White Ibis
If you been to Florida you will have seen these fellows, they are all over the place and are not too proud to beg for food. The White Ibis is one of 26 species around the world. In Florida you will find the White Ibis, which has black tipped wings you can only see this detail when they are flying, the Glossy Ibis, which has brown patches…there is also a Scarlet Ibis in southern Florida, this happens to be the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago and was introduced to Florida either deliberately or through migration. I’ve not see the Scarlet one but will watch for it…
From an “Artist’s Garden”…in Key West
???
You can find this just off Duval Street in Key West…don’t think it would be deemed acceptable here in Canada?
how to paint a sail boat!
Certainly an interesting undertaking…with a crane involved I’m sure expensive as well!
Sunset off Key West…
these photos where taken off the beach at Fort Zachery Taylor Historical Park…boat traffic was somewhat heavy that day! It is an awesome view…
http://www.fortzacharytaylor.com/home.html
laying down…
this particular Bougainvillea tree is on the property of the condo we rented in Key West this year. It has grown terribly out of shape, completely bending over, and yet it continues to thrive. As you can see it is lifting the interlocking brick as it grows. 
to thrive.
I’m here…
I was away in Florida for a month, this is my first post since I returned mid February…took this photo on the way to Key West.
brrrrrrr….
This fall, we have had very cold weather…generally this type of weather is in January or February, not November and December. I know…it is what it is! For the last week or so the wind chill has made it biting cold…today it is -32C or -25.6F…darn cold for December 14th!!! So another shot from the south for today…a Key West sunset taken last winter. Makes me feel warmer just looking at it!
sand and sun…
I decided it is time for a bit of sand and sun…since I can’t photograph the sand here I will rely on photos I took in the last few winters…when I go to Florida I generally don’t stay in a condo/house on the beach, for one far to expensive for my liking and Key west generally doesn’t have condos on the beach…across the street or close by but we like to be able to walk everywhere so find it better to stay close to Duval Street…as a result I don’t have a great many beach photos…should have many this winter as my daughter and I will be staying in Marco Islands in a condo on the beach in January…the first for me in many years.
Marco Island, Florida – 2012
Naples, Florida, 2012
Fort Zachary State Park Beach – 2012
makes me smile…
the last couple of days have been cold, very wet and windy…typical fall days…but I decided I’d rather look at something else…the beach at Fort Zachary State Park, Key West! The sand is very pebbly and hard on the feet…definitely need flip flops. All three photos were taken in the winter of 2011 with my iPhone…
one of each…
I must say, I”m liking the black & white more and more, maybe because I’m finding photos that work? This ship is at Key West…near Fort Zachary Park…for the last few years there was an older Naval vessel docked there, one that was used as a museum… this year the Coast Guard claimed the spot.
There you have it, black & white, sepia, and the original…I’m actually liking the sepia that has been desaturated slightly.
to sepia or not to sepia?
here is a not so great photo(in color) of the sunset at Key West…I’ve done it in black & white then tried sepia, which I de-saturated…not sure if I did the desaturation correctly as it looks very much like grey scale, or is this the way it is supposed to look?
this is the grey scale…
this is sepia, without desaturation…I went too far on the first sepia I did…wasn’t sure what to do with it? this one is rather interesting…a warmer tone in comparison….
and this is sepia, completely desaturated…
bud n mary’s…cocoa beach
today was dreary, it drizzled, rained and darn well poured…hard…all day long, so that means today is another beach/water day on the blog…always makes me happy. the photo directly below was taken on the way back from Key West…in the Keys, but not sure which one…I don’t know Bud n Mary, but I liked that they named their Marina that way…this was taken from my moving vehicle so not the greatest shot…I played around with this one a bit…was interesting to see what I could achieve with the colour…
the two photos below are in Cocoa Beach…the sky was very strange this day, ranging from white fluffy clouds to wispy nothings and the colour of the sky was unusual as well…pretty but different… this is a long shot of the beach facing the Pier…it is a great place…people fish of it near the end but the main attraction are the 4 restaurants there, ranging bars type establishments to a classy type place…
the photo below was the day before the one above…confusing I know…I was surprised at the number of people who tried their hand as surfing on this shore line…I watched them on and off most of the day…looked like fun!
my view…
on the way back from Key West, we stopped so I could take photos of the old rail bridge on Bahia Honda Key,
I post them another day…but when I looked behind me I thought that view deserved a couple of photos as well…but then that is just me and my love of the water…both views are looking back towards Key West…
the shore line wasn’t great here, but then it isn’t in some places in the Keys…not a big deal for me…
if I wanted a beach I would be going to the Caribbean… not Key West.
