Joie De Vivre

 So much fun watching this couple.....

dance away.........

Baby is enjoying the moves as well......

(Fun day.... Sun day 😉)

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Charming Winter Garden

 Winter Garden  a city in western Orange County, Florida, is located 14 miles west of Downtown Orlando. It is part of the Orlando metropolitan area but it looks nothing like Orlando.

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Dinner Time

 I am definitely not doing a good job with my bird photography. As much as I like watching them and capturing them, I am not getting a clear picture of them.

Not sure what my problem is.

Could be old age.

Could be bad eyesight.

Could be unsteady hands.

Could be the excitement.

Could be ALL sorts of could be's.

Bottom line they aint sharp, but heck I will click!

On my walk home the other day saw this guy sitting under the bridge, through the chain link fence.

I saw him (naturally)...I stopped and positioned my camera throught the chainlink fence because I noticed he had caught something.

Obviously, I didn't focus on the "thing" he had caught and clicked.

Then I tried to be more diligent and focus on the "thing".

But if you know anything about birds....they don't wait for you to get situated....they do their thing and you have a 50/50 chance of capturing.

Of course I clicked...because something is better than nothing.

Within seconds that "thing" was down the hatch.

 And Mr. Anhinga sat around digesting that "thing" for a few minutes before taking off toward the next "thing".

And so goes my adventures in bird watching (clicking) in Florida.

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The Drop and The Fail

I am walking down Flagler Avenue and minding my own business, when suddenly out of the corner of my eye I spot this thing flying down, scooping something, and then flying up. 

I follow the up motion and aim my camera.

This thing lands and I shoot.

Of course, as you probably guessed from the above photo, I am not carrying my big boy. Hence, at 120 mm the only way I could zoom closer was to switch the camera from a full frame to a cropped.

And even so, this is as close as I could get.

I am squinting, aiming, and as to be expected, walking a little faster in order to get closer to the phone pole, when suddenly.......

Needless to say, in my excitment and haste in trying to quickly focus....I  miss a great shot. 

Whatever that thing had caught, was now on the ground while he was still perched on the pole looking down.

Two more clicks, because clicks are cheap and fun....

And then just like that the thing was gone, with me nowhere closer to him than before.

By the way, in case you were wondering National Geographic called my husband and said not to bother sending these photos in. 🙃😉

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Sunset in Florida

 

Photos taken with minimal tweaking of ISO and and shutter speed.

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Bruner Pond Park

 Bruner Pond Park, a half acre site on the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Dixie Highway in Stuart, Florida, was named after James Bruner a prominent and accomplished pillar of the community. Some of his accomplaishments were being the director emeritus of the First National Bank and Trust Co., one of the founders of North Stuart Baptist Church and founding member of the Florida Oceanographic Society, as well as the president of Bruner and Krueger Flowers.

James Bruner was also well known for being the first in Martin County to undergo experimental treatments using injections of a modified neutrotoxin from the venom of the cobra and krait snakes as a potential treatment for paralysis symptoms after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrings (ALS) disease in 1964. He was not expected to live more than a year, but Bruner’s positive mental attitude and determination would prove the doctors prognoses wrong. 

Despite the incurable illness, he kept busy with various projects, including running for office and being elected as county commisioner for district 2. In 1966, the bridge over the creek on Indian Avenue near Sandspit Park in Port Salerno would be named “Little Bruner Bridge” to honor the popular commissioner.

Sadly, James Herbert Bruner suffered a stroke and died in March 1999, almost 35 years after diagnosis of ALS.

In 2005 this piece of land and its two fountains in a small pond, was named after him.

It is one of my favorite little parks to visit because of the number of wildlife inhabiting the area.

On this particular day I did not see any snakes nor alligators but I did see quite a few birds.

But what kept my attention and clicks going for a long time were these two swimmers in the pond.

It looked like one needed the help of the other to swim across the pond.

I watched this show for a long time, until the turtle emerged all by his lonesome self...with the fish nowhere to be seen.

And so my attention was diverted to other clickworthy elements around the park.

(source)

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