For the Birds

Hello Everyone -

Hope you are all doing well. We have not have too many adventures lately - Glenn has been working and traveling way too much, and the weather has not been cooperative for adventures.

Yesterday we got several inches of rain and were forced to stay in all day. Today, this is what our backyard looks like.

Oh well. At least it was sunny and warm today, although I think it will be months before this all dries up again.

Anyhow, let's see. Last weekend we went to Clearwater Beach on Saturday...apparently we are in the high tourist season again because the traffic was terrible. But we had a nice evening to see the sunset from Jimmy's rooftop bar. They are building a new hotel in front of Jimmy's which is already impairing the view.

I actually really like this pic with the crane.

During the week, I continue to take pics during my lunch break as I walk around nearby Lake Carillon. I always see some friendly Anhingas...

And lots of egrets, like this guy...

But recently I've witnessed a few rarer scenes. Like this heron catching and eating a fish.

Gulp...

...gulp...

Mmm.

I thought that was a pretty cool thing to see, until I saw an egret that was trying to eat a snake.

The snake kept wriggling away, and when the egret finally got a decent grasp of it, the snake was rather brilliant.

Snake: "Hard to eat me with your beak tied shut, eh?"  Egret: "Aw nuts!"

I watched these two fight for a long time before I had to leave. If I had to bet, I would guess the snake eventually got away.

In other news, turtles apparently like yoga.

Stretch those legs!

Sorry, the quality of these pics aren't all that great, but I still thought they were kind of cool.

So anyway, today, Glenn and I went to Weedon Island Nature Preserve. We had kayaked there last summer, but this time we went to hike the trails through the mangroves. It was very pretty.

Finally, saving the best for last, Glenn and I were walking the beagles through our plan the other day when we noticed that there was a new neighborhood watch in place.

Yep, your eyes are not deceiving you. A bald eagle on a light pole.

We got very close to him and he was huge. Very exciting. Gotta love Florida!

Anyway, that's all that's new here. Hope you are all doing well and staying warm. Love to you all!

My Funny Valentine

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all had a fun Valentine's Day Weekend. I will regale you with the story of ours, but first, I'll go back to last weekend, when we went to Dunedin for dinner.

We returned to "Bon Appetit!" which is restaurant with a beautiful view and consistently terrible food and service. We were giving them a last shot and now, sadly, they are on our banned list. Still, it was a nice evening to be out on the water.

We have, however, had a string of successful meals out and about in our own little Safety Harbor, so we'll have some nice options for any of you if you come down.

On an unrelated side note, we have diligently worked on teaching the dogs to stay off the furniture, which they do when we are home. However, when Glenn got home early the other day, this is the scene that lay before him.

What?!

Ok, so anyway, on Friday, we met up with our friends Cathy and Mark Jennings who came down to visit Cathy's parents. We met them in Tampa after work at Jackson's restaurant and had a very nice visit. I have no pictures of the event, but you'll have to take my word for it.

Saturday, Glenn had secret plans for me. He hired a dog sitter and took me on a journey about an hour and a half away to Homosassa Wildlife Preserve. I had been asking him to take me to Crystal River to see the manatees, and this is right down the road from there. We stopped in at Crystal River too, but I think Homosassa was even better.

The park is about a mile away from the visitor's center, so we took a Pontoon boat to get there.

We took this black river to the park, but once there, the water is from Homosassa Springs and is a beautiful turquoise color.

They have areas for the animals all around the spring. So here, I will walk you around and show you what we saw.

WHO doesn't love an owl?

This is an endangered Whooping Crane.

Mr. Bob Cat

"No Swimming"

There was part of the spring that was just full of fish. More fish than I have ever seen in one place at one time. There was an underwater viewing area that will give you a little idea of what it was like.

Finally, you are probably saying to yourselves, this is all fine and good, but where the heck are the manatees? Well, as Glenn often complains, manatees are not particularly photogenic, but here's what we got.

Hello there, Valentine!

So that's it for this week's tour of Homohassa (land of the pepper plant). Hope all is well for all of you! Love, us