Sunday Float on The Wacissa

These laughing ghosts are part of the cypress you see below which is in a cove that has until recently been impassable. I had a long conversation with Duck after he dropped off a muzzle loading hunter and he told me this hunter had cleared out this cove. It seems to have a spring in it and Duck confirmed this. Ruby was still asleep but she came out later to fish.
This is a view of the cove.

There are lots of fritillaries out now and the swamp flowers are alive with bees. What a relief to know there are still honey bees out there! The bumble bees are easier to see, though!

I am still learning the settings on my camera and have finally figured out how to get better close ups without buying a macro lens. I'm not one to study technical descriptions of my camera but prefer to experiment which probably takes much longer in terms of the learning process.

Long tailed- skipperThere weren't too many birds out today. The cold weather seems to have driven them to warmer hangouts. Osprys aren't too common on the Wacissa.

I have been eager to take a look at the river during this transition from summer to winter. I arrived about 9am and I was alone at the headwaters. Six hours later I returned to the ramp! Here are some of my images from the day!

Get out and Vote!

My niece and her new choppers

All of my previous photos of my niece Blair, who is my brother Bob's daughter, have not been smiling pictures. But now that grandpa spent lots of his hard earned money, Blair can smile with pride! Here she is!

Shell Mounds on The Wacissa

White and glossy ibises enjoy the warm sunshine.
I have thought this was a shell mound and so today I got out and walked around. There were tiny black and white clams all around this area and it is easy to walk in the shallows.
I'm told by one of the river rats that this is a mound, just as I thought. Here is a view from the top.

The Wacissa is on the Life Flight helicopter route from the local hospital to Gainesville so I often see this helicopter. This appeared to be the biggest gator I have seen on the river. He jumped in the water when I came near but he didn't go under. Instead he swam parallel to the boat (about thirty feet away) and showed his tail. I felt he was displaying dominance and so I left quickly.

Monarchs can usually be seen migrating at the tops of the trees but this one stopped for a sip of nectar to send him on his way refreshed.

Channelling the Ivory Bill Woodpecker: Mark's joke!

Those of you who know me know I am looking for the ivory bill woodpecker. I do expect to see one in my yard since I AM known as "the bird magnet" after all. But I think Mark is playing a joke on me to expose my hubris in believing I will see the first ivory bill woodpecker close up, in my yard! Here's what showed up this afternoon five feet from the front door in my decidedly suburban neighborhood! BTW, you may recognize this friendly visitor as a tail free ring-necked pheasant.

With dad's first mate on the river

Mom and I went out for a fall paddle today. Mr. Bob helped us with a tandem kayak and we also got to see his 1984 hot car! The pileated woodpeckers nearly drove me mad all day long but mom is such a strong paddler and so used to being first mate that she didn't neek up on the peckers! So I have mainly alligator photos. The small ones were all about. I saw a bald eagle since they have returned for mating season and the red shouldered hawks are about. It is hunting season for bows so I saw some bow hunters. I won't say who! The trash can was knocked over in the park and it may have been a brown bear! There were a lot of mullett in the upper river as well as down by Goose Pasture where I was paddling last weekend.

I like the winter for birding better than summer! when the leaves fall lots more birds are visible on the river. With all the spanish moss this time of year, it is challenging to see songbirds. Of course I listened and looked for ivory bills!

I've also included a photo from the 55th Florida Folk Festival.

The Wacissa at Goose Pasture

Fall Friday Float