tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15636175387518552422024-03-13T09:50:43.631-07:00Simply LivingA weekly column that attempts to bring a bit of sanity into our all-too-easily cluttered lives.sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.comBlogger770125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-35702158195471231852019-07-19T15:10:00.000-07:002019-07-19T15:10:07.791-07:00How Private are Private Conversations?Ever wonder if your computer is listening to what you say? It just might be. <br /><br />A little while ago I was about to go outside to mulch the garden with grass clippings. But before I did, I told Ralph I was going to find a dust mask to wear. Last night, I had trouble breathing because I didn't wear a dust mask yesterday while raking and I didn't want to experience that feeling again.<br /><br />I knew we had dust masks somewhere in the house but wasn't sure where so Ralph and I discussed possible spots.<br /><br />Long story short, I found the mask, did my mulching and went for a swim. When I was done, I came inside and checked Facebook. And what did I see?<br /><br />You guessed it! An ad for dust masks.<br /><br />Coincidence? I think not! I don't have Alexa or Siri or any other electronic helper but what I do have is a microphone on my laptop. It seemed obvious to me that my conversations were being overheard.<br /><br />Solution? Turn off the computer's microphone. Go to SETTINGS. Type in MICROPHONE PRIVACY SETTINGS. Turn OFF microphone. It's that easy.<br /><br />Seriously, I don't really mind having ads targeted to my shopping needs but the whole overhearing my private, personal conversation bit in order to decipher my purchase interests is just a little too much BIG BROTHER for me. <br /><br />If you feel the same, try disconnecting your microphone too. The switch works both ways - ON and OFF. sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-34993535886127332222019-05-13T11:57:00.000-07:002019-05-13T11:58:44.292-07:00Message to a Tailgater <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">If you’re in a hurry</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Pass me</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Go on</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Speed on down this two-lane road</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I won’t be pushed</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">To push the pedal</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I’m driving along</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">At a comfortable pace</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It’s not a race</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">To get somewhere faster</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not after anything other</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Than a safe arrival</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">At my own destination</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">That’s not entirely true...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I’m also very much</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoying the view</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Did you even notice</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">That field of phlox</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We just passed by?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Or the red-tailed hawk</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">In the cloud-filled sky?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I bet you missed them</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">In your rage and frustration</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">At my slower pace</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">And obligation </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">To obey the speed limit</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">If you want to go faster</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Then pass, sir</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">A dotted line says it's fine</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">To get in front of me</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Feel free </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">To get off my tail</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">With your preoccupation</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Of using a car</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">For intimidation</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Congratulations!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">At last, you’ve done it</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Were it a race</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">You’ve won it</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">And with you now gone</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I can drive on</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Minus the bully or rush</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Although, sadly, driver</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">As the distance between us grows wider</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I know you are missing so much </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-50030140295844687642018-04-01T06:34:00.001-07:002018-04-01T06:34:28.783-07:00Hello waxwing! Goodbye mulberries<br />
It's mulberry season in Central Florida and that means it's also cedar waxwing season.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AOOcjYxhbss/WsDWt_pX92I/AAAAAAACA8I/dm0OiNL_uwsloAOcXCgFBZORYh1qdJsWgCLcBGAs/s1600/1-cedar%2Bwaxwings%2Bwhite%2Bmulberries%2B%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="680" height="330" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AOOcjYxhbss/WsDWt_pX92I/AAAAAAACA8I/dm0OiNL_uwsloAOcXCgFBZORYh1qdJsWgCLcBGAs/s400/1-cedar%2Bwaxwings%2Bwhite%2Bmulberries%2B%25285%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White mulberries...yum!</td></tr>
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For those unfamiliar with these cardinal-sized birds, let me introduce you. Cedar waxwings are tawny-colored, white-outlined-black-masked, fruit-eating beauties with voracious appetites that can decimate an orchard within hours. Because of their aggressive feeding habits, fruit farmers hate them but to anyone who loves birds, the annual arrival of these masked bandits to a mulberry tree, backyard holly bush or dogwood tree is a cause of delight.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XmyVJwMc-8Q/WsDXDLLDaVI/AAAAAAACA8M/Z545_M7FiWY-Xd4XZbvszGSyOm5fOVVtACLcBGAs/s1600/cedar%2Bwaxwings%2B%252812%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XmyVJwMc-8Q/WsDXDLLDaVI/AAAAAAACA8M/Z545_M7FiWY-Xd4XZbvszGSyOm5fOVVtACLcBGAs/s400/cedar%2Bwaxwings%2B%252812%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Voracious little cuties</td></tr>
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At our Groveland property, cedar waxwings have been devouring white and black mulberries on a seasonal basis for two decades. With seemingly uncanny timing, these yellow-bellied bundles of grey and tan feathers arrive en mass about a week or so before the mulberries are ready to pick and proceed to stuff their stout little bodies with as many berries as they can find.<br />
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At first only a few birds - the designated scouts - stop by to survey the situation. I suppose it is their job to make sure the fruit trees are still where they were the previous year and report back to the rest of the flock when the fruit is ready to pluck. I can always tell when they're here because the air practically shivers with the shrill, high-pitched whining sound waxwings make as they flutter back and forth between mulberry branches and a nearby sycamore tree.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gsjVQgn4HYE/WsDXQzavHrI/AAAAAAACA8U/mWsC4mCGV_k-rLv-zNLypXI1UreBG5n2gCLcBGAs/s1600/1-cedar%2Bwaxwings%2B%25287%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gsjVQgn4HYE/WsDXQzavHrI/AAAAAAACA8U/mWsC4mCGV_k-rLv-zNLypXI1UreBG5n2gCLcBGAs/s400/1-cedar%2Bwaxwings%2B%25287%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A flock of waxwings resting in a nearby sycamore tree after devouring mulberries</td></tr>
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This year, our mulberry crop is more plentiful than ever but if you think that means we will have buckets of fruit to harvest, think again. Between the ground-grazing feral pigs who eat the fallen berries and the cedar waxwings who eat the hanging fruit, we are left with merely a sampling of sweetness.<br />
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But, as I've come to learn, sweetness comes in many forms. While the birds' proclivity to get there first may prevent us from reaping the full bounty of our productive orchard, their amusing antics satisfies our appetite for sweet entertainment.<br />
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Cedar waxwings may be gluttonous bandits that decimate a fruit crop within hours but there's no denying their decided cuteness. Are they fat little feathered thieves? For sure. Are they fun to watch as they gorge themselves on mulberries? Absolutely!<br />
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<br />sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-76865691154039208942018-03-12T08:02:00.000-07:002018-03-12T10:54:09.866-07:00Baby cranes!!It was lunchtime when Ralph and I drove down the dirt driveway to our Groveland homestead after being away for a week. We regularly go back and forth to New Smyrna Beach and each time we return I'm eager to see what surprises await me.<br />
<br />
This time the surprises were exceptional!<br />
<br />
A pair of adult sandhill cranes and their two chicks were right next to our garage as we pulled in. Instead of getting out and unloading the car as I usually do, I grabbed my camera and began taking pictures.<br />
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Below are some of the many shots I took of the new sandhill crane family.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8U6YmOgVJHU/WqZvXlMIIjI/AAAAAAAB-dM/rWxyoN2AFA8ynWuyE9nYs5V3mszWUiPtwCLcBGAs/s1600/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252828%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8U6YmOgVJHU/WqZvXlMIIjI/AAAAAAAB-dM/rWxyoN2AFA8ynWuyE9nYs5V3mszWUiPtwCLcBGAs/s400/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252828%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Twins! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Sandhill cranes lay one or two eggs in a nest of twigs and reeds that both parents build in a protected spot. Once the eggs are laid, the parents take turns incubating them for 32 days.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_oRpuSnmwZk/WqaSLV3VqcI/AAAAAAAB-e0/-V9MoZiXIbgL6Jihw78u6AhLyN8bPIspACLcBGAs/s1600/1-crane%2Bon%2Bnest%2B%252810%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_oRpuSnmwZk/WqaSLV3VqcI/AAAAAAAB-e0/-V9MoZiXIbgL6Jihw78u6AhLyN8bPIspACLcBGAs/s400/1-crane%2Bon%2Bnest%2B%252810%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandhill crane parents take turns incubating eggs</td></tr>
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Despite their attentive care, only one egg often hatches and even if two chicks emerge from the eggs, there's a good chance that only one baby bird will survive to adulthood. By the look of how well both of these chicks are learning to find food, I'm hopeful that each bird will make it to maturity.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VyYBkXQJP6c/WqZvkdWp5MI/AAAAAAAB-dQ/8OKRCZhRAQg0RBmatO51Q7vkYdqrAXQCgCLcBGAs/s1600/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252814%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VyYBkXQJP6c/WqZvkdWp5MI/AAAAAAAB-dQ/8OKRCZhRAQg0RBmatO51Q7vkYdqrAXQCgCLcBGAs/s400/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252814%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A new family of sandhill cranes!<br />
