The Old and the Restless

... continuing photos from January 25 at Viera Wetlands I spy with my little eye... Anhinga with turquoise eye. Immature Ibis My limpkin Glen's limpkin. Better composition, better lens.

Continuing photos from the Viera Wetlands... Hooded Merganzers are hard to photograph because they just won't stay still. These birds are usually preening, fluttering, or ducking under the water.. Here is a male with three females. Another female catches his attention... ... and a curious Coot joins in.

Glen, Norma and I went to the Viera Wetlands, a well know bird watching place, on Wednesday January 25th. We didn't think there were as many varieties as there were last year.  Perhaps some birds are still lingering up north. However, what we saw was interesting. These Blue-winged Teals were having a nice time in their little private place. Unfortunately it wasn't private for long. A group of coots thought it looked good too.  As still more coots arrived, the teals decided to leave. So... the coots decided to leave too.

In the last week, we've been bicycling and walking around New Smyrna Beach when we haven't been taking day long bicycle trips. Our first long local ride was 9 km north to up to Smyrna Dunes Park, 4 km south to the north Causeway, over the north causeway to the intercoastal, 9 km south along Indian River and return via the south Causeway. Just as we were coming north a "flotilla" of boats came speeding north led by a Dolphin research vehicle with a police boat escort and (what we were told was) a "military gunboat". Here is the dolphin research vehicle. Castle Reef is just over the white ball cap. Notice the brilliant clear blue sky! On one of our many walks of the beach at low tide, we saw this egret strutting along at water's edge. The Royal Terns are here in force. Sandra walked slowly into them and isolated a pair. She has titled the picture "one good tern deserves another". Of course, sometimes when she walks into the birds, th...

When they build a bike trail in Florida, roads and highways are no problem for the cyclist. You either go over them... Pedestrian/cycling bridge over Interstate - 4 Over Lake Mary Blvd. Coming down the ramp of a bridge across Highway 92. ...or you go under Bridge out to Lake Jessup. We had to go out to the end of the walkway to turn the bicycles around.

Megan and Michael had Christmas dinner at their house this year. Jane, Daryl and Michael were not able to come but they dropped off presents for the children. Ella is holding the Thomas train car they gave her. At first Tom just wanted to watch his cousins. However, when he saw the iPad, he joined in. Michael put the Draw program on his iPad so that both Tom and Ella could have one. Meanwhile, Joshua worked at the train set until it was just right. The turkey took its own time to cook but in the end, it was very good. The leftovers the next day were delicious.

Since Mark's father and Mark will be doing some big changes in Margot's studio during the Christmas holidays, I thought I would get some "before" pictures. The waiting room. Margot in her office. The lyric jazz dancers, taught by Marj Malcolm were preparing for a competition. Lauren Ellen Ellen, Lauren and Casey Margot's grand piano The wall on the right in this room will be removed so that this, and the room in in the previous picture will be joined together.  The piano will be moved upstairs and this new, larger room will then be the Kindermusik room Margot will be selling this grand piano and moving her black grand piano into this room. Another studio on the ground floor. The upstairs kitchen will be enlarged to take the lockers from downstairs.  The wall on the right of the present upstairs Kindermusik room will be moved to enlarge the kitchen so that the locker room, which is downstairs, can be moved upstairs into the kitchen area. The ensuing...