Memorial Day Weekend Nature Extravaganza!

Hi Everyone,

Hope you all had a fun filled Memorial Day weekend.

Here in Florida, it was very hot - 92 degrees all weekend with a heat index of 97. Despite the heat, Glenn and I did a lot of walking, and hit three (yes, THREE) parks, and observed a ton of flora and fauna.

First, on Saturday, we headed to Moccasin Lake Park, which is a rather bad name, because I am guessing there are a lot of water moccasins in the lake. But we didn't see any, so that is good. They had a little outdoor aviary, complete with a very friendly vulture (although there was a sign that says he bites.)

They also had a bald eagle, and a very loud peacock that we didn't get a shot of. But more birds to come...

So anyway, here is Moccasin Lake...

From here, we went to Lake Chautauqua Park, which is not in New York state as you may think, but actually about a mile from our house.

It was very pretty and there were some nice little trails around there. Plus, we had the place almost entirely to ourselves - we figure it might be a good place to take the dogs on a walk at some point.

Speaking of which, while we were later out taking the dogs for a walk, we came across this fellow, laying on a bush outside of someone's house. I had a very hard time getting Glenn to get close enough to take a picture.

Also, for Tom's benefit, I am posting a pic of an Anhinga (which I believe means snake bird - called due to it's snake-like neck and head.) This was on a pond in our plan. The Anhinga's wings are not waterproof, so after they get wet, they have to hold out their wings to dry.

Saturday night, Chad and Lisha invited us over to watch the sunset and then take the golf cart to go hear their neighbor's band play at the Ozona Pig.

A nice night out at the Pig.

Sunday, we drove over to St. Petersburg, and through a rather dicey section of town, to arrive at Boyd's Nature Park. Here are the more birds I promised.

A very pretty red-tailed hawk

Mr. Owl is not amused.

I think this was called a Speckled Hawk, and if it isn't, it should be.

In addition to the birds, we saw a couple of Gopher Tortoises.

Two baby alligators...

Can you find them both?

And other amazing wildlife...

This park was much larger than the others and was beautiful, although we walked quite far in the heat and kind of wore ourselves out. Still, some nice scenery.

And look, a Banyon tree!

So, you'll likely be relieved to hear that we were too tired to do much on Memorial Day. I read my book and jumped in the pool when I got hot, and Glenn worked on the flower beds in the front yard. He did find a friend he named Ted. I tried to give Ted a piece of banana, but he was not interested.

So anyway, I think that is it for our nature extravaganza. I hope you have enjoyed it! 

Wrapping Up Relay Season

Hi Everyone -

Sorry it has been a while, but we haven't had many exciting adventures to report on lately. Glenn spent the majority of the last two weeks traveling around for Relay, and the pups and I took long walks and ran from aggressive ospreys.

Two weeks ago, Glenn flew to Pensacola and went to relays along the Emerald Coast, where he once again received a warm welcome.

 

There was even an office greeter.

 

There were a number of storms in the area and one of his relays was moved inside.

Still a good turnout!

So again, we have lots of pics of tents and relayers and staff. Not all that exciting.

On Mother's Day, we went to the beach at Honeymoon Island and had a picnic, which we were able to keep from the seagulls this time.

The beach was surprisingly packed, but we had a nice time, gathering shells and walking along the shore.

We don't have pictures of this, but we went down to the dog beach (our dogs were at home sleeping), and saw an amazing sight - a little Dachshund swimming in the ocean. He made it the whole way into shore even though he was getting dunked by big waves and had legs that were only about two inches long. (Our dogs should be ashamed!)

This past week, Glenn drove across the state to West Palm Beach and then hit three relays near Ft. Lauderdale. He also attended his first all African-American relay.

Can you find Glenn in this picture?

When Glenn got back from all his travels, we've been pretty lazy...just floating around the pool and relaxing a bit.

We did take the dogs on a walk near our house where Glenn snapped a few nature shots.

This past Saturday night, we went to St. Petersburg for a very nice dinner at a place called Rococo Steak.

Here we are!

Hi Everyone!

So anyway, that's about all the news we have to report for now. Hope you all are doing well!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Hello all -

Hope you are all enjoying the first week of May! Sorry I didn't post anything last week, but we didn't have too much to report. But let me catch you up.

We tried to persuade Deuce to swim (with the help of a lifevest since he seems to lack natural abilities in this arena). With the help of some ham and Glenn giving him a little boost, we were able to get him to swim around a few times, but I don't know that he particularly enjoys it. He does look rather handsome in the vest though.

I also got my own raft.

Also, since we've given you a lot of sunset pics, here's a really pretty sunrise Glenn caught on his morning commute.

Glenn had the Safety Harbor Relay - the first relay in which he was an active participant - and he helped run his team's booth. They had a Vegas theme and had a craps table, etc. Right up his alley.

Wednesday and Thursday of last week we visited with our friend, Bobby, who came to Clearwater for work. So we went out to a couple of dinners, showed him our place, etc. Here's Bobby and Glenn striking a formal pose....

This past weekend, Glenn was supposed to have a bunch of relays and drive all over the place, but they were rained out. So, that was nice from my perspective anyway.

Glenn also won "best dressed" at his work's Kentucky Derby party on Friday.

I also was very excited to my first ever pair of prescription sunglasses. It's like seeing the world in HD!

In other news, my orchids REALLY like Florida.

 

Last night, Lisha invited us to her Mom's birthday party - which was a combination of a birthday party and a Cinco de Mayo party. The guests were mostly family, so we were quite honored to be included and had such a fun time.

Beautiful evening in Ozona.

 

 

 

 

 

Us with the birthday girl...

Lisha flew her brother Rob in from San Antonio as a surprise (that's why he has a bow on his head. :-)

Rob, Merylyn, Buddy and Lisha

So I think that's about all the news that's fit to report. Signing off from sunny Safety Harbor!