Mom, Dad and two chicks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oGfYhp1K4e8/WqaHqHjbCOI/AAAAAAAB-d4/Mw_jT3n7OSsrb4oKuVMMAlBSW0MZmxzxgCLcBGAs/s1600/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252821%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1188" height="362" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oGfYhp1K4e8/WqaHqHjbCOI/AAAAAAAB-d4/Mw_jT3n7OSsrb4oKuVMMAlBSW0MZmxzxgCLcBGAs/s400/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252821%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeding baby</td></tr>
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A sandhill crane's diet consists of grains, berries, seeds, insects, worms, mice, small birds, snakes, lizards, and frogs. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z10sO7BXdV8/WqaI2hKgk9I/AAAAAAAB-eE/9v6fVgauZokef-LYtnBtQRwRpY94AkBLQCLcBGAs/s1600/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252830%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z10sO7BXdV8/WqaI2hKgk9I/AAAAAAAB-eE/9v6fVgauZokef-LYtnBtQRwRpY94AkBLQCLcBGAs/s400/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252830%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The chicks rest in the weeds after the tiring work of trailing their parents</td></tr>
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Baby cranes stay with their parents for 10 months after hatching but it takes two years before they are sexually mature and ready to mate. During their juvenile stage, they socialize with other young cranes in order to find a mate. Once mates are chosen, sandhill cranes are monogamous and stay together for life.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-78XHhNI86HQ/WqaKUmHC7_I/AAAAAAAB-eQ/9gbkfW64Re8TFSFHzxexAO6gh2_cHweXQCLcBGAs/s1600/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252842%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="692" height="291" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-78XHhNI86HQ/WqaKUmHC7_I/AAAAAAAB-eQ/9gbkfW64Re8TFSFHzxexAO6gh2_cHweXQCLcBGAs/s400/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252842%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking by a stand of Hawaiian Gold Clumping Bamboo</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-55-z5CN8G0U/WqaKlL29o5I/AAAAAAAB-eU/pd948NkB1-wH03Oyf_IZJHJVEfrrmq49QCLcBGAs/s1600/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252848%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-55-z5CN8G0U/WqaKlL29o5I/AAAAAAAB-eU/pd948NkB1-wH03Oyf_IZJHJVEfrrmq49QCLcBGAs/s400/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252848%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spider may be a mere snack to an adult sandhill crane<br />
but it's a huge mouthful for a baby to swallow </td></tr>
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Baby cranes grow up quickly. Over the years, we've been fortunate to watch many crane chicks go from fluffy, wobbly newborns to gawky adolescents to grown up birds. The chicks that greeted us upon our return to Groveland are very young, less than a week old.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J2-z0IILW-Q/WqaLTxZOQHI/AAAAAAAB-ek/VpMedkERM-YVFCEWFOPrKcma4izk9Oq6ACLcBGAs/s1600/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252850%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J2-z0IILW-Q/WqaLTxZOQHI/AAAAAAAB-ek/VpMedkERM-YVFCEWFOPrKcma4izk9Oq6ACLcBGAs/s400/1-sandhill%2Bcrane%2Bfamily%2B%252850%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two babies. Two parents.<br />
Learning to live.<br />
Learning to love.</td></tr>
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<br />sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-79988101440586089632018-03-06T06:00:00.001-08:002018-03-06T06:41:23.102-08:00Family timeAs the years go by, it becomes more and more difficult to get everyone together for our annual family reunion.<br />
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There are schedules to coordinate. School. Work. Personal commitments. There's travel to arrange from homes far away. And then there's health. Who's coughing, has a fever or experiencing a general feeling of malaise. Yet, despite all the obstacles and last minute changes of plans, our family managed once again to gather together for a week-long reunion at our Groveland homestead.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BiujJteoLG8/Wpvwi8VW1uI/AAAAAAAB-EA/6dGR9XwHq_g_inLbCFP7S1IJiJgdzc8BgCLcBGAs/s1600/1-family%2Ball%2Btogether%2B%25288%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1348" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BiujJteoLG8/Wpvwi8VW1uI/AAAAAAAB-EA/6dGR9XwHq_g_inLbCFP7S1IJiJgdzc8BgCLcBGAs/s400/1-family%2Ball%2Btogether%2B%25288%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of us together in one place</td></tr>
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This year's gathering included more activities than expected considering how many of us had colds that prevented us from getting as much sleep or energy as we would have liked.<br />
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As usual, the lake and pool were a huge draw. Countless hours were spent in and around water with our grandchildren especially enjoying the fun of playing with cousins they seldom have a chance to see.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hiGCoTmXzdE/WpwApqubhcI/AAAAAAAB-Fo/iqxm3_TqCwgHMlqp3vMh3Am5uFQSxYqVACLcBGAs/s1600/1-sand%2Bcastle%2B%25286%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hiGCoTmXzdE/WpwApqubhcI/AAAAAAAB-Fo/iqxm3_TqCwgHMlqp3vMh3Am5uFQSxYqVACLcBGAs/s400/1-sand%2Bcastle%2B%25286%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bathing suits are unnecessary at our secluded homestead</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e6OjMs5zF_g/Wpv3iN_MZVI/AAAAAAAB-FA/gENzv_tNOvAiNEMXG2uA5151Ppk8MVjYgCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-sand%2Bcastle%2B%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1164" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e6OjMs5zF_g/Wpv3iN_MZVI/AAAAAAAB-FA/gENzv_tNOvAiNEMXG2uA5151Ppk8MVjYgCEwYBhgL/s400/1-sand%2Bcastle%2B%25281%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atom adding finishing touches to the drip castle he and his cousins<br />
built by the lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uf7FEJsVFsY/Wpv3i-NpopI/AAAAAAAB-FM/c7uYMeuqfuY83FKEIH9FCE0nm4wYir85QCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-sand%2Bcastle%2B%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uf7FEJsVFsY/Wpv3i-NpopI/AAAAAAAB-FM/c7uYMeuqfuY83FKEIH9FCE0nm4wYir85QCEwYBhgL/s400/1-sand%2Bcastle%2B%25283%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fine stack of sand balls<br />
Our kids used to make these when they were little<br />
Now our grandchildren make them too!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lQZkpdwyfMc/Wp1FUfhrZ8I/AAAAAAAB-Ic/19UlTyLvwIws4IuQ2wMCjjMkcOjCk7n0QCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_20180227_150643945_TOP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lQZkpdwyfMc/Wp1FUfhrZ8I/AAAAAAAB-Ic/19UlTyLvwIws4IuQ2wMCjjMkcOjCk7n0QCKgBGAs/s400/IMG_20180227_150643945_TOP.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Timmy played so much with his nieces and nephew during<br />
the week we were all together. He's so good with kids!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FrCfJoZH3H0/Wpv3kieAasI/AAAAAAAB-FM/pqJ0KKlswZY4Lw6Owltl27sKXyVmZjiJACEwYBhgL/s1600/1-IMG_20180224_131104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1548" data-original-width="1583" height="390" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FrCfJoZH3H0/Wpv3kieAasI/AAAAAAAB-FM/pqJ0KKlswZY4Lw6Owltl27sKXyVmZjiJACEwYBhgL/s400/1-IMG_20180224_131104.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little squirts (Trillian and Ella) having fun in the pool</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XEa3wdrfsc0/Wpv3hoq-kzI/AAAAAAAB-FA/EvYdi0dLbnUpe9gylvcTEe6HpW8tp-2WwCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-IMG_20180224_115748533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XEa3wdrfsc0/Wpv3hoq-kzI/AAAAAAAB-FA/EvYdi0dLbnUpe9gylvcTEe6HpW8tp-2WwCEwYBhgL/s400/1-IMG_20180224_115748533.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cousins with goggles<br />
Atom, Maya, Ella, Trillian</td></tr>
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After many years without a boat to ski behind, Ralph, Tim and Amber were able to once again go waterskiing behind Ralph's new (to him) Mitzi Skiff with the grandkids eagerly along for the ride. Thanks to Amber and Scott, who bought a huge raft, the kids were also able to enjoy the speed and excitement of being pulled along behind the boat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--6jC2heVliI/WpwAOsQ7euI/AAAAAAAB-Fk/Bzk_iTAdeOYE_1AekTEvBK6PQsb354KKgCLcBGAs/s1600/1-waterskiing%2B%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--6jC2heVliI/WpwAOsQ7euI/AAAAAAAB-Fk/Bzk_iTAdeOYE_1AekTEvBK6PQsb354KKgCLcBGAs/s400/1-waterskiing%2B%25281%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ralph hasn't forgotten how to slalom and trick ski.<br />
Neither have Timmy or Amber</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VZYrM5lje8I/WpvzprReOnI/AAAAAAAB-EM/LmzO5CYa2z4Fuz2Ys2KYI92nJmWeqUnKwCLcBGAs/s1600/1-waterskiing%2B%252811%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="694" height="318" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VZYrM5lje8I/WpvzprReOnI/AAAAAAAB-EM/LmzO5CYa2z4Fuz2Ys2KYI92nJmWeqUnKwCLcBGAs/s400/1-waterskiing%2B%252811%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fast and fun rides on Hour Lake</td></tr>
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While motoring around the lake was fun for many members of our family, my personal preference leans more toward quieter activities like the walk Jenny, Timmy and I took at the <a href="https://floridahikes.com/sarah-maude-mason-preserve" target="_blank">Sarah Maude Mason Nature Preserve</a> in Howey-in-the-Hills.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Timmy takes the 'high' way along the brand new boardwalk though a cypress swamp </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KgOC6D4H1rc/Wpv3swYnaoI/AAAAAAAB-FE/pPq5CYQKleEFASW_vEPB4QijtLZWb0y_QCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-IMG_20180223_172939290_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KgOC6D4H1rc/Wpv3swYnaoI/AAAAAAAB-FE/pPq5CYQKleEFASW_vEPB4QijtLZWb0y_QCEwYBhgL/s400/1-IMG_20180223_172939290_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking in the view at the observation tower overlooking Lake Harris</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Late afternoon light and no bugs to bother us on our walk through the preserve</td></tr>
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Jenny and I also took off on Saturday morning to visit Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive in the hope of photographing some birds and animals. We weren't disappointed!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5EOoyPRIPk/Wpxzsm3Q7MI/AAAAAAAB-G4/bHCYFPe9XKwewiLZLQp_NpYxP2IfyTuxwCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-jenny%2Bat%2BLAWD.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5EOoyPRIPk/Wpxzsm3Q7MI/AAAAAAAB-G4/bHCYFPe9XKwewiLZLQp_NpYxP2IfyTuxwCEwYBhgL/s400/1-jenny%2Bat%2BLAWD.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jenny photographing one of the many alligators we saw</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CM_64IesaBc/WpxztbDJc1I/AAAAAAAB-G8/45xkiQMnIZsP67qHjYQXq1X5pwWLt57eACLcBGAs/s1600/1-lake%2Bapopka%2Bwildlife%2Bdrive%2B%252812%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CM_64IesaBc/WpxztbDJc1I/AAAAAAAB-G8/45xkiQMnIZsP67qHjYQXq1X5pwWLt57eACLcBGAs/s400/1-lake%2Bapopka%2Bwildlife%2Bdrive%2B%252812%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many gators!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u9FE7IWnM_8/WpxzmVf8gSI/AAAAAAAB-Gw/OqWeHQ4ZQOINua7iN4b838KQ5_YJcXnMgCLcBGAs/s1600/1-lake%2Bapopka%2Bwildlife%2Bdrive%2B%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="1600" height="158" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u9FE7IWnM_8/WpxzmVf8gSI/AAAAAAAB-Gw/OqWeHQ4ZQOINua7iN4b838KQ5_YJcXnMgCLcBGAs/s400/1-lake%2Bapopka%2Bwildlife%2Bdrive%2B%25283%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Of all the waterbirds we saw, <br />
