Mix and Match

Sarah, my incredible 5 y/o! She hates having her picture taken but on a rare whim posed in a tree for me. Sept 08




It has been awhile since I posted, I have not been out on a Friday in at least 6 weeks. I went through some photos that I had taken awhile back and thought that I would post a few that were interesting to me. It is a mix and match, no certain theme.


Sarah just finished a week of cheer leading camp at Aucilla Christian, she posed for this pic but refused to cheer at the game. That's OK , maybe next year.

I slowed the shutter on my camera for this pic, this is hurricane Fay blowing my favorite bamboo.

There is not much to compare with the view of a summer sky through the cypress trees of the Wacissa.

Peak-A-Boo!

Can you believe the tail on this guy?

I found this little gal while mowing my lawn, ran inside, got my camera, laid on the grass and took this photo. If anyone had seen all this I am sure they would have thought I had lost my mind. Does anyone know what kind of Caterpillar this is? Please email me if you do, she was huge, 6 inches in length at least!

Snakes give me the willies~~~~~~

I have to admit these water snakes are beautiful though.

A Change of Scenery

Sunset on the Gulf

I didn't realize what an unusual photo this was until I viewed it at home, pelican's on the left, gulls in the middle, a bird in flight and a fish jumping in the lower right, that's a lot of action.
This pelican almost appears to be a puppet on a string in this photo.

Believe it or not, this photo was taken in the parking lot of McDonald's in Perry, Florida.

These photos were taken last Sat. while we sat in the Gulf of Mexico. We put our boat in at Hagan's Cove in Taylor County around lunch and sat through a mist of rain for the rest of the day. There were a few people there braving the rain to scallop. We were just there to ride, no scalloping, although we did eat some at Roy's Seafood in Steinhatchee later that night. We were rewarded at the end of our ride by a beautiful rainbow and an unbelievable sunset. It's not often that we leave the river but this trip was well worth it. Good friends, Cold beer and being on the water, who could ask for more?! Sometimes everyone needs a change of scenery.

Day of the yellow crowned night herons

He was comfortable enough to groom in front of me.

Green Heron

Great Blue Heron

White Ibis

Common Moorhens and babies

In flight

I got on the water Friday around 9:45AM and was delighted to have more photo ops than I normally have. It was as if the birds were posing for me, esp the herons. I was delighted with the sights. I saw Peggy today, we had a nice long chat in Big Blue. I am incredibly busy with work and family for the next two weeks so these posts will be short. Here are a few photos and even fewer words.

Family

Sarah discovering the new 4wheeler

Sarah

Cody and Kristin

Sarah turns 5

These are a few photos of my family. Cody and Sarah are very busy trying to grow up. Cody has Kristin back so there is not alot of time for Mom. However, there is still one place that we can come together and still be friends, the river of course. Here are some photos of us enjoying life.

Sarah just got a new 4 wheeler and she in convinced that at 5 yrs old she does not need my help.
Note to Mark and Deb: You were right, be prepared to hide soon!

Friday Tradition

Grooming

I work hard Monday through Thursday but don't expect too much on Fridays. This is the day that I put aside to enjoy the river. There is an unspoken rule that I have learned about the Wacissa, if it's planned it doesn't usually happen, my best times there have always been unplanned and unexpected.

This is where I messed up Friday. I planned on being there early after dropping my daughter off at school and I planned on taking underwater photos with the help of my snorkel this time. Well, I got there late, got into the water with my camera, no battery in the camera, go figure.

As for the unplanned, I ran into Peggy which is always nice. We had a great talk along these same lines. We have to remember to sometimes leave the cameras at home and just paddle for the sheer enjoyment that it brings. Sometimes you get so caught up in looking through the lens that you forget to really see the river and enjoy it with all 5 senses.

In addition, John was in the spring cleaning it out. He put in two days of hard work, trimming trees, removing grass, collecting trash and blowing silt off the bottom. The results were worth all his hardwork. The spring is opened up with a beautiful white bottom again. THANKS JOHN!

I still wanted to post a few photos that I have taken in the past several weeks, enjoy.

Offerings

Turtle Ballet

Check out the dragonfly he caught!

Today was not a good day for me to be on the Wacissa if I wanted to hide from anyone. Honestly, I got on the water around 10:00am and thought I was the only one there. Once in Big Blue, there was a steady stream of friends. First I encountered a very dear patient, Trent. We had a great conversation about the river and his recent cataract surgery. Next, Jack Rudloe, a local author and owner of the Gulf Coast Marine Specimen Lab. Jeff, another friend, was hidden in the shade, I managed to sneak up on him for a good scare. Sorry Jeff.

I titled this blog "Offerings" for the simple reason being, the Wacissa offers me something wonderful and new each time I am there. First and foremost are the friends that I enjoy week after week. However, each time I go out I meet new and interesting people, the list gets longer each day. For instance, today I met a man from Hawaii that lives on an island and tags birds for a living. Can you imagine?

The second offering is the wildlife. I truly believe the river only offers this to the ones that respect and love it. Each day there is something different. This past Tuesday it was deer. I left Blue through the back creek and saw numerous deer along with two spotted fawns. I was able to view them from 20 feet for at least 10 minutes. Yesterday it was the bream. They were extremely curious and eager to "kiss" my underwater camera. Somedays it's salamanders, who knows what tommorows theme will be. One thing is for sure, I will be an appreciative guest ready to embrace what this wonderful old river is willing to share with me today.

New Camera

Since this is a new blog for me I will introduce myself. I am 38, I have a 17 y/o son, a 5 y/o daughter and I am a nurse. I am happiest when I am in or on the water. There are people I know that wish they lived elsewhere or love to go on vacation to exotic places. I am not those people. I live 5 minutes from the Wacissa River in Jefferson County Florida and I have no desire to be anywhere else. I spend every Friday, Sat and Sunday on the river regardless of the weather. If it rains we are prepared, if it's cold we are prepared, if it is hot and sunny then I am in heaven. If I am not here for a period of more than 4 days, WATCH OUT! I get mean.

Yesterday was the first day I had paddled in about a month. I have had two major surgeries in the past month, one of them an emergency. I am not supposed to be out but I can't explain the healing this river offers me.

I have a new camera that I am trying to learn how to use. I met two wonderful photographers and paddlers last year, Peggy and Abby. I aspire to take photos like theirs. Here are a few I took today. Enjoy!