Nature's Palette Cleansed

This past Sunday during the post services festivities for our church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville, what is known as a 'gully washer' took place that is typical of a Northeast Florida Spring/Summer day.  Services had just ended and I almost waited until the rain stopped before leading the sanctuary.  I had changed my mind thinking of the post rain run-off photos I might get and then I happen to catch that very thing thing I was looking for from an eve adjacent to the sanctuary with a series of photos.   I like the pattern the water made as it flowed to its natural gutter run-off end.  I used our Canon Rebel xsi EOS on automatic setting with a 78mm lens.  In retrospect I should have used a faster ISO setting.

The post rain run-off at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville

Hibiscus After The Rain

I was able to catch our hibiscus plant in our backyard after an afternoon shower.  I love the beauty of the color contrasting with the background and the beaded rain drops on the petals.  This is probably my wife's favorite flowering shrub in out yard. Even the camera lens cannot capture the real beauty one sees after a rain.  This particular variety is the Hibiscus syriacus named for the Greek officials that tended to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, inspiration, and the arts bestowed upon them by Pedanius Dioscorides a Greek physician and botanist circa 60 - 90 C.E.

The Jacksonville Arboretum: Cutting Edge Technology For The Rains

I love this shot of the rain guage at the Arboretum in Jacksonville.  Cutting edge technology that Thomas Jefferson would love!  I just like the color contrast of the guage against the brown theme of winter/fall starting to fade at the park.  It just would not be the same in a green thatch of grass or somewhere in a yard.  The brown hues int he background with the yellow water gauge is what makes the shot for me.  I shot this with the Canon Rebel xsi EOS digital SLR with a 78mm telephoto lens on automatic setting.  To bad there weren't some drops of water to give it better depth.

A Wood Duck On A Mothers' Day Frolic

While Martha was out tending to her Real Estate business on Mothers' Day Jamie and I took a hike at the Jacksonville Arboretum.  I was able to catch this magnificent and beautiful male Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) or what is commonly referred to as a 'Drake' doing a little frolicing near a wooden overhang for visitors to gawk at on Lake Ray.  Wood Ducks usually nest in old tree cavities along lakes and other wetland areas but may nest as much as one mile from the nearest water.  The Drake is one of the most colorful birds in North America while the female or hen has much subtler color tones with a distinctive teardrop-shaped eye-patch.  I shot this with our Canon Rebel xsi EOS digital SLR on automantic setting through a 78mm lens.

A Wood Duck or 'Drake' paddling on Lake Ray

The Girls & The Max

It was a beautiful morning today and I was up early to mow the lawn.  The girls were taking off in our beautiful new Ford Hybrid C-Max with Martha dropping off Jamie at gym class before heading to he office for a little Saturday office time.  I love the metal tint blue as it produces a great color hue contrast to almost any background.  Let's hope the color coat on the car stays as fresh and shiny 5 years form now.  This was shot with our Canaon Rebel xsi EOS with a 35mm lens on automatic setting.

Jacksonville: City of Bridges - The Dames Point Bridge [Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge]

Jacksonville is called the 'City of Bridges' for a reason.  Every school day when I commute to work I travel over what is known to most motorists as the 'Dames Point Bridge' which is part of the I-295 Interstate road system.  It's offical name is the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge connecting Arlington and the Northside.  It is named after the 19th Governor of Florida and a former Duval County Sheriff.  I don't know why it took me so long but I finally noticed the other morning the fresh coat of paint the span cables recieved last year.  So I made a mental note on way home after school to stop and take a couple of personal photos of the bridge I've been taking for granted every morning. This is our tax dollars at work and I couldn't be more pleased.  Here are a couple of facts about this beautiful bridge that was offically opened on March 10th, 1989. It took four years to build and is one of the largest cable-stayed bridges in the U.S.  It has 21 miles of cable and 175 ft. high.  Its longest span is 1,300 feet [the main span] and an average of 75,000 vehicles a day make thier way across.  In 1989 dollars it cost $117 million and in 2013 dollars that comes to over $500 million.  I shot the photo below with our Canon Rebel xsi EOS with a 35mm lens on automatic setting.

