going to look like. Last time I was in the area, it looked like a shell.  This was before the big opening back in early July. They were still putting the finishing touches on it but it didn’t look like much from across the Vinoy yacht basin.

Above is an old shot of the original pier that I grew up visiting when we came to visit my grandparents. Several functional piers were built in the early 1900’s but the first “attraction” pier was built in 1926. (Pictured below from the St. Pete. Pier History site).  It was demolished in 1967 and the new pyramid pier opened in 1973.  I also found a mural in downtown St. Pete of the pyramid pier painted on the side of a building.

Zooming in, far out in the bay near the pier, there’s always a lot of activities going on in the water and you can see the Tampa electric plant.

My Corner of the World

More from our Boston vacation

On By dinajohnstonIn Vacation4 Comments

Fall colors in the city.

More shots from Boston.

This big mural was near our hotel. It was beautiful to see it up close.

We finally stood in line at Boston’s famous Mike’s Pastry Shop for dessert one night. This was not a long line. We only waited about 15 minutes. Besides all of the cannoli flavors they had listed across the wall, there were cases of other desserts as well. Brett got several different cannolis and I got a slice of Nutella cheesecake. It was awesome!

SkyWatch Friday