Tell me a Story" August 2014

Tell me a story is live and I am pretty excited this month to be blogging with a whole new group of ladies.  Welcome to all the new ladies, I am looking forward to get to know you much better. Since this post is part of a circle blog, please take time, when you have finished reading my blog, to head over to Stacey Markel Photography / Maryland Family Photographer and see what she has to offer you this month.  

For this month I opted to go to a new park. I say new because we have not been there often. We have kayaked through the loops, check out the gators, cycled the canal, but we have not really done the walks.  I have discovered lately that I really enjoy walking through the wetlands, parks etc. It is not a fast paced walk but a slow meandering with eyes that move around to see what may catch my attention. 

So today I walked through the Arthur R Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. The park also forms part of the Everglades. If you cycle far enough down the canal you will eventually come to the the view I have of the back of my home.  

But less about the park and more about my walk. I was interested to see that they had a boardwalk and I decided to wander down and see what I could find. My first find was interesting. A blue bee like bug, that was flying from plant to plant sucking up some pollen. I loved the iridescent colors on this bug. Good start to my walk..... 

Butterflies flitted around the plants. This Ruddy Daggerwing butterfly is part of the Swallowtail butterfly family. There were oranges, yellows, white and brown butterflies. I was pretty impressed.  

Excitedly I headed for the boardwalk......mmm so this is what the Everglades looks like in places....  I was the only person walking along that walkway.  It was lonely, there was not even a mosquito buzzing. There are signs that say if you see this a bobcat has walked this way... okay. The only thing I am seeing along the way is the potential for a snake to slither down a branch and greet me.  

And yet there was unusual beauty. Not in critters, or birds but in plants.  The first I saw was Spanish Moss lying on the edge of the wooden walkway railing. Interestingly, Spanish Moss is an airplant and a flowering plant.  I have always looked at it as an alien plant that takes over trees in Florida.  It apparently loves humidity. The flowers are tiny and inconspicuous.  

Tree after tree, vines layer trees and new plants begin to shoot. Green is abundant and alive. Yet the animal life seems to be missing. I saw a few lizards, but there were no butterflies, no dragonflies, no snakes (thank goodness).  I did not see an alligator, no bobcat, el zipo.  

So I focused on what I have enjoyed doing in the past.  Playing with leaves and creepers on the wooden walkway railing.  Attempting minimal focus with a lot of bokeh.    

The walk is lonely - there is not a lot to see, not much to stop and engage in and watch and after a while I am glad to find myself out of the loop and back and seeing critters again.  Once more the butterflies are flitting about and I am smiling at nature again.  

So I thought while I am here I may as well head up to the canal and see if I can spot any alligators. No alligators.  Not sure where all the creatures are right now. However, other than a few folk fishing I did spot this Great Blue Heron strolling down to the water, and so for a while I thought I would watch it's actions.  

It waded into the water and stood around watching. I thought okay, this looks good.  And we both waited. 

It was not long before the Great Blue Heron got down into a crouching position and seriously stared at the water. There was very little movement on it part. Stealth was a good word to use.

And suddenly it took off into the water. Thank goodness I was sitting with the shutter pressed down to the focal point because this bird moved fast. And I got it.... I was pretty stoked.  I got the bird, but the bird did not get the fish...

It came up looking a little disgruntled, still staring at the water.  

A bit of a fluff and shake and the water droplets are off and it can begin the process of fishing for food again.  

As I was walking away the Great Blue Heron had assumed the position of stalk mode again. Perhaps it may have better luck this time around.  

Thank you for joining me in my outdoor walk, don't forget to check out the next person in the circle blog.  Look for the link at the top of my page.  

If you are interested in seeing more of my photography take a look at my Facebook page or my Flickr Page.