Summer Walk

Summer in July in west central Florida is hot and humid, always. So far this year, it managed to be just a little more hot, and a little more humid than usual. The heat dome which the rest of the south and parts of the midwest experienced effected us, though our temperatures did not rise as high. We kept our outdoor activity to early mornings and later evenings during those times. Even then, the still air weighed so heavy with moisture you felt the pressure of it just stepping out the door.

This Sunday morning I took an early walk to the river. Starting just before dawn, I heard rather than saw a lot of birds already up and around. I didn’t see another person until my walk back. A yellow-crowned night heron, a familiar neighborhood resident, stood on the rocks watching me carefully. I walked on the other side of the path to cause as little disturbance as possible.

Standing near the point, I saw ripples in the river. I expected to see an otter, and followed the ripples back and forth. Suddenly to my right I saw a dolphin fin appear briefly, then back under. Excited, I waited for another sighting but due to the tannin color of the water could not follow the dolphin visually. Still, that was quite the excitement for a quiet Sunday morning walk.

I took these photos on a mid-range Samsung phone. I rarely take phone photos as I usually have a SLR or point and shoot zoom camera with me, but so many people use them and want to use them as their primary camera Karl and I get questions all the time. After much prodding from friends, I am learning what I can and cannot do in my range of nature photography using the phone. Any suggestions are very welcome!