Spring has Sprung!

It's Spring in Ocala and the birds are getting more and more colorful and we are seeing more pairs. Last week was Spring Break and we had visitors from Colorado, Bill's daughter and her family, and naturally, we took them birding!

We didn't have to go very far to see this beautiful Bluebird...

..or this pair of Goldfinches. The American Goldfinches are sporting their vivid yellow colors and are showing up in huge flocks - eating us out of house and home - getting ready to head north.

Our Sherman Fox Squirrels are still showing up every day. We have as many as three at a time.

The Cedar Waxwings came by in huge numbers - but boy they are hard to photograph!!

We took the family to Rainbow Springs State Park and Bill and I walked around while the kids kayaked. We saw tons of Cardinals.

 It's always an especially good day when we see a Pileated Woodpecker!

I don't usually bother with the Grey Squirrels - but this little guy was just so cute!

This was the day of the Carolina Wrens - they were everywhere singing their little hearts out!

We wanted the kids to see Alligators - up close and personal - so we spent a day at Paines Prairie. Even this Boat-tailed Grackle is showing beautiful colors!

All of the usual herons, egrets and ibis were there - including this Snowy Egret. You can see that he is growing his breeding feathers.

Ms. Cardinal with a dirty beak. She's been playing in the mud.

The kids saw lots and lots of huge alligators - and this baby one.

This might be my best picture of a Palm Warbler.

I finished the quilt with the vegetable theme. I named it "Eat Your Veggies." It is a gift for an avid gardener.

The house is quiet now that our company is gone, but we had a great visit. The grandchildren were a delight. We will see them again in less than a month when we return to Colorado for the summer.

LaChua Trail - Paynes Prairie

Bill and I decided that New Years Day was a perfect day for a walk through Paynes Prairie- and apparently, we were not alone in our thinking as the parking area was so full, we thought there must be an event going on! The wildlife all got the message too as they were out in force!

The Alligators were lined up on the banks - big ones, small ones and some HUGE ones. We expected to run into the Swamp People! Chut-em Liz'bit!

Yummy - lunch! This Anhinga swam to the bank where he beat the catfish on a log - and ate it.

Ms. Cardinal was playing peek-a-boo through the reeds.

Yuk! I can feel the stings just looking at them!

A Great Blue Heron was on an island waiting for something to happen. Notice the much, much smaller Green Heron in front of him

As I looked away to take a picture of an immature Black-crowned Night Heron...

I heard a ruckus and looked to see the heron with what looks like a HUGE salamander. 

The heron was jumping and flapping his wings.

Another Yuk! We watched for awhile but couldn't decide whether he ate it or just killed it. Anyone know what it is??

An adult Black-crowned Night Heron looked on - obviously bored by the whole thing.

I did not expect to see a Forster's Tern so far inland.

He was flying rapidly around before diving straight into the water - over and over.

He finally got tired and landed for me to take a better picture.

We couldn't believe the size of this alligator - probably over 10 feet - and he was sitting along the side of the path where we were all walking. We passed within 5 feet of it - as did mother's with strollers, small children and a VERY excited gentleman jumping up and down yelling in some foreign language. I don't think he'd ever seen an alligator before. Bill offered to take his picture while he sat on his back - but he declined.

A Green Heron waiting patiently for lunch. He stood very still until a very territorial heron scared him away.

The wind was fluffing the feathers of this magnificent Snowy Egret. Check out his yellow feet!

An immature White Ibis. They are brown their first year.

The pied-billed Grebes look like playful duck children.

I love this shot! He looks like he got caught eating the cookies!

Another immature White Ibis.

We saw so many American Bitterns on this walk that Bill was calling them "trash birds" by the end.

American Bitterns are slow-moving birds and the stripes on their neck act as camouflage in the reeds.

Bill says I take too many pictures of the Tricolor Herons - but I like them!

I know this is a Song Sparrow because of the central spot on his streaked breast.

This is the last American Bittern picture.

Butterflies and flowers in January. I love Florida!

This Red-shouldered Hawk was in the distance and reused to turn around - but the picture shows his pretty coloring.

Is it just my imagination, or am I being watched? This Common Buckeye was sitting on the path.

Last but not least is this beautiful Great Blue Heron. Nice walk and a wonderful start to the new year.

Continuing our Adventure

We reached Everglades City and drove around looking for the Mullet Festival. We saw signs for Smallwood Store on Chokoloskee Island and went to investigate.

This store was build in 1906 by Ted Smallwood and served this remote community and the Native Americans that lived in the area until 1982. It bought and sold goods and served as the first Post Office. His daughters now operate it as a museum.

Just look at the wonderful merchan-dise!

This is the hide room with all sizes and shapes of pelts.

Bill and I felt like we had stepped back in time - but we had to come back to the present and find the Mullet Festival!

Back in Everglades City we stopped for lunch at a wonderful little local Cuban restaurant (whose name I forget!). We ate outside by a stone wall. These curly tailed lizards were everywhere! The waitress told me they are native to Cuba and arrived in the Everglades in 1992 along with Hurricane Andrew - one of the most powerful storms (Category 5) of the Twentieth Century.

And back in Everglades City we also found out that the Mullet Festival was in Goodland!

We took one more side trip before heading to Goodland. I wanted to see more alligators and my wonderful husband indulged me by going 7 miles in the opposite direction to a place we had been before. I knew it was home to lots of fearsome looking reptiles.

This alligator was sitting by the side of the road. I was no more than 6 feet from him.

Just to his right was another - much bigger one!

It looks like smoke or fog in this picture - but it is just dust from the road. A car had just gone by and stirred it up. I didn't want to wait until it settled to continue taking pictures as the alligators were getting restless and starting to move.

This Alligator must have been 15 feet long. No I wasn't close - he was across the canal.

After I got my fill of alligators, we finally headed to the Mullet Festival in Goodland.

Along Route 41 (Tamiami Trail) we had to pull off and get a picture of the Ochopee Post Office. It is the smallest Post Office in the country.

Click on the image for a larger version and read the interesting history of this little gem.

We found Goodland on our map. It's located on the southeast corner of Marco Island. We found the sign "Welcome to Goodland" but we never found the town or the Mullet Festival!

Instead we stopped at one of the beautiful beaches on Marco Island to walk, pick-up shells and look at the birds.

This is a Ring-billed Gull, obviously named for the black ring around his bill.

This Snowy Egret was sitting on the beach right in front of a couple who was ignoring him.

Suddenly, he heard or saw something and came to attention! Look at the feathers on his head and look at the extension of his neck. He almost looks comical.

Bill and I had a wonderful day - even if we never made it to the Mullet Festival - where ever it was. There is a Seafood Festival in Everglades City in a couple of weeks - maybe we'll go.