we both liked the blue-winged teal ducks best</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FQE6ZbDBQOk/WpxzmpfppPI/AAAAAAAB-G0/WK_k62RvjgEmSAatwPxgMJblduBOrWoXwCLcBGAs/s1600/1-lake%2Bapopka%2Bwildlife%2Bdrive%2B%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FQE6ZbDBQOk/WpxzmpfppPI/AAAAAAAB-G0/WK_k62RvjgEmSAatwPxgMJblduBOrWoXwCLcBGAs/s400/1-lake%2Bapopka%2Bwildlife%2Bdrive%2B%25285%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here a coot, there a coot, everywhere a coot-coot-coot!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yl7Td1brsso/Wpxzly_9vII/AAAAAAAB-Go/nx_1uqZqz7IVTWa9VijuQJhi7ESzZ9GCwCLcBGAs/s1600/1-lake%2Bapopka%2Bwildlife%2Bdrive%2B%252811%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yl7Td1brsso/Wpxzly_9vII/AAAAAAAB-Go/nx_1uqZqz7IVTWa9VijuQJhi7ESzZ9GCwCLcBGAs/s400/1-lake%2Bapopka%2Bwildlife%2Bdrive%2B%252811%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simplify..simplify..spread your wings and simply fly!</td></tr>
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Back home people took turns preparing meals, washing dishes and picking up toys and towels scattered about. Games were played, balls were juggled, birds were fed, trees were climbed and people went off on explores around the yard and gardens.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6lqbZ82eGvU/Wpv3qwFJvGI/AAAAAAAB-FM/6dCJ2iBM4zcpVrtdhkV0DGI3OG7zkGoAgCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-IMG_20180223_120022575.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6lqbZ82eGvU/Wpv3qwFJvGI/AAAAAAAB-FM/6dCJ2iBM4zcpVrtdhkV0DGI3OG7zkGoAgCEwYBhgL/s400/1-IMG_20180223_120022575.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maya and Ella fascinated by a centipede<br />
or is it a millipede...?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B-A1dnxkFcA/Wpx3n3UChHI/AAAAAAAB-HU/ALLmJR_sU543JSBBYEbmYzycrCKvK-rpACLcBGAs/s1600/1-anole%2B%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1089" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B-A1dnxkFcA/Wpx3n3UChHI/AAAAAAAB-HU/ALLmJR_sU543JSBBYEbmYzycrCKvK-rpACLcBGAs/s400/1-anole%2B%25281%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our native green anoles were of much interest to all the grandchildren<br />
but especially to Maya and Ella, who live in MA where lizards are uncommon</td></tr>
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Much time was spent jumping on the trampoline and climbing trees. The rope swing got a good workout too.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UqSQl8aZgcw/Wpx5J1RLiqI/AAAAAAAB-Hg/KbXDf0CMyRQPvu3XM6BP6BUxGTkyKECrQCLcBGAs/s1600/ella%2Btrampolining.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UqSQl8aZgcw/Wpx5J1RLiqI/AAAAAAAB-Hg/KbXDf0CMyRQPvu3XM6BP6BUxGTkyKECrQCLcBGAs/s640/ella%2Btrampolining.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ella jumping</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xQgkeMQjBUE/Wpx5Tm5UwaI/AAAAAAAB-Hk/m8M0ONjPt2A0sI762JgmjSbh287Lak3FACLcBGAs/s1600/maya%2Bclimbing%2Btree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xQgkeMQjBUE/Wpx5Tm5UwaI/AAAAAAAB-Hk/m8M0ONjPt2A0sI762JgmjSbh287Lak3FACLcBGAs/s640/maya%2Bclimbing%2Btree.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unfortunately, the mulberries were about a week away from being ripe during our <br />
family-together-time, but the trees were still great for climbing, as Maya demonstrates.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g8D_0IdEpJ4/Wpx58DkAmUI/AAAAAAAB-Hw/6VjqBVo8a-0KUOvHQApzLwdnCYRncCAYQCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_20180228_134032328_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g8D_0IdEpJ4/Wpx58DkAmUI/AAAAAAAB-Hw/6VjqBVo8a-0KUOvHQApzLwdnCYRncCAYQCKgBGAs/s400/IMG_20180228_134032328_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After playing with some of Jenny's old My Little Ponies, <br />
Ella and Maya paint ceramic sculptures Jenny also found in the attic</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2RgWDMNiZVY/Wp1EWqAJ09I/AAAAAAAB-IQ/FpsJjPxXPNMI9CqnJcuRWz89KphCNwcDgCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_20180224_170542015_TOP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2RgWDMNiZVY/Wp1EWqAJ09I/AAAAAAAB-IQ/FpsJjPxXPNMI9CqnJcuRWz89KphCNwcDgCKgBGAs/s400/IMG_20180224_170542015_TOP.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Never too young or old to ride on the ropeswing<br />
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<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8sjFzz_OWtk/Wp6ZmCOs5LI/AAAAAAAB-KI/Mba5KjTd-YodAxj0kboWf6NqbqMirzAqgCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_20180227_152137107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8sjFzz_OWtk/Wp6ZmCOs5LI/AAAAAAAB-KI/Mba5KjTd-YodAxj0kboWf6NqbqMirzAqgCKgBGAs/s400/IMG_20180227_152137107.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing hide-and-seek with Pinky Dog</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
While there were some things we didn't do together this year like check out Clermont thrift shops or do a group shop at Publix, new activities were added to fill the gap. One afternoon while Ralph and I were out of town taking care of business, Jenny, Brett, Maya and Ella visited Rock Springs with Amber, Atom and Trillian. Wish I could have been there too but I'm glad they got to experience the springs.<br />
<br />
Whenever we all get together, there never seems to be enough time to do all the things we'd like to do. But really, the pleasure is in being together whether it's at home, around town doing things together or just hanging out as a family.<br />
<br />
Once upon a time it was just Ralph and me. Then there were six of us - four children and two parents. Now, after 47 years of marriage our family has expanded to include two wonderful son-in-laws and four amazing grandchildren. If the essence of life is love, our cup overfloweth.<br />
<br />sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-34422708398726002792018-02-23T10:07:00.000-08:002018-02-23T10:07:08.168-08:00Making love in bambooI was heading down our unpaved road on the way to town. It's a bumpy road. I was going slow. To my right is an 80-acre forest slated to become a subdivision. To my left are a few of our rental homes on large lots surrounded by bamboo. Something in one stand of Bambusa multiplex caught my eye. I slowed to a stop then backed up for a closer view.<br />
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Two snakes were entwined in the 'boo. At least I thought that's what I saw. It was hard to tell from inside the car so I grabbed my camera and got out for a closer look.<br />
<br />
Yes! Definitely snakes! (I love snakes) Two black racer snakes were entwined in a tangle of love. Reptilian whoopee in a clump of bamboo.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0l3VenuVO9Y/WpAoehnj_eI/AAAAAAAB34M/os-JMc2zHeQzxLj0WddlWO2bUpPmE87kQCLcBGAs/s1600/1-black%2Bracer%2Bsnakes%2Bmating%2B%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0l3VenuVO9Y/WpAoehnj_eI/AAAAAAAB34M/os-JMc2zHeQzxLj0WddlWO2bUpPmE87kQCLcBGAs/s400/1-black%2Bracer%2Bsnakes%2Bmating%2B%25284%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snakes watching me watch them</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Although this was the first time I spotted two black racers mating, I've seen racers many times before. Southern black racers (Coluber constrictor) are the snakes I see most often in the garden and around the house. Harmless to people but deadly to rodents, birds, lizards, other snakes, frogs, toads and insects, I consider black racers to be an essential part of nature's arsenal. Pest control at its most basic level.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tucQi2C5yNQ/WpAokG9KESI/AAAAAAAB34Q/061mIiDjFp09-SbLPODTeAVixg8j_do-wCLcBGAs/s1600/1-black%2Bracer%2Bsnakes%2Bmating%2B%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tucQi2C5yNQ/WpAokG9KESI/AAAAAAAB34Q/061mIiDjFp09-SbLPODTeAVixg8j_do-wCLcBGAs/s400/1-black%2Bracer%2Bsnakes%2Bmating%2B%25283%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black racers in an amorous embrace</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This slender reptile can grown up to 6 feet long with a solid black upper side, a dark gray to black belly, white chin, white throat and brown eyes.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CSJugISFr7k/WpAorAFk7eI/AAAAAAAB34U/TZmjA5A0xqgyYdFwqC-AFHpn2D40_CntwCLcBGAs/s1600/1-black%2Bracer%2Bsnakes%2Bmating%2B%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CSJugISFr7k/WpAorAFk7eI/AAAAAAAB34U/TZmjA5A0xqgyYdFwqC-AFHpn2D40_CntwCLcBGAs/s400/1-black%2Bracer%2Bsnakes%2Bmating%2B%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entwined in the 'boo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Male racers become sexually mature on or slightly before their second year but females take a year or two longer to reach sexual maturity. After mating, a female may lay up to 30 eggs that hatch about 3 months later. When they do, the 6-inch-long babies are fully prepared to hunt and live on their own. That's good because after a week or so of guarding their newly laid eggs, the parents leave their future offspring to fend for themselves.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qyWqH1rukNw/WpAoxbSYSGI/AAAAAAAB34Y/C8M3gaZ4rNINaDHajMTJvHHdIz3dCt5YwCLcBGAs/s1600/1-black%2Bracer%2Bsnakes%2Bmating%2B%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qyWqH1rukNw/WpAoxbSYSGI/AAAAAAAB34Y/C8M3gaZ4rNINaDHajMTJvHHdIz3dCt5YwCLcBGAs/s400/1-black%2Bracer%2Bsnakes%2Bmating%2B%25281%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the view that caught my eye as I was driving down the road</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Encountering two snakes mating was a completely new wildlife experience for me. While some people may shudder at the very thought of encountering two snakes mating (or, sadly, at seeing snakes at all), I reveled in the moment. The snakes obviously loved what they were doing. I did too!sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-26970897826753584702018-02-21T06:30:00.000-08:002018-02-21T06:30:06.476-08:00Great egret greets the day with a smile and a laughAn unoccupied bluebird nesting box next to Hour Lake is a popular perch for a variety of birds. <br />
<br />
On a recent dawn, a Great egret took advantage of this lakeside platform to practice its morning ablutions by preening, stretching and posing in enough postures to satisfy my seemingly unquenchable photographic thirst.<br />
