Crazy summer skies

On September 9, 2021September 1, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights4 Comments

I was thinking it might rain but I wanted to get out of the house for a short walk so I headed over to the Courtney Campbell Causeway nearby in late June. The rain held off for a while and I was able to catch the rainbow going across the causeway. You can see a faint 2nd one above it.

There were pockets of rain all across the bay. It looked like it was coming right for me so I headed back to my car after snapping the above.

Instead of going straight home I stopped at a nearby parking deck to see what the sky looked like from higher up.

Making a pano with my phone, the rain was on the left side and the sun was coming out on the right. Another typical Florida summer shot.

When I got home, the clouds were rolling into my neighborhood.

Rain in the bay

On September 2, 2021September 1, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

The rain was moving in but I wasn’t ready to go home. I was hoping for either lightning pictures or at least a rainbow. I got neither but it was still fun being out. I headed over to tiny park on the other side of the St. Pete Pier. I could see the heavy rain out in the bay towards Tampa.

A pano of the Pier (on the left) to the small private airport tower (on the right). Typical Florida summer day, rain on the left, blue sky on the right.

Turning around I could see the downtown St. Pete skyline.

One sailboat was heading out for the bay. I hope they dodged that storm coming in. It was suppose to rain all day so I was surprised to see them going out.

Across the yacht basin, I could see the big model airplane. A tribute to the first commercial airline that started here.

Alone in the drizzle

On April 22, 2021April 9, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

The wind was blowing hard at Fort Desoto on a Saturday morning in late February. I was the only one there on the fishing pier along with the pelicans.

The views from East beach.

Someone dropped their breakfast on the beach. It looks like a laughing gull. There are eagles that cruise this area and a nest on the other side of the park so it might be one of them.

A wall of rain was coming in off the gulf and it was already drizzling so after snapping this I headed home.

Rain or sun?

On October 29, 2020October 27, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights5 Comments

I wanted to get out of the house on a Sunday early evening so I headed over to the Courtney Campbell Causeway walking trail. When I got out of the car, there were 3 spoonbills feeding right along the trail. I was wishing I had my long lens but I was traveling light so shot the above with my phone.

Halfway across I could see a storm coming into the bay so I was walking pretty fast.

Almost back to my car and the storms moved over near my neighborhood.

I made it to sunset without getting rained on. The sun peaked out right before it went down. Over to the right, I could see it raining in my neighborhood.

Waiting out the rain

On September 3, 2020August 27, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

Walking down Marsh Rabbit Run trail at Circle B Bar Reserve in early June. Not much along the trails but gators. I had a rare day off in the week and the reserve was quiet. And, the threat of rain kept people at home.

As I got down to the end of the trail (as far away from my car as possible) the dark clouds were moving in fast.

I quickly ducked under the small rain shelter as the bottom fell out. That was fine. I’ll rest here for a while until it stops.

It started pouring sideways and the rain was coming into the shelter which has a roof but no walls. I had my small umbrella in my backpack that I pulled out but I was still getting soaked from the waist down. There was no one else around except for my friend Henry, the great blue heron, who stayed near the shelter during the pour.

I played games on my phone for a while and took a lot of pictures and after almost an hour of pouring, it dwindled down to a light sprinkle and I headed back down the trail back to the parking lot.

The birds along the trail were all wet. By the time I got back to main trail to the nature center, the sun was coming out and people were coming in looking at me like I was a wet rat. It was still a fun morning.

SkyWatch Friday

Skies on the way home

On October 3, 2019September 18, 2019 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

Heading home after work, I stopped at an office parking deck after I got over the bridge into Tampa. Storms were moving in over the area. I could see it raining on one side of the bridge and sunny on the other side. Typical Florida weather.

Driving into my neighborhood, it had just stopped raining and the sun was peeking out.

A rainbow in front of my house.

Later that week, we had other storms coming across our neighborhood. I was able to catch the lightning in the backyard with my phone.

SkyWatch Friday

Critters in the rain

On September 22, 2018September 4, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals1 Comment

I left work while it was still raining in early August hoping Chesnut Park would be empty of people due to the weather. That’s when the baby deer come out from hiding in the woods. Early on Saturday mornings when I’m usually there, the park is filled with joggers, walkers and dogs so the deer stay deep in the woods. It was still drizzling when I first got there. I quickly saw 2 hawks that were soaked.

I spotted a fawn staying close to the family.

Not sure if this was Dad or a big brother. It’s rare to see older males at the park. They usually stay farther north and come down to the park during mating season.

This little one had a sibling. Even though the rain had stopped, I stayed in the car to take these. I didn’t want to spook them. They continued to graze and I eventually headed home.

More rainy day flower pictures

On October 18, 2017October 18, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants4 Comments

Pictures from a walk around the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo during a morning summer rain shower. Most people say the rain never lasts long in Florida in the summer but sometimes they last most of the day. This morning in August it rained all day. At least it wasn’t hot.

Standing under the gazebos looking across the pond.

Linking to Wednesday Around the World.

Flowers in the rain

On September 27, 2017September 27, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants3 Comments

I headed out to the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo in early August around 8am. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky in Tampa. As I got closer to the gardens I could see the dark clouds up ahead. I was thinking it would be a quick rain shower and then it would nice and cool to walk around after the rain. I sat in my car for over 30 minutes in the down pour. It finally slowed down to a drizzle. I got out of the car with my big golf umbrella and walked around the gardens taking pictures in the drizzle. At least it wasn’t hot.

http://myworldthrumycameralens.blogspot.com/2017/09/view-from-plane-and-watw.html?m=1

The skies of Sanibel Island

On October 13, 2016October 6, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation11 Comments

On vacation in Sanibel Island. On our first night I walked out of our room and walked the 20 feet to the beach. The above was the view.

One day before lunch, we were watching a storm roll in. This was the only rain we saw during our 5 day stay, way off in the gulf.

Moon going down one morning.

An early walk on the beach produced the above.

On our last night, we had dinner at a restaurant near a marina and watched the sun go down. It was a beautiful drive back to our hotel.

We did a staycation in late September and drove 2 hours south of Tampa and stayed right on the beach in Sanibel Island. Tourist season was over and it was very calm and quiet. It was nice just to relax and hang out on the beach for several days. I took tons of pictures (I can only relax so much) so I’ll be boring you with my “What I did on my summer vacation” pictures coming up. I did bring my Nikon camera and several lenses but all of the above were taken with my Iphone.