Sunset one night in the middle of May. We had storms most of the day and they moved out just as the sun was going down behind the pond across the street. I ran out the front door with just my phone.
The sky started out bright orange.
I was keeping an eye on the alligator in the water just at the edge of the grass.
The sky turned shades of purple and pink at the very end.
My neighbor’s pots blooming along the sidewalk in late April. I kept admiring them as I passed them during my walks.
Videos of ibis taken through the window. They often come by and poke around in the dirt for bugs. If they see me in the window they come up to the window or door hoping for a handout. Someone close by is feeding them.
A lizard looks at me through the window. This isn’t Fred, the lizard that spent last summer sleeping in front of the window. He had a weird humped ridge on his back.
A bunny was eating right under the bird feeder. The grass must taste good in that spot.
The young Carolina wrens still had their fuzz on the top of their heads.
The parents were always close by. One afternoon I was outside with my camera and caught the parent on the roof with a snack.
A swallow tailed kite cruises by overhead. I saw them regularly during the spring. They leave in late July to head back to south America for the winter.
A chickadee hanging around.
Rainbows from the backyard.
Sunsets from across the street are best after a storm.
The flower moon on May 1st.
In April I found this lady on my gardenia bush. At first I got excited thinking it was a native ladybug but after doing some searching I found out it was an invasive asian lady beetle. They are known to infest homes but we haven’t seen any inside yet.
A moth on the blooming leopard plant in the backyard.
Squirrels being cute in the backyard. I don’t know if that first one is eating bark or eating the ants off the bark.
A new visitor to the backyard was a yellow throated vireo. He showed up for a few days. He was constantly singing but I never saw a mate.
The first Carolina wren babies of the year. Mom in the top shot and the babies in the bottom with that bit of baby fuzz still on their heads.
The usual visitors included northern parulas and chickadees.
Sunsets across the street. In spring the sun goes down in the far left side of the lake.
A quick video of some black bellied whistling ducks flying over to the other side of the lake at sunset.
This guy hangs out in the lake so I have to keep an eye out when I’m getting sunset shots.
An anhinga drying off.
One night I was able to get a video of her flapping her wings dry on a branch.
Sunset across the street from my house in early April.
The Pink Moon (refers to the blossoms blooming in April) from the front and back yard and taken with my phone.
Storms were brewing but we got very little rain in April.
A cloudy sunset over the pond across the street.
The sun going down on the gators across the street. Some nights there are two.
There were so many things blooming in the yard by mid-March. The gardenia bush blooms only for a few weeks here. I wish it continued through the summer since it smells so good by the front door.
The bluebirds were still working on a nest. That silly lady couldn’t understand why she couldn’t get those long sticks through the holes.
Mr Bluebird was nearby, shaking his head and probably laughing.
Northern parulas were always in the backyard. They have such a distinct sound and that bright yellow chest is easy to spot.
I was outside in the back and saw an osprey fly by and land on a tree across the fairway. I grabbed my camera and walked a little closer and he took off. I think he was looking to catch some fish in the tiny pond nearby.
A swallowtail kite flew by as well.
White ibis come through the yard often. They are always pecking around in people’s yard and many locals call them “Florida chickens”. Someone is feeding them nearby because they will come up to the back door if they see me in the window. They are always looking for a handout.
Beneficial little green critters in the backyard. Both the Mabel’s Orchard Orb Weaver (in the first two shots) and the long legged fly are good at keeping tiny pest at bay.
We don’t often get cloudscape sunsets in late March since there isn’t a lot of rain but this night was perfect.
In March Brett has some relatives from Canada visiting the Fort Lauderdale area so we headed to south Florida for a long weekend. We stayed in Dania Beach and while we weren’t actually on the beach we had a great view from our room. We could see the planes from the airport taking off and the cruise ships out in the port.
I caught a video of the now defunct Spirit airlines taking off.
I was up early one morning heading to breakfast and stopped at the window in the hallway to catch the sun coming up.
From the other end we could see the sunset and the guitar hotel lit up at nearby Hard Rock Hotel.
We had some time one morning before meeting everyone for lunch so we went for a walk around the hotel.
We saw a lot of myna birds. Even though they are pretty they are invasive to Florida. They are destructive, driving out native birds and damaging crops and fruit trees in the area. Their population in south Florida has exploded and we now have some in the Tampa Bay area.
A view of the sawgrass marshes as we headed home on Alligator Alley.
Almost home as we were about to cross the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
We did not have family come into town for Christmas this year and the family that is local had gone out of town so after our late Christmas supper we headed over to the Dunedin marina for a sunset walk. It was a beautiful cool night and we were not alone. The marina area was packed although I was able to get the above pictures without anybody in them.
Going down behind the nearby dock. This dock was completely lost in the hurricane in 2024 and was just finished being rebuilt right before Christmas.
The marina with that pink and orange glow once the sun had gone down.
Another beautiful sunset in late November. We decided to swing by the causeway at the last minute so we only caught the last of the sunset. It was a little chilly this night and we only got out of the car for a few minutes.
In early November we were at home trying to decide what to do for dinner (when you’re a kid you never thought this is what you would be doing every single day for the rest of your grown up life). The weather was perfect, sunny and 70. We decided to take the drive over to the causeway for a quick short sunset walk and then get something to eat on the way home. We could already see the full moon when we got to the causeway.
The sun was going down pretty fast.
Almost down as we walked by the kayak rentals.
Almost done.
The sun had gone down and the moon was getting bright as we headed for dinner.
The juvenile bluebirds were still coming to the feeder and bath in early September. They still had their cute spots and acted like toddlers. One was eating the berries off the ferns that bloom in late summer.
House finches were migrating through and stopped at the bath as well.
The bunnies were still coming to backyard.
I caught this one looking at me through the window. I’m always yelling at them “Stop being cute and stop eating my flowers”.
Fred was flirting with me in front of the window.
Mushrooms growing in the yard from the summer rains.
Sunsets across the street.
I went out to get the mail right before dark and the bats had just come out and were buzzing around. Florida is home to 13 different types of bats and I have no idea which ones these are (not going to get that close and we only see them at dark). They are beneficial and one can eat thousands of mosquitos in one night.
I spotted these two bucks in the utility field down the street coming home from the grocery store.