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Below is a sampling of the egret's antics. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wAEjqV6j9Ec/Wo17VNCm1ZI/AAAAAAAB31Y/zAwtCSsVcQc1ki8DNE95p9KFL__sPut9gCLcBGAs/s1600/8-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25288%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1091" data-original-width="874" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wAEjqV6j9Ec/Wo17VNCm1ZI/AAAAAAAB31Y/zAwtCSsVcQc1ki8DNE95p9KFL__sPut9gCLcBGAs/s640/8-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25288%2529.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Good morning!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QFB9MHuaTJ0/Wo17NcPD9KI/AAAAAAAB308/uta3iZtjosIk0Bp-c3mnP5CZ3VVH6qqaACLcBGAs/s1600/1-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QFB9MHuaTJ0/Wo17NcPD9KI/AAAAAAAB308/uta3iZtjosIk0Bp-c3mnP5CZ3VVH6qqaACLcBGAs/s400/1-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25281%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bird bigger than the bluebird nesting box</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QeDRpwo0Mxs/Wo17Nx_Y1WI/AAAAAAAB31A/awXpDUkpktISJCQb40S0ZCG9O-dbtXIswCLcBGAs/s1600/2-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QeDRpwo0Mxs/Wo17Nx_Y1WI/AAAAAAAB31A/awXpDUkpktISJCQb40S0ZCG9O-dbtXIswCLcBGAs/s640/2-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25282%2529.JPG" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting the day with a laugh!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jQTpHQpiIT0/Wo17Mf0aRPI/AAAAAAAB304/oC85ug6qBF8YBVUwn4SBSuKsDYW3m6M7gCLcBGAs/s1600/3-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1091" data-original-width="874" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jQTpHQpiIT0/Wo17Mf0aRPI/AAAAAAAB304/oC85ug6qBF8YBVUwn4SBSuKsDYW3m6M7gCLcBGAs/s640/3-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25283%2529.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Gotta itch! Gotta itch! Gotta itch-itch-itch-itch!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g5cE7SR7l4s/Wo17R7eVFNI/AAAAAAAB31I/a1EFVW54ViAVEwCh5PZ5xYj0o9lHnupdgCLcBGAs/s1600/4-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g5cE7SR7l4s/Wo17R7eVFNI/AAAAAAAB31I/a1EFVW54ViAVEwCh5PZ5xYj0o9lHnupdgCLcBGAs/s640/4-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25284%2529.JPG" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gargling?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bOJbKzppTxA/Wo17SsTXLtI/AAAAAAAB31M/pOIwLEKsXa8KHK_GeNU1HX19ysC4TwE7ACLcBGAs/s1600/5-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bOJbKzppTxA/Wo17SsTXLtI/AAAAAAAB31M/pOIwLEKsXa8KHK_GeNU1HX19ysC4TwE7ACLcBGAs/s640/5-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25285%2529.JPG" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Aren't my feathers pretty?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vPTet9CyRjg/Wo17TdC8aFI/AAAAAAAB31Q/SBnFL1k5MaMTjD1UayaIky0n09S41_FXACLcBGAs/s1600/6-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25286%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vPTet9CyRjg/Wo17TdC8aFI/AAAAAAAB31Q/SBnFL1k5MaMTjD1UayaIky0n09S41_FXACLcBGAs/s640/6-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25286%2529.JPG" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big feet. The better to scratch itches with.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bz46TwC1cWU/Wo17Vk_C-JI/AAAAAAAB31c/fWqg5VbvMT8mLqeYvfWV7l0MqycsIBTAwCLcBGAs/s1600/7-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25287%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bz46TwC1cWU/Wo17Vk_C-JI/AAAAAAAB31c/fWqg5VbvMT8mLqeYvfWV7l0MqycsIBTAwCLcBGAs/s640/7-great%2Begret%2Bon%2Bnesting%2Bbox%2B%25287%2529.JPG" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Done preening<br />Looking fine in sunshine</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-66860000891593491592018-02-10T14:16:00.002-08:002018-02-10T15:15:39.688-08:00Dolphins, dawn and a calm lagoonEarly morning. Chilly. Instead of biking to the beach I decided to drive.<br />
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Instead of my usual haunts - 27th Ave. Beach or Hiles Blvd. - I rambled on down to the lagoon side of Bethune Beach.<br />
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It was a beautiful morning. Cold but calm.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cVuoDecWFOg/Wn9p6KOeGTI/AAAAAAAB18Q/zzWYfTKIbPAApodD804c3b9FY9PvwkOEwCLcBGAs/s1600/1-dawn%2Bdolphins%2B%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cVuoDecWFOg/Wn9p6KOeGTI/AAAAAAAB18Q/zzWYfTKIbPAApodD804c3b9FY9PvwkOEwCLcBGAs/s400/1-dawn%2Bdolphins%2B%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ripples in calm water</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I hoped to see some dolphins or manatees and was not disappointed. Shortly after walking down the boardwalk overlooking Indian River, I noticed a moving stream of ripples in the water. A telltale sign that aquatic company was heading my way.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pKyleywqazQ/Wn9qaeWPsMI/AAAAAAAB18Y/qlcG7wlfVDoOk6KAbplndd2U6XbiQjiCgCLcBGAs/s1600/1-dawn%2Bdolphins%2B%252816%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pKyleywqazQ/Wn9qaeWPsMI/AAAAAAAB18Y/qlcG7wlfVDoOk6KAbplndd2U6XbiQjiCgCLcBGAs/s400/1-dawn%2Bdolphins%2B%252816%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pair of dolphins arrived shortly after I arrived</td></tr>
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Two dolphins swam swiftly from the north into the small cove by the park. I was mesmerized by their antics.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3G6e7aj6TW8/Wn9q1Nt4boI/AAAAAAAB18g/qAJ7Gvfa1UAjVAOMBw1w7Ve1_DEMDdZSgCLcBGAs/s1600/1-dawn%2Bdolphins%2B%252813%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="1600" height="227" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3G6e7aj6TW8/Wn9q1Nt4boI/AAAAAAAB18g/qAJ7Gvfa1UAjVAOMBw1w7Ve1_DEMDdZSgCLcBGAs/s400/1-dawn%2Bdolphins%2B%252813%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking north from the park boardwalk</td></tr>
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As captivated as I was by the dolphins arrival, I was equally awed by the burgeoning day. I felt as if I was embraced by beauty!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FoAXZ3B_098/Wn9rSlN1yYI/AAAAAAAB18o/9zUFqSiigjEbAuofqRkkE1tHjxTXwp6OwCLcBGAs/s1600/1-dawn%2Bdolphins%2B%252814%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FoAXZ3B_098/Wn9rSlN1yYI/AAAAAAAB18o/9zUFqSiigjEbAuofqRkkE1tHjxTXwp6OwCLcBGAs/s640/1-dawn%2Bdolphins%2B%252814%2529.JPG" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a sky!</td></tr>
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In addition to dolphins, a great egret and several pelicans had gathered in the cove.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a5sxL92-HIk/Wn9ru8DQr9I/AAAAAAAB18w/qAaL0EH_E7IPN1m1LTK3IVYJbZSJ4e_-gCLcBGAs/s1600/1-egret%2Bpelican%2Bnsb.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a5sxL92-HIk/Wn9ru8DQr9I/AAAAAAAB18w/qAaL0EH_E7IPN1m1LTK3IVYJbZSJ4e_-gCLcBGAs/s400/1-egret%2Bpelican%2Bnsb.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great egret on piling. Pelican in water.</td></tr>
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Most likely the birds were there for an early morning feeding. Probably, the dolphins were too. But I like to imagine that they, like me, had come to greet the day. Quiet time. Calm water. A new day getting under way. Ah...the wonder of it all!<br />
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<br />sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-60904727843585180402018-02-09T09:36:00.001-08:002018-02-09T09:36:56.699-08:00January birdsOne month. Many birds.<br />
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Below are some - not all, but a good sampling - of the many birds I've enjoyed photographing during the month of January 2018. Most were taken at our home in Groveland but I've included a few shots from New Smyrna Beach. Usually we split our time equally during the two locations but this January, circumstances and weather kept us away from the beach much more than usual.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ATVFt0r5_TU/Wn3P7tRLDnI/AAAAAAAB138/Q8anqCH1aFAJmWPPclFo-ih2xteOGi_0gCLcBGAs/s1600/1-red%2Bbellied%2Bwoodpecker%2Bcrepe%2Bmyrtle%2B%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ATVFt0r5_TU/Wn3P7tRLDnI/AAAAAAAB138/Q8anqCH1aFAJmWPPclFo-ih2xteOGi_0gCLcBGAs/s400/1-red%2Bbellied%2Bwoodpecker%2Bcrepe%2Bmyrtle%2B%25285%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-bellied woodpecker on crepe myrtle tree</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oBeb33qMGGw/Wn3P9dF9A4I/AAAAAAAB14A/yQmCnuIkEaQ0wOvDbBBgqIUKl0wRwqCDwCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-killdeer%2B%252818%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oBeb33qMGGw/Wn3P9dF9A4I/AAAAAAAB14A/yQmCnuIkEaQ0wOvDbBBgqIUKl0wRwqCDwCEwYBhgL/s400/1-killdeer%2B%252818%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Killdeer on the ground where it blend in so well with the leaves and dirt </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fvzd4eVA-Eo/Wn3QGxAX3QI/AAAAAAAB14E/sw7aaTuYhmsuEFC0w6aJNGNQNd4kYxOHwCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-2%2Bgrebes%2B%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fvzd4eVA-Eo/Wn3QGxAX3QI/AAAAAAAB14E/sw7aaTuYhmsuEFC0w6aJNGNQNd4kYxOHwCEwYBhgL/s400/1-2%2Bgrebes%2B%25281%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This pair of pied-billed grebes have been regulars on Hour Lake since November</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kJQdAu2rp10/Wn3QHvH8dhI/AAAAAAAB15A/nHjvIkDFCW0ev4jKi7GmRboN5-LJk_TUgCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-hawk%2Bon%2Btree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kJQdAu2rp10/Wn3QHvH8dhI/AAAAAAAB15A/nHjvIkDFCW0ev4jKi7GmRboN5-LJk_TUgCEwYBhgL/s400/1-hawk%2Bon%2Btree.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I still don't know what this red-shouldered hawk has in its talon<br />Maybe you have an idea?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2vVEaBgwo7w/Wn3QL1GQ6RI/AAAAAAAB148/z75ZPgm9D1EgD9ph-Dn3tzbjOAxsXYbogCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-cardinals%2Bon%2Bbranches%2B%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2vVEaBgwo7w/Wn3QL1GQ6RI/AAAAAAAB148/z75ZPgm9D1EgD9ph-Dn3tzbjOAxsXYbogCEwYBhgL/s400/1-cardinals%2Bon%2Bbranches%2B%25283%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I photographed these cardinals while rowing close to the southern<br />shoreline of Hour Lake. They always come out to watch me when<br />I row by just to be sure I don't get any funny ideas about<br />who the property really belongs to</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mCWOWPUTiAk/Wn3QKm_fl2I/AAAAAAAB15E/eXgvEXBPQQgSVAwVf9bkWZnB4wl6aMzMgCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-phoebe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mCWOWPUTiAk/Wn3QKm_fl2I/AAAAAAAB15E/eXgvEXBPQQgSVAwVf9bkWZnB4wl6aMzMgCEwYBhgL/s400/1-phoebe.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phoebe on fenceline</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9mTaL0rJ63M/Wn3QNj2bkWI/AAAAAAAB15A/H-vlJZagPyQZHiBJouI1m7rudW6Tw5h7ACEwYBhgL/s1600/1-kestral%2B%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="970" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9mTaL0rJ63M/Wn3QNj2bkWI/AAAAAAAB15A/H-vlJZagPyQZHiBJouI1m7rudW6Tw5h7ACEwYBhgL/s400/1-kestral%2B%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American kestrel perched upon an old spigot in an abandoned<br />orange grove I spotted while driving down back roads in Groveland<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-72pcVnPc-qA/Wn3QTeeDN2I/AAAAAAAB15A/XCVbFwLbfHki29T28nfLgtk3Biyo2rn1ACEwYBhgL/s1600/1-lesser%2Bblue%2Bheron%2Bperched%2B%25286%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1354" data-original-width="1077" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-72pcVnPc-qA/Wn3QTeeDN2I/AAAAAAAB15A/XCVbFwLbfHki29T28nfLgtk3Biyo2rn1ACEwYBhgL/s400/1-lesser%2Bblue%2Bheron%2Bperched%2B%25286%2529.JPG" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lesser blue heron perched awkwardly upon one of our mid-lake platforms</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sl61ofEDpn8/Wn3QTqY_QsI/AAAAAAAB15M/jtv2DCmtq2UoIigyWz_VWH_9eHxJ8UGjQCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-sandhill%2Bcranes%2B%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1095" data-original-width="870" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sl61ofEDpn8/Wn3QTqY_QsI/AAAAAAAB15M/jtv2DCmtq2UoIigyWz_VWH_9eHxJ8UGjQCEwYBhgL/s400/1-sandhill%2Bcranes%2B%25282%2529.JPG" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pair of sandhill cranes doing their sandhill crane dance<br />It's been a joy watching them this month when they stopped by to<br />check out the many feeding stations in our yard</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-67mO72bFpq8/Wn3QaVsLSlI/AAAAAAAB15I/96NTs5kgtP0A9HRMcrVAN-BYjEasUW7owCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-goldfinch%2B%25288%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="871" data-original-width="1090" height="318" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-67mO72bFpq8/Wn3QaVsLSlI/AAAAAAAB15I/96NTs5kgtP0A9HRMcrVAN-BYjEasUW7owCEwYBhgL/s400/1-goldfinch%2B%25288%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow bird on a branch<br />What kind of yellow bird is it??