Author: Kathleen

We took a drive along the Gulf coast near Perry, FL and found a small town called Keaton Beach, with of course a small beach. We spent some time walking around, birding, and yes, just sitting on the benches enjoying the sunny but windy day. A fisherman on shore cast out trying his luck, boats passed by well offshore, and of course plenty of Laughing gulls and other gulls provided background. A flock of Black skimmers sat on the beach near the water, and we gave them wide berth as we passed, not wanting to disrupt their day. I decided to try to photograph, and after one or two shots they suddenly took off. I looked up from my camera and discovered a person walking their dog had brought the dog to the edge of the sand to look at the birds too. That did not sit well with the flock and off they went.

Walking to the less sandy area near a small point I found the bird area. Plenty of shorebirds fed in the seaweed washed up the shore, others walked by or flew by. We spent about an hour there, and liked it so well we checked out a couple of RV parks nearby. We will be visiting again.

Our campsite at Meaher State Park in Alabama proved perfectly situated for watching birds. Our first afternoon I looked up to see a flock of birds in a tree. They all took off together, landed in another tree, then did the same and came back to the first tree. I checked through the binoculars to confirm Cedar Waxwings.

The Cedar Waxwings sat in a pine tree, but individually flew over to another tree/bush behind another tree and stayed in the foliage there, returning to the pine occasionally. After they left I walked down to the water and saw berries on the tree/bush and when they returned saw them feeding. The flock stayed about three days, filling up on food to fuel leaving their winter home for the summer.

They stayed very much to those two trees during the day, and as evening came I saw them fly to the top of a long-leaf pine further away. I spoke to other birders in the park I saw out birding, and they had not seen the Cedar Waxwings at all so I told them to check the tree behind our site late morning or in the afternoon. It seems their daylight activity remained restricted to the two or three trees behind our campsite near the water.

Toward evening two Boat-tailed grackles landed in a tree near the edge of Mobile Bay. The two black silhouettes first called to each other. Then, they both looked up to the darkening sky, expanded their bodies and tails, and started singing.

This continued for a minute or two, and after that they took turns singing. As one finished the other puffed up his chest, expanded his tail, and started.

Toward the end they moved and faced one another singing, and shortly afterward the concert stopped and they flew away. We watched the entire performance, which went on for over thirty minutes, speculating on the reason. The coloration we saw through our binoculars indicated two males, and at no time did we see a female approach. Were they bachelors, showing off their singing talent for females they knew to be in range and advertising their availability? Did both want that particular territory and used the songs in a competition for it? Regardless, it was a fascinating sight.

(Fort McAllister is a Georgia State Park in Richmond Hill, GA)

During a short stop here one year ago we started the self-guided tour of the fort. The admission includes a 12-minute movie and a small museum too. That day a strong north wind blew and the temperature remained low. In spite of the sun we froze. In addition, every time we attempted to open the brochure to read the history for a marker, the wind blew it closed and one time nearly blew it away. We abandoned the walk for the indoor warmth of the museum and movie, and loved both.

This visit we tried again, on a sunny, warm day just after lunch. The easy to follow self-guided tour took us over an hour at our leisurely pace. The interpretive history is very well done, telling the story of this fort through the Civil War and the directions guidepost of guidepost take you along.

Admission with the self-guided tour, movie, and museum is $9.00 per person, less for seniors and youth up to 17 years old. There is also an admission fee to the park of $5.00, with hiking trails available and a playground.

The long lens on my camera did not work for many shots. Karl took numerous photographs, including the ones here, enjoying the scenic areas and great natural lighting.

I stepped out of the RV our first morning and saw the sun about to rise. I grabbed my camera and hurried across the campground road, through the small park, and to the pier. As I walked to the pier I saw a painter already at work, and another photographer on his way. Whispering a quiet “good morning” as I walked behind the painter, as not to startle her or disturb her from her work, I walked out the pier. I took photographs but also just watched. Scanning the sky for birds flying by, watching the morning light as it hit the trees behind me, one day catching the full moon before it set.

This remained my morning routine for over a week as we camped at Fort McAllister State Park in Richmond Hill, GA. We chose a campsite facing the creek which we admired on a shorter trip to the area. Usually someone joined me on the pier in welcoming the new day, some days a couple with their camera phone, other times a family heading out fishing, only one day just me.

Perhaps I make it sound too idyllic. The gnats, midges, and various assorted other flying insects plagued those of us there at that time in the morning. The painter had to start a new canvas that first day as the insects embedded themselves in the wet paint on the first canvas as she worked. We all suffered in semi-silence, waving our hands frequently to disperse the cloud of them gathering around our faces. But it was worth it, and wonderful to be traveling again. We made big plans of long trips, staying only a couple of days in each location, hitting the road for thousands of miles as in the stories of our fellow campers, but find we prefer to stay long enough to get to experience an area. So for now our range remains the southeastern U.S.

When we moved into this house we found many things left from prior residents. Broken, old, or both described most of them. Three planters with dead plants lined the driveway, the soil completely dried out and the plastic planters weathered to brittleness. We planned to toss all three when I noticed bulbs in one under all the dead vegetation. Two went out, that one I moved to the back of the house near the porch and out of the direct all day sun. There it remained for the past two months, untouched.