A Life 'On The Fence'

After I got home today I was out in the back yard checking on Samson [our dog] and stumbling over the ever present reptilian masses that populate our yard .  If you are a denizen of Florida you can't miss the multitude of lizards that scurry about looking for nourishment.  I'm always telling Jamie that lizards are our friend, especially the Eastern Fence Lizard [Sceloporus undulatus] in the sub family 'iguania'] as they dine on bothersome insect life and spiders.  I really liked the texture of his skin contrasted against the fence as it camouflaged itself.  Their range is from northern Florida up through Pennsylvania.  I took this shot with our Canon Rebel xsi EOS on automatic setting through a 78mm telephoto lens.  Click on the image for a full body shot.

Woody Woodpecker On The Homestead

I was out in my yard loading up my lawnmower for the repair shop when I heard the unmistakeable call of a woodpecker.  I grabbed my camera and captured a great shot of it perched on the telephone pole across the street in my neighbors yard.  This shot is on my Canon Rebel xsi EOS with a 58mm zoom lens on automatic setting.  It was about 18" or so high and I was able to identify it as a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus). It is known more commonly by it's nickname:  'Woody Woodpecker.'  Pileated means it is crested with a large red feather spike on top of its head. It eats ants, beetles, fruits, nuts, and seeds. It is the largest woodpecker in Fl.

 

 

Sunshine At Last!

Jamie and I was outside today enjoying this break in the weather after five straight days of rain when we decided to wash the cars.  Then Jamie noticed a new bird's nest in our Crepe Myrtle tree and someone else enjoying the rainless afternoon as well!  These were all shot with our Canon Rebel xsi EOS digital camera with a 58mm zoom lens.

Jamie checks out the new nest with my pair of Tasco 12X25 field glasses...

This is the subject of Jamie's attention...

Then we noticed a denizen of our front yard taking advantage of a rainless afternoon after 5 straight days of unending precipitation....

My Church's [Unitarian Univeralist Church of Jacksonville, FL] Nature Walk

Our church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville, has a nice nature walk across the creek that runs underneath the Arlington Expressway.  Here you can see across the creek standing on the bank outside the church grounds.  All of the following photos were taken with my iPhone 3GS.

 

My daughter Jamie and I start out on our little nature sojourn after services and our potluck today to take in the sights.  I like the way the walk is built so it seems like you are part of the lush ecosystem around you.

One of the first highlights of the nature walk is a plaque talking about the Red Maples that dot the walk and how integrated it is with the ecosystem surrounding the nature walk. 

Jamie stops to contemplate the creek waters flowing underneath us.

Jamie strikes one of her typical poses amidst the fauna and flora sourrounding us as we soak in the serenity the nature walk offers.  I love it's calming effect and how it encourages one to either clear one's mind or to think things out.

Here is another of the nature highlights of the church's walk:  the Wax Myrtle.

We reach the end and goal of the walk on the platform for sitting and gathering on the opposite bank of the creek across from the church as Jamie takes in the beautiful scenery.

Jamie sits and takes in the quiet peacefulness of our walk that offers cook shade from the heat and a wonderful view of the church grounds.

What especially nice about the sitting platform other than the view it offeres is it is also a great place to read.  This is a view of the church gournds from the opposite bank.

I love how the nature walk fits in with the theological themes of Unitarianism Unveralists as it shows the communal dynamics of nature and the church community.

Visual Impressions Near Clearwater, Florida

A beautiful dignified Heron had been hovering around Tyler, a vacationing neighbor, standing with my wife Martha and Jamie and his fishing gear with a bucket of small fish tryring to pilfer some lunch. Here they are in a standoff as Jamie tries to shoo him away from our neighbor. I shot this with the Canon PowerShot on automatic setting.

The Heron finally giving up and taking flight from my daughter Jamie's chastising shrieks. This was taken with the Samsung S730 on full zoom from a sitting position.

My 4 1/2 yr old daughter and her new friend Ashlynn heading for the tranquil waters of the Gulf of Mexico off Indian Shores from our ocean side condo for more fun and frolicking. I shot this using the Samsung S730 on automatic setting.

Jamie taking her first tentative swimming strokes without her yellow "ducky" floater. She had two 8 day sessions of swimming lessons which finally gave her confidence enough to strike out on her own and make her way to mom. I took this shot with my wife's Canon PowerShot SD 1200 SI Digital ELPH on automatic setting.