</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-holp7IhH4Ac/Wn3Qfa1gYMI/AAAAAAAB15M/KO4jFUDslhg_Y8MVgev6RilvANTlrbmdwCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-bluebird.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="779" data-original-width="1137" height="273" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-holp7IhH4Ac/Wn3Qfa1gYMI/AAAAAAAB15M/KO4jFUDslhg_Y8MVgev6RilvANTlrbmdwCEwYBhgL/s400/1-bluebird.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American bluebird - male with his bright colors posing prettily<br />on a bamboo pole</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dkdXPaUf4dE/Wn3QjBy5BZI/AAAAAAAB15I/jlr1EvU8jyoOoTTE0R5Bnq-bgZkpqTtLgCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-cranes%2Bbamboo%2B%25289%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dkdXPaUf4dE/Wn3QjBy5BZI/AAAAAAAB15I/jlr1EvU8jyoOoTTE0R5Bnq-bgZkpqTtLgCEwYBhgL/s400/1-cranes%2Bbamboo%2B%25289%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandhill crane, captured in the canes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D0z-WJs8kG0/Wn3QmGL76NI/AAAAAAAB15M/LwZLvV9cr847518hATE1CkMRofwBum5MQCEwYBhgL/s1600/1-robin%2Bbrazillian%2Bpepper%2B%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D0z-WJs8kG0/Wn3QmGL76NI/AAAAAAAB15M/LwZLvV9cr847518hATE1CkMRofwBum5MQCEwYBhgL/s400/1-robin%2Bbrazillian%2Bpepper%2B%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robin redbreast doing what robin redbreasts do best during their<br />Florida stopover - eating berries.<br />In this case, the robin is about to munch on Brazilian Pepper berries,<br />an invasive non-native plant spread, in large part, by birds that munch on its berries.</td></tr>
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<br />sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-72416680467547218462018-02-02T13:46:00.000-08:002018-02-02T13:46:11.796-08:00The eagle has landedI was on my way to town - taking back roads, as usual - when a flash of white caught my eye. <br />
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Eagle. On the ground. Completely occupied with something it was eating.<br />
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I pulled over for a better look.<br />
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While the American bald eagle is not an uncommon bird in Central Florida, sightings are infrequently enough to give me pause. And pause is precisely what I did when I realized what I'd chanced upon.<br />
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The eagle - a solidly built bundle of black and white feathers with a huge golden beak, penetrating eyes beneath heavy brows and sharp talons protruding from a sturdy pair of strong legs - paid me no heed as it tore chunks of meat off its unfortunate prey.<br />
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Every few seconds the majestic bird - adult American bald eagles can weigh up 14 pounds with a wingspan of 5.9 to 7.5 feet - it would stop eating to check its surroundings before continuing to tear apart flesh with its powerful beak.<br />
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As I sat in my car taking pictures with through the open window, I tried to figure out what animal the eagle was eating. Bald eagles are opportunistic feeders who are just as likely to feast upon roadkill as they are prey they've stolen from others or captured themselves.<br />
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Although it was difficult to tell from my seated vantage point - I hesitated to get out of the car lest I scare the bird away - the size, shape and color of the critter caused me to conclude it was an armadillo.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4KHkNGUaTlg/WnTSf7v3bTI/AAAAAAAB1qI/_xoGReg-NNwBZ82ShL2vT3ggTNijGQCFgCLcBGAs/s1600/1-eagle%2Bw%2Bprey%2B%25288%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4KHkNGUaTlg/WnTSf7v3bTI/AAAAAAAB1qI/_xoGReg-NNwBZ82ShL2vT3ggTNijGQCFgCLcBGAs/s400/1-eagle%2Bw%2Bprey%2B%25288%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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In Florida, bald eagles primarily feed upon fish. According to <b><a href="http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/managed/bald-eagle/information/biology/" target="_blank">one study</a></b> conducted in north-central Florida, bald eagle diet was composed of 78 percent fish (mostly catfish), 17 percent birds (mainly American coot), three percent mammals, and one percent amphibians and reptiles combined.<br />
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Whatever this particular raptor was eating, it wasted no time consuming as much of its found delicacy as possible. The reason why it was rushing soon became obvious. Vultures. Lots and lots of vultures. <br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U-_zccjgbMs/WnTUbfImyDI/AAAAAAAB1qU/huXdGu3InZ8buZ_ATYDQxM2TOHfkIQwxwCLcBGAs/s1600/1-eagle%2Bw%2Bprey%2B%252810%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U-_zccjgbMs/WnTUbfImyDI/AAAAAAAB1qU/huXdGu3InZ8buZ_ATYDQxM2TOHfkIQwxwCLcBGAs/s400/1-eagle%2Bw%2Bprey%2B%252810%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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While bald eagles may be masters of stealing fish away from ospreys and chowing down on carrion along roadsides, a murder of vultures is just as eager to steal dead meat away from a lone eagle.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MPX-c6eBOfQ/WnTVZos-GuI/AAAAAAAB1qg/bpIILkBEpeA1eQWXyrdoG9n7rrPJPEMMQCLcBGAs/s1600/1-eagle%2Bw%2Bprey%2B%252814%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="800" height="318" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MPX-c6eBOfQ/WnTVZos-GuI/AAAAAAAB1qg/bpIILkBEpeA1eQWXyrdoG9n7rrPJPEMMQCLcBGAs/s400/1-eagle%2Bw%2Bprey%2B%252814%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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And indeed, that's precisely what happened. The vultures - there must have been a dozen waiting in the wings for just the right moment - suddenly flew close enough to the eagle to scare it away. The eagle took flight and the remaining carcass of the chewed apart animal was soon set up by a new group of hungry birds.<br />
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What an encounter! <br />
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For those who wonder (queue my husband) why I stubbornly choose back roads instead of more direct routes from Point A to Point B, an encounter like this is the reason why.<br />
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I never know what I'm going to find when I take the long road home but there's always something - often many somethings - to catch my eye and be captured by my camera. This time it was something special - a bald eagle having a feast. It was a feast for me too. A feast for my eyes. <br />
sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-52947664844576988402018-01-30T14:14:00.000-08:002018-01-30T17:29:51.978-08:00A bull, a cow and a calf walked into a bamboo grove...A bull, a cow and a calf walked into a bamboo grove...<br />
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No. This is not the start of a joke. But it is funny.<br />
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I walked outside the other day to see how my son was doing painting the exterior of our house. Timmy was making great progress. So were a group of cattle grazing a few feet away in a nearby grove of bamboo.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of the three bovines that appeared in our yard</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Timmy making great progress painting our house</td></tr>
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The cattle belong to my neighbor, who grazes them in a large field abutting the east side of our property. The pasture is surrounded by a field fence topped with two strips of barbed wire. On the portion of fence that backs up to our acreage, a long line of mature clumping bamboo provides an extra layer of separation between our two properties.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of the three layers of division - field fence and barbed wire</td></tr>
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You might think that such a three-layer approach - field fence, barbed wire, bamboo - would be enough to keep cattle contained. You'd be wrong.</div>
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Apparently, the same idiom that applies to people lusting over the color of their neighbor's lawns - the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence - applies to bovines too.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cattle chomping down on green bamboo leaves</td></tr>
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On my neighbor's side of the fence, the pasture has been grazed down to brown stubble with nary a spot of green in sight. By contrast, our side of the fence boasts a proverbial banquet of fresh, young sprouts. </div>
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Despite the recent cold snap, our livestock-free land has sprouted a profusion of edibles. From new bamboo shoots (cattle candy) to low-growing weeds like wild geranium (geranium carolinianum), there's a bountiful supply of tender young greens to tempt the taste-buds of just about any hungry ruminant.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bamboo = Cattle Candy</td></tr>
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And temptation is undoubtedly what led my neighbor's four-legged beasts into our yard. </div>
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Somehow the not-so-dumb animals found a hole in the fence and invited themselves to lunch. Doing so wasn't unusual - they've found their way onto our property many times over the years - but this time, they chose to chow down of a spot of greenery right next to our house. It didn't matter that our son was only a few feet away or that I stood even closer snapping off one photo after another. Food was what was on their mind. Never mind the people.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No buts about it! Cattle like bamboo</td></tr>
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I don't have a problem with the cattle being here. I actually like it. When my neighbor called later to ask if he could come by to round them up I told him, no hurry.</div>
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"The animals are helping me out," I said. They're keeping the bamboos trimmed, mowing down the weeds, fertilizing the ground and fun to look at to boot. You don't have to mend the fence if you don't want to."</div>
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Robert Frost tells us, "Good fences make good neighbors." But a bit of permeability can be a good thing too. </div>
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It may not be a joke when a bull, cow and calf walk into a bamboo grove but finding them there sure was funny.</div>
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Below are a few more shots from my recent bovine photo shoot</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8W1029zi-jM/WnDr_5QCULI/AAAAAAAB1kQ/VkLJA4vhNpU0Bn9avD7clx5djQrg5uQEQCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_20180126_113312018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8W1029zi-jM/WnDr_5QCULI/AAAAAAAB1kQ/VkLJA4vhNpU0Bn9avD7clx5djQrg5uQEQCKgBGAs/s400/IMG_20180126_113312018.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-8698986075421662832018-01-19T12:30:00.000-08:002018-01-19T12:30:10.980-08:00This post is 'For the Birds'<div style="text-align: center;">