The plant never needed my less than green thumb. After a few weeks in the new location, leaves started to grow. I asked several gardeners to identify the plant, none knew. A few days ago as I stood on the porch looking into the distance and enjoying my morning coffee a red patch caught my eye. It soon blossomed into a beautiful flower, with many more to follow based on the new growth. I tried a few standard flower shots, but none captured it properly.

Georgia O’Keeffe is one of Karl’s favorite painters and photographers, and I recently paged through some of the books we have on her work. It inspired me to try a similar view with our new flower. It definitely captured the deepness of the red, darkening almost to black, in the center.

We moved four miles inland from our former home on the Gulf. Now rather than the expanse of the Gulf of Mexico, our daily nature fix concentrates on the Pithlachascotee River, called the Cotee River locally for obvious reasons. The Cotee starts north at Crew’s Lake and flows 23 miles south then west through Starkey Park, Grey Preserve, and the city of New Port Richey to the Gulf. The designated easy Florida paddling trail for this river starts just west of our neighborhood at the Grey Preserve access point, and goes west for six miles to the Gulf.

As we settle into the house, I try to take a daily walk to the river near our home. This Tri-color heron greeted me one day. More correctly, he watched but ignored me as I slowly walked by on the bank. The river is narrow here, so caution is understandable. I stopped just past him and watched as first fishing (no luck there) then preening occupied him. Suddenly, something I haven’t the acute senses of a bird to see or hear spooked him, and off he went.

Another day I heard rustling in a nearby small tree. I approached carefully and took this photo of a Gray Catbird. I walked around as far from the perch as I could, but the spit of land didn’t give me many options.

The weather is past the cold, or cold for this area, phase of winter and we look forward to starting our RV road trips again in the next few weeks as we put the finishing touches on our new home base.

We visited Brooker Creek Preserve in Tarpon Springs, FL for a walk, some photography, and to talk to the people we know. Our recent move kept us from our usual activities, and it felt wonderful to be back in the woods. The temperatures remained cool all day in spite of the sun, so we didn’t see much wildlife. January in central Florida varies in temperature from very warm to quite cold, often in the same day.

We stood on the bridge near the parking lot that leads to the trails, observing this juvenile Black-crowned night heron. It stood so still as to be barely visible, still very brown though starting to get the black adult color. It occasionally moved its head very slightly, until suddenly the beak opened and it gave out a big yawn. Wait a minute, do birds yawn? I checked, and yes apparently birds do yawn, and for a similar reason as humans and other animals, to expel carbon dioxide and take in additional air. I read several reasons for this, but suspect as we had been observing this bird for some time that the period of inactivity triggered a need for more air in the lungs.

The bird went back to just sitting and we waited a few more minutes before leaving, pointing it out to a couple of people walking by looking for wildlife to point out to the children. It is always fun to see a child look into a tree and initially not see the bird against the similar background, then suddenly see it.

Note: The boardwalks around the Education Center at Brooker Creek Preserve are under construction. It is still possible to get to the Ed Center, but some areas are blocked. The signage is great and you won’t have any trouble finding your way.

As we unloaded the trailer containing our furniture and carried the various items into our new home, Karl looked at the house just across the narrow street and saw this guy watching us. Some of my first nature photographs feature Red-shouldered hawks, and I still love watching and photographing them. We took his presence as a good sign for our move, though in critiquing this photo I would point out the visible wires and crowded background. Hey, it was a quick shot in the middle of a move, and with a camera in my hand I wasn’t doing my fair share of lifting so had to make it quick!

Real estate in Florida is crazy, and has been crazy for several years. The house we bought in the 1990s and fitted to us not only started to need more expensive maintenance and repairs due to age, but also took more of our time. We like to travel in the motor home more now exploring other places, the cost of living in view of the Gulf of Mexico increases each time a hurricane hits just about anywhere, and our lives changed in many other ways. We loved it all those years, but realized it was time to move.

After looking not only all through Florida but also other states we have lived in and loved over the years we became discouraged. Then small place came up for sale in a community just four miles away. We weren’t sure but decided to look. It seemed a nice compromise between a small house on its own lot and a condo/villa community, so we took the plunge. Our house sold quickly, and the buyers asked for a fast close, so suddenly it was packing and sorting and downsizing time after twenty four years in the same house.

Yesterday marked two months from the day we looked at this place and made an official offer. Today I sit on the porch and have time to write for the first time since I signed my name to that offer. My camera and binoculars are just inside the door ready to be grabbed if needed, I now have a portable indoor/outdoor writing area, and within another week or so we will resume our photography, hiking, exploring and traveling.

Wishing all of you our the very best 2023!

Happy Holidays to everyone. Our two month absence from this site is the result of us moving. We finally found a smaller house we liked, and things moved much faster than we anticipated after that keeping us busy buying, selling, packing, moving, and unpacking in six weeks! We are in our new home for the holidays, and look forward to resuming our travels, photography, and this site in January.