Monday, January 26, 2009

Florida's Fantastic Flora and Fauna

I can hear the groans of relief already. After years of begging for pictures of my life in Florida, here they are! I must confess, however, that my family's repeated requests for images of my Florida life are not the only motivator for starting up a blog... there's another very powerful motivator, who happens to reside in Michigan. Long distance relationships have a way of calling for creative forms of communication. So, be advised: even though your cries have been heard, you might not always be the primary audience of these posts!

One other thing before I post pictures of my life in Florida... if there is any doubt about my age on my profile picture, please note that this photograph was taken in 2007... really, not that long ago, all things considered. Okay, that last sentence was directed at one of my family members, not Laura :^)

Eight days ago, I decided to ride a bicycle to a camp fire that was taking place out in the country. I took my binoculars along (they are equipped with a digital camera, which although not of exceptional quality, is functional), and I was not disappointed. I encountered no less than three armadillos on the way. I nearly put the thick armor of one of these creatures to the test, as I had to swerve to avoid one in the road.















I took these next two pictures from a few feet away.





























And then, there were the sandhill cranes. I saw four of them altogether on this day; two were too far for a photograph.














Temporal realities meet eternal truths:














Is this a cooper's hawk? One of my ornithologically inclined brothers (or my father) might be able to help me out with this one.