There were so many birds in the yard this morning!</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rrlQGQ_cszA/WmJR0r3fC5I/AAAAAAAB0yQ/GEh5pLfr2XUbC4lr28omJh4MT1NVy99CQCLcBGAs/s1600/1-bluebird.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="779" data-original-width="1137" height="219" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rrlQGQ_cszA/WmJR0r3fC5I/AAAAAAAB0yQ/GEh5pLfr2XUbC4lr28omJh4MT1NVy99CQCLcBGAs/s320/1-bluebird.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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From my kitchen window I shot this short video of some feathered friends</div>
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at feeders, along the lakeside and on tree branches. </div>
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Music & lyrics by <a href="http://www.acousticmusic.com/staines/" target="_blank"><b>Bill Staines</b></a> - 'This Song is for the Birds' </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hiy1dvoRiOM/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hiy1dvoRiOM?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-70786457954194593822017-10-20T05:09:00.000-07:002017-10-20T05:09:24.061-07:00It's a wrap - spider styleYesterday I watched a yellow and black argiope spider (writing spider, aka Charlotte from Charlotte's Web) wrap up prey on a windy afternoon.<br />
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Argiope spiders spin HUGE webs and this beautiful arachnid is no exception. It's shimmery web stretches from a corner of our house to a white cast iron chair with a distinctive zigzag pattern in its center.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qzs4GBgp5yM/Wenjty08xLI/AAAAAAABwsY/Pv0QmAKYMEIqKH_FdCrVESpYBe-7UPYRwCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_20171015_085801762.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qzs4GBgp5yM/Wenjty08xLI/AAAAAAABwsY/Pv0QmAKYMEIqKH_FdCrVESpYBe-7UPYRwCKgBGAs/s640/IMG_20171015_085801762.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With a web stretching between the roof, wall and left cast iron chair, the female argiope spider<br />rests upside down in the web's center. </td></tr>
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While over the years I've watched argiopes catch many different kinds of insects, I have rarely observed them shrouding their prey as efficiently and quickly as this lovely lady wrapped up her prey.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yI2czU5gA1Y/WenlgTgpgiI/AAAAAAABwss/ijS7DR_VT-4tUjo9cGcNU4iDlTpoq4vCACLcBGAs/s1600/1-argiope%2Bwith%2Bcloudless%2Bsulphur%2B%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yI2czU5gA1Y/WenlgTgpgiI/AAAAAAABwss/ijS7DR_VT-4tUjo9cGcNU4iDlTpoq4vCACLcBGAs/s400/1-argiope%2Bwith%2Bcloudless%2Bsulphur%2B%25283%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another yellow and black argiope with a butterfly catch</td></tr>
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Below are three short videos of our most recent resident arachnid as she wrapped up her catch in a shroud of white fibers.<br />
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<br />sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-73826065612663527442017-10-18T07:18:00.001-07:002017-10-18T07:18:32.067-07:004 things I never expected to see people do at the beach Whenever I'm at the beach I expect to see the unexpected. But usually, those unexpected finds include rare shells, interesting wildlife, a special skyscape, pretty sandcastles or mademade items like watches, sunglasses and plastic shovels that wash ashore. <br />
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When it comes to people, most of the time I see kids (and the rare adult) doing handstands and cartwheels, tossing balls and playing games. I've spied lovers entwined on beach blankets, tai chi and yoga practitioners and even the occasional beachside wedding. <br />
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But, over the past couple years, I've encountered a few other more unique human/ocean interactions. Below are four things I never expected to see people do at the beach starting with a banjo-playing fellow serenading the surf.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy's banjo playing was accompanied by the percussive beat of rolling waves</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This woman gives new meaning to 'just hanging out with a couple piers.'</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">People bring all sorts of things to the beach - blankets, towels, coolers, music...<br />But for some reason, this fellow brought a ladder</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've encountered many people doing yoga on the sand but this guy chose to do his stretches on a paddleboard just offshore</td></tr>
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<br />sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-32947268839138111042017-10-13T09:53:00.000-07:002017-10-13T10:08:51.098-07:00A beachside encounter in 'Plein' sight!I almost always find something unexpected on my early morning beachside bike rides. Often those finds include interesting wildlife, plants or washed ashore items. But recently, over a two-day period, my beachcombing finds involved Gainesville artist <b><a href="http://facebook.com/peter.carolin" target="_blank">Peter J. Carolin</a></b> participating in the<b><a href="http://nsbpaintout.com/" target="_blank"> 7th annual New Smyrna Beach Paint Out</a></b>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artist blending colors with gloved hands</td></tr>
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Much to my delight and fascination, Peter set up his extensive outdoor studio in front of SeaWoods, a stretch of beach midway between my usual starting and finishing points.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YcSnOCNqH-o/WeDqFUQgRsI/AAAAAAABwbQ/KO9EnJvWSkYduvSkUg1k7BWG9KHMrIg7ACKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_20171011_074943300_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YcSnOCNqH-o/WeDqFUQgRsI/AAAAAAABwbQ/KO9EnJvWSkYduvSkUg1k7BWG9KHMrIg7ACKgBGAs/s400/IMG_20171011_074943300_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quite a lot of gear to tote to and from the beach</td></tr>
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On both mornings, I paused in my morning ride to say hello and ask if I could take pictures, which Peter graciously permitted.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter didn't seem to mind all my questions and picture taking</td></tr>
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I'm glad he did, because not only did I enjoy watching him work, but found myself especially intrigued by his cleverly constructed work station made from repurposed items like old ironing boards, aluminum crutches and clothes hangers. Ingenious use of castaway stuff!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arranging his ironing board table in front of swiveling paint shelves made from crutches, clothes hangers, old glass medicine shelves and 2x4s</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Below is a short YouTube video of artist Peter J. Carolin from photos taking during early morning beachside bike rides on October 11 and 12, 2017</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A fun surprise!</span></div>
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<br />sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-71327784275050303572017-10-04T06:48:00.000-07:002017-10-04T06:48:55.956-07:00Halloween sounds of Giant Timber Clumping Bamboo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The creaking and screeching sounds from this untrimmed, mature clump of Bambus oldhamii would be the perfect accompaniment to a midnight visit to a haunted house.<br />
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<br />sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-15112148798349401092017-10-01T09:02:00.000-07:002017-10-01T09:02:13.421-07:00Being in the moment<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ralph and I went for a walk around the south half of our property yesterday evening. Although we've been back from the beach for three days, this was our first chance to survey post-Irma effects in the lake and low-lying acreage.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1psBAgU51sk/WdDzpwBhb-I/AAAAAAABwHQ/u9_FWNu5fAQt0p3iIeBVn96HZhwN-mpcQCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_20170930_175746182_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1psBAgU51sk/WdDzpwBhb-I/AAAAAAABwHQ/u9_FWNu5fAQt0p3iIeBVn96HZhwN-mpcQCKgBGAs/s400/IMG_20170930_175746182_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During normal periods, this area is a meadow abutting a marsh.<br />Prior to Hurricane Irma the line of 6-year-old slash pines stood on dry ground.<br />Now the trees are standing in the middle of a shallow pond.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same area photographed during a dry period in 2012<br />Look closely to see the line of slash pines just beginning to grow along the rim of the bog<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AJMhNsfwVPU/WdDzhrOARlI/AAAAAAABwHM/2Ni3KRgPPTUxOmsjOOXjAcfWZKMT25xcwCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_20170930_175507144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AJMhNsfwVPU/WdDzhrOARlI/AAAAAAABwHM/2Ni3KRgPPTUxOmsjOOXjAcfWZKMT25xcwCKgBGAs/s400/IMG_20170930_175507144.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Although slash pines can tolerate standing water for short periods,<br />they'll die if it takes months for water to recede</td></tr>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-a2952320-d836-8d2a-059c-92fff4409e6a" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our Groveland homestead is fairly evenly divided between high and low ground. During normal periods, about half of our acreage is either wetland or lake. The remainder is fertile upland in forest, fields and gardens. But that proportion changes dramatically during times of extreme weather. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beach in November 2010 during a period of normal water levels</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our beach post-Irma - less than half its normal size</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">For several months prior to the storm, we’d experienced a prolonged period of drought that exposed low-lying sections of the lake-bed. My morning rows in Hour Lake didn't take as long because the lake had shrunk. Land that used to be underwater was no longer submerged.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Large swaths of exposed lake-bed </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bog buttons growing in dry, cracked lake-bed</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">During the first few years we lived here, I remember worrying when it rained too much or when it didn't rain enough. But now, after 25 years of lakeside living, I've come to a better understanding, a realization of sorts of the way things work. No matter what we might want or expect, l</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">andscape is never static. Water levels constantly change as do the type of plant and animal life responding to those weather-influenced fluctuations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, instead of feeling anxious about things beyond my control, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I do my best to simply accept. To savor the seasonal ebb and flow of the world outside my window. In high times and low times and all times in between, my goal is simple: With awe and fascination, strive to be in the moment. To accept the present as the gift - the extraordinary gift - it is. </span></div>
