The Old and the Restless

Megan, Michael and Thomas came for a week in the sun Tom  didn't trust the ocean. However, he spent hours every day playing in the sand.

When Maureen and Ramsay came to stay for a few days, we did some of our "traditional" things.  A beach walk at the north end. Paul does not look too pleased. Perhaps it is better to pose for the photo. It was quite windy. Even the snowy egret was having a "Bad Hair Day". This lone cormorant seemed confused. It is the first time we have seen one on the beach. Usually they can be found on a sand island in the river. Finally we went for our "traditional" lunch at JB's fish camp.

Our trip to Viera Wetlands with Maureen and Ramsay involved more than birds. As we drove deep into the park we could see a large dark shape on the road ahead of us. It turned out to be a good sized indigo snake. Sandra hopped out of the car to take "safe shots". This snake's body was thick. Once Sandra saw the snake was not threatening,she moved around to the "business end" of the snake to take a close up. A little later, two sea otters came out to "play" in front of us. Here is a close-up of one. Then, we continued to the other side of the wetlands to watch a great blue heron gathering nesting material. Possibly because of the urge to reproduce, the  bird seemed comfortable even though we were within 10 feet or less. This one walked right in front of us. Then, it posed even closer to us. We also saw several hooded mergansers on the water with interesting ripple patterns on the water around them. The limpkin were close too. As was...