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sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-4366760596949518442017-09-19T11:40:00.000-07:002017-09-19T11:40:04.266-07:00A picture. A poem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b4bhSWvFlSc/WcFkHWpLlqI/AAAAAAABvYo/z6EoQUXqGkcZBLWlRLzemddxECG_yUW8wCLcBGAs/s1600/1-full%2Bmoon-002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1442" height="474" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b4bhSWvFlSc/WcFkHWpLlqI/AAAAAAABvYo/z6EoQUXqGkcZBLWlRLzemddxECG_yUW8wCLcBGAs/s640/1-full%2Bmoon-002.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-56886006127539614432017-09-15T15:52:00.002-07:002017-09-16T12:39:03.952-07:00Can't get out! Spiderweb has us trapped! <div>
I was in the kitchen working on my second cup of coffee when I heard my husband shout to me from the hallway on the west side of our house.</div>
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"Come quick! And bring your camera!"</div>
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Not one to miss what I assumed would be a wildlife encounter since Ralph was calling from the room leading to his vegetable garden, I wasted no time heeding his command.</div>
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I'm glad I did because a large, colorful yellow and black argiope spider (Argiope aurantia) had woven an incredibly broad and beautiful web across our house's western exit. </div>
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From where we both stood looking out through the door's 9-pane windows, Mama Argiope's 2-inch long body hung upside down smack in the middle of its web's distinctive zigzagging center.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ralph reaches through the partially open door to stick his hand behind a large and lovely lady spider</td></tr>
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The black and yellow argiope is a species of orb weaving spider also known as a yellow garden spider, golden garden spider or writing spider, but it can also be called 'Charlotte,' because the spider in E.B.White's classic children's book, Charlotte's Web, was an Argiope aurantia.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlotte the spider's message written in her web</td></tr>
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Although quite harmful to insects - argiope spiders dine on whatever flying insect unwittingly becomes entangled in its sticky web - orb weavers present no danger to people. Quite the opposite. Argiopes are a gardener's friend because their diet often contains pests that would otherwise damage plants.</div>
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Unfortunately, that positive attribute isn't enough to dispel its unpopularity. Although Ralph and I appreciate spiders, most people don't. As Wilbur the pig demonstrates in the dialog below, despite his friend's beneficial contributions to society, Wilbur finds its eating habits less than endearing:</div>
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[<span class="fine" style="font-style: italic;">a fly lands in Charlotte's web</span>]</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001666/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte</span></a>: Just a minute, Wilbur.</div>
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[<span class="fine" style="font-style: italic;">she climbs up and wraps the fly</span>]</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001666/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte</span></a>: He'll make a perfect breakfast for me.</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002099/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Wilbur</span></a>: [<span class="fine" style="font-style: italic;">shuddering</span>] Ooooh. You mean you eat flies?</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001666/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte</span></a>: Why, certainly. I eat anything that gets caught in my web. I have to live, don't I?</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002099/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Wilbur</span></a>: [<span class="fine" style="font-style: italic;">nervously</span>] Why, yes, of course. Do they taste good?</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001666/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte</span></a>: Delicious.</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002099/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Wilbur</span></a>: LECCH!</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001666/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte</span></a>: Course, I don't really *eat* them, I drink their blood. I love blood.</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002099/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Wilbur</span></a>: [<span class="fine" style="font-style: italic;">gasps</span>] Oh, please don't say things like that.</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001666/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte</span></a>: Why not? It's true.</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002099/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Wilbur</span></a>: But it's *cruel*.</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001666/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte</span></a>: Well, *you* can't talk. You have your meals brought to you in a pail. Nobody feeds me. I live by my wits.</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002099/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Wilbur</span></a>: It just seems an odd sort of diet.</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001666/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" style="color: #70579d; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="character" style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte</span></a>: Do you realize that if I didn't eat them, bugs would get so numerous, they'd destroy the earth? Spiders are really very useful creatures.</div>
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As Ralph and I stood inside looking out, it dawned on me that the only way to get into the garden without damaging the spider's web was to duck down and scoot under it, which I promptly did.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the outside looking in through the open door</td></tr>
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Once outside, I noticed that the female argiope was not alone. Curled up in an upper corner of the web was a male argiope, much smaller than the female, as male spiders tend to be.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ralph points to the male argiope all curled up and waiting for an opportunity to mate </td></tr>
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Like their human counterparts, male web weavers spend much of their life in search of a partner with whom to mate. When they finally find a female of their species, they build themselves a tiny web in a corner of the female's web and try to entice her with music made by plucking the web's glittering strands. Each vibrating pluck of the strings sends a message that the male hopes will entice the female spider to engage in a bit of amorous action. However, unfortunately for the male, there's no happy ending. Once coitus is achieved, the male spider dies and will likely be consumed by its so-called partner.</div>
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Below is a video I took of the spider - of both spiders - in the web outside the hallway door leading to Ralph's vegetable garden. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Read more stories about Argiope spiders by clicking on these links</span></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.sherryboas.com/2013/09/on-web.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></a></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.sherryboas.com/2013/09/on-web.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">On the web</span></a></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.sherryboas.com/2013/09/spider-vs-butterfly.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Spider versus butterfly</span></a></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.sherryboas.com/2013/09/green-lynx-spider.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Green lynx spider</span></a></b></div>
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sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-39637982468644394292017-09-02T09:56:00.000-07:002017-09-02T10:33:34.904-07:00Another early morning at the beachRalph and I arrived at New Smyrna Beach yesterday afternoon and I couldn't wait for morning to get back on my bike, ride down to the ocean and watch the sunrise.<br />
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This is the view that greeted me as I biked onto the hard-packed, rain-soaked sand this morning shortly before sunrise, just after high tide. Dark, heavy clouds hung low over the water but in the distance, a strip of brightness lit up the horizon like a brazen flare.<br />
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As I biked south, streaks of pink light streamed across the still-dark sky.<br />
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Looking southward instead of east, I inhaled morning calmness along with the view. Few people were out and a slight breeze kept the sand fleas away as long as I kept moving.<br />
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More pink light filtering through the cloud cover hinting of illumination soon to come. While I usually focus on the ocean view or north-south vistas as I bike along, this morning I paid attention to the westerly sky where random clouds received a dash of color.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A spot of light in the western sky</td></tr>
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When I reached the stairway at Watts, I stopped to juggle but once I stopped moving, the sand fleas or no-see-ums zeroed in on my body, forcing me to cut short my morning stretches and juggling practice and run down into the ocean to take a quick dip in the warm and soothing brine.<br />
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Before heading back to my sleepy husband, I paused to write a few messages in the sand.<br />
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We all have a choice...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sunrise beachside bike ride always gives me hope...</td></tr>
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Before arriving back at 27th Avenue, I stopped to take a video of two cormorants in the shallow water. Cormorants are not birds I normally associate with the beach. I see snowy egrets (like the one in the video) all the time as well as willets, pelicans, plovers, gulls, terns and great blue herons. But this morning was the first time I noticed a pair of cormorants - birds I normally see at our Groveland lake - in the ocean. As I watched them in the water, I couldn't help but wonder if they were frolicking or feeding. Most likely, the latter, but maybe (I like to think maybe) just a bit of both?<br />
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By the time I left the cormorants, the sky was much brighter than it had been when I started out. I was now almost back to where I began with just a couple more images to capture before leaving.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking north toward 27th Ave Beach</td></tr>
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Despite it being a Saturday morning on Labor Day weekend with dense cloud cover starting to give way to speckled light, few people were out on the sand. That won't be the case in a couple hours when this same stretch of beach will be blanketed with beach-goers on holiday.<br />
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Gulls may be noisy, greedy, unpopular birds but I never tire of seeing them, especially when they stand on a pier surveying a domain that's as much (maybe more...) theirs than ours. <br />
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Watching that gull on a still-quiet morning on what soon will be an extremely busy beach day, reminded me that the world belongs to us all - the large and the small, the winged, wingless, clawed, scaled, finned, furred and feathered. <br />
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It's ours to protect, not to neglect. It's ours to preserve, not to destroy. It's ours and, hopefully, it's their world too, for as long as we share and take care for its many wonders. <br />
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<br />sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-87159288596681131772017-08-18T08:39:00.003-07:002017-08-18T08:52:41.781-07:00Savor the momentI've always thought of myself as a lake person more than a beach nut. Yet, over the past few years, my fascination and enjoyment of time spent by the ocean has grown immensely.<br />
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I look forward to the time Ralph and I spend in New Smyrna Beach with eager anticipation. I love my early morning bike rides, combing the beach for treasures - and I always find something - new birds, crustaceans, plants and animals to discover, learn about and appreciate. Together, they add up to complete joy and excitement.<br />
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This morning, as I try to do whenever we're at the beach (and we're here more and more often each month) I got up early, made myself a to-go mug of hot, buttered coffee, packed my juggling clubs, camera and towel into my improvised bike carryall and pedaled off to the ocean to catch the morning light.<br />
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This was my view when I got there<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">A sight worth getting up early for</td></tr>
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The sun was hidden behind a bank of low-lying clouds but rays of light appeared nonetheless. I'm always encouraged by old Sol's ability to penetrate even the darkest sky. Inspiring determination!<br />
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It was almost dead low tide, which meant there was a flat, expansive stretch of hard sand - perfect for riding on with my three-wheel recumbent. Waves were gentle, almost non-existent. I rode steadily along anticipating a relaxing swim once I'd pedaled a couple miles.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">A shadow-selfie of me in my fun cycle</td></tr>
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Once I was south of Hiles, I stop biking, sipped some coffee - still hot! - and took out my clubs. My club juggling has definitely improved thanks to these early morning practice sessions on the beach. There's something about juggling on the beach that I really love. Especially at sunrise when the only ones to see me make mistakes are a few uninterested snowy egrets, pelicans, royal terns and the occasional walker, biker or beachside jogger.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The birds don't seem to mind if I drop clubs while practicing my juggling</td></tr>
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After juggling for a bit - got up to 50 throws this morning - I went for a swim. The water was absolutely perfect! Warm and gentle and delightfully salty. I almost hated to get out. But I did and I'm glad I did because if I hadn't, I might have missed seeing the hermit crab crawling across the sand inside the biggest moonsnail shell I've ever seen!<br />
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Below are two short videos of the moonsnail-occupied hermit crab making its way across the sand:<br />
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When it comes to shelling, New Smyrna Beach is no Sanibel Island. Sure (shore?) there are a few shells here and there but usually none of them are anything special. But sometimes - maybe because of the tide or weather - many kinds of pretty shells wash ashore. That's what happened this morning.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">A few of my morning finds</td></tr>
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Thanks to all the shells I kept spotting from my low-riding recumbent (a perfect bike for shell-spotting) it took me much longer than usual to make it back home to Ralph. Usually he joins me but this morning he needed a little extra time to rest before starting the day. But that's okay. We'll have another chance tomorrow and if there's one thing I've learned about being at the beach it's that everyday there's something new to discover at the ocean. Can't wait to seer what the next day will bring!sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-21741154230216723882017-07-19T05:19:00.001-07:002017-07-19T13:25:30.182-07:00How to tell good eggs from bad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
How to tell good eggs from bad</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bad egg will float. Throw it away.<br />A good egg will sink to the bottom and rest on its side.<br />A so-so egg will sink to the bottom and stand on its pointy end. Use it soon!</td></tr>
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Whenever Ralph brings back chicken and duck eggs from our neighbor's flock, I clean them off in the lake. I put them in a colander and set them in the shallow water by our beach to soak while I settle down beside them. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">A colander full of eggs fresh from our neighbor's farm sits in the lake waiting to be scrubbed clean</td></tr>
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As soon as I arrive, I'm surrounded by a school of curious minnows eager to check out this potential new source of food.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Minnows are especially interested in a glob of dried yolk on one of the chicken eggs </td></tr>
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Before scrubbing the dirt and feathers off of the eggs, I test them out individually by placing them one at a time in the lake. If an egg lays on its side on the bottom it's fresh. If it stays on the bottom but points upward instead of resting on its side, that means it's getting old and should be eaten soon. However, if it immediately floats to the top, that tells me the egg is too old and should not be eaten at all. Two of the eggs from this batch were floaters. I threw them out into the deeper water knowing that some critter - maybe an alligator or a raccoon - would find the eggs and gobble them up.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Maybe a young gator will eat the rotten eggs</td></tr>
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To clean the eggs, I use a brush given to me by my friend Maria Moniz. Although the brush, made by <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/fullcirclehome" target="_blank">Full Circle</a></b>, is actually meant as a potato scrubber, it also works extremely well at cleaning the dirt off eggs. Before long I had a bowl filled with brown chicken and white duck eggs ready to take inside.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Clean eggs ready to refrigerate until used</td></tr>
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sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-68706683479562158732017-07-15T05:43:00.000-07:002017-07-15T05:43:53.402-07:00Best pineapple ever!<div style="text-align: center;">
What's bright yellow, sweet and juicy? The best pineapple ever, that's what!</div>
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And I grew it myself! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wahoo! Look what I grew!</td></tr>
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This wasn't the first pineapple I've grown - far from it - but it was certainly the biggest, the juiciest and the sweetest one yet.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bowl full of sweetness!</td></tr>
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What makes one pineapple better than another? Each one I've grown has come from store-bought fruit. Just your typical grocery store pineapples. It could be the soil or location, weather conditions or a combination of those factors that enabled this most recent pineapple to develop into such a large and tasty fruit. I suppose I'll never know for sure. What I do know, is the delight I've found in growing (and eating!) my own pineapples.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mother plant behind me has two more suckers on it<br />that might develop more fruit </td></tr>
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If you haven't tried growing one yourself yet, give it a try. Pineapples are among the easiest fruit to grow. Simply cut off the top of a store-bought fruit and place it in a scraped away spot of soil.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lobbed off top ready for planting</td></tr>
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Pineapples can be grown in a sunny spot or in the shade. I've successfully grown them in both. The pineapple top doesn't need to be buried deeply. It doesn't need any special soil. Pineapples, which are in the bromeliad family, are no-fuss plants. Once one has been set in the ground its only requirement is to be left alone.<br />
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To learn more about growing pineapples, check out my post from last August:</div>
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<a href="http://www.sherryboas.com/2016/08/pineapples-easy-to-grow-yummy-to-eat.html" target="_blank">Pineapples - easy to grow, yummy to eat</a></h3>
sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-63536537056435482712017-07-12T12:58:00.002-07:002017-07-12T12:58:35.774-07:00Birds or pesticides? Which would you choose to control pesky insects?<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Scroll down to watch video of a downy woodpecker eating insects on bamboo</b></div>
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Poisonous sprays aren't the only way to prevent small sucking insects like mealybug, aphids and scale from damaging plants. Birds can eliminate insect infestations too.<br />
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As long as plants are not treated with noxious chemicals, birds like this female downy woodpecker will take care of plant-bothering bugs for you.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female downy woodpecker feeding on miniscule insects</td></tr>
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Mealybug, aphids and scale all excrete a sticky substance called honeydew that quickly becomes infected with the sooty mold fungus. Insect-eating birds like woodpeckers are attracted to this ready supply of food and will consume.<br />
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In the video below, watch how diligently this female downy woodpecker circles the stalk in order to devour as many tiny bugs as possible on this young shoot of <b><a href="http://beautifulbamboo.blogspot.com/2010/07/blue-timber-bamboo-most-beautiful.html" target="_blank">Blue Timber (Bambusa chungii) Clumping Bamboo</a></b>.<br />
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Since bamboo is such a fast-growing plant, it's able to outgrow any insect problem. Nonetheless, some people still insist upon using chemical controls. While there are products recommended for sooty mold, I prefer to let woodpeckers have at it. What about you?sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563617538751855242.post-40903214433892035402017-07-09T06:21:00.000-07:002017-07-09T06:21:09.576-07:00A celestial two-fer!<div style="text-align: center;">
Biking south at sunrise in New Smyrna Beach. </div>
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To my left, watching the sunrise... </div>
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To my right, watching the moon set...</div>
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A celestial two-fer. Double the pleasure!</div>
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sherry boashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07310105811887347118noreply@blogger.com0