Green Parrot…
it isn’t what you think…the Green Parrot is a bar in Key West, on the corner of Whitehead and Southard Streets, where everyone and anyone stops in to enjoy great music and a beverage…it is so busy it is almost impossible to get a seat on Friday or Saturday evening…serving locals and tourists alike since 1890…
as you can see the bicycle is a popular mode of transportation in Key West…
the hand…
I love old gnarly naked trees, they have such amazing texture and detail…if you look closely there is so much to see. Key West has some of the most wonderful trees, old, very gnarly, bent in unusual shapes for who knows why, not to forget the lush colours…this one is one of my favourites,I call it the “hand”…the second photo gives you a better idea of why…
US Navy…
at the end of Southard St., Key West, is a docking area, used by both the US Coast Guard and the US Navy…
the building below has been in disrepair for the last three years I’ve been in that area…
I have no idea of what it was used for or why it was abandoned like this…but it is a very large piece of
property that could be put to good use on on the waters edge like this…below shows the front of the build,
along with what looks like some kind of old artillery, past its prime? The only protection is the blue/grey
tarps and the yellow caution tape…both of which have seen better days…
beauty & gnarly…
here is one of my favourite bushes…Bougainvillea……so vibrantly colourful
before, during & after…
on any given night you will see many boats off the coast of Key West waiting for the sunset…it is definitly a favourite pastime for anyone visiting…the first two boats are heading out to wait for the sun to set, the third photo is as the sun is setting, I thought the gray scale added an interesting touch to the sunset and the final one is sometime after the sunset..
because it snowed!
When I looked out the window this morning it was snowing…I wasn’t happy as most of our snow was gone…I know it won’t last long, in fact a great deal of it is gone already…to counter act the snow affect, I thought I’d post things that make me happy…pretty flowers and part of the side garden path to condos in Truman Annex, Key West…
duval street & a rooster
Duval Street is always busy, more so when cruise ships are in, which is almost every day…I think this year there was only one day out of seven without a ship…that makes for lots of people scurrying around trying to see everything in a few hours…below is Duval Street facing north, not terribly busy when I took this…the second one is facing south…
anyone who has been to Key West knows there are chickens & roosters everywhere…not usually on Duval Street as it is too busy but, on most side streets you will find them…I think the fellow below is a resident of Truman Annex…he isn’t as colourful or shiny as some I’ve seen, but attractive just the same…not the friendliest fellow though…he let me take a few photos, never looking at me…then decided that was enough and let me know…
sunrise…sunset!
for the most part I don’t see the sunrise…I don’t have a clear view so I don’t bother…besides, for the most part I’m not up then! this sunrise was captured through the vehicle window as we were driving home…between Windsor & London…I rather like the silhouette of the trees…
the next two are sunsets from Key West…a bit dark…I had trouble with the first one in particular…couldn’t get it right! 
this one is somewhat better…
fishing…
fishing used to be a favourite thing to do at one time…not anymore…I spotted these people on Cocoa Beach…enjoying the sun, and a day of fishing! doesn’t this look relaxing?
that same day I spotted a number of small birds…not sure what they are…they wouldn’t let me get close enough to them to get a good close up, there were a couple of different types…they never flew away just ran…it was rather funny to watch their tiny legs go…
this photo was taken on the way to Key West…I didn’t like the colour so I did it in grey scale not sure what they were fishing for…most likely just doing manoeuvres…7 mile bridge…
some of you will know Key West is a place where I like to spend some time in the winter. to get there you have to travel the Overseas Highway U.S.1 from Homestead, Florida, through the individual Keys…an amazing drive. I love being so close to the water on the highway…of course I’ve been fortunate to travel during good weather…I don’t know if I would enjoy it as much in rainy/windy weather. the old Seven Mile Bridge was considered one of the 7 wonders of the world back in 1912…
this bridge links Marathon, Florida, Middle Keys to Little Duck Key, Lower Keys…beginning at mile marker 47 on U.S. 1. the original bridge was closed to traffic in 1982… locals & travellers us it now to fish from, bike ride, or simply walk along it, which I’ve done.
the old and the new…
it was originally used as a rail road…after the hurricane in 1935 it was widened and the tracks were cemented over…it became part of the Overseas Highway U.S. 1 in 1938
the old bridge is in need of repairs…in order to continue to allow it to be used in the same manner work will have to done on it in the coming years…
it truly was an amazing display of architecture for the time!
land & ocean…
this fellow is in a bush (approx. 5.5feet high) on my Mother’s property were she lives in Florida for 6 months of the year…we spotted him scurrying along the ground to get under the tree where he obviously felt safe to observe us on the patio, from the top of the tree…it has rather funny as it appeared he was watching us…he stayed there for about 15 min…
the fellow below we saw from a dock on Lake Dora, he didn’t move…just enjoyed sunning himself…as u can see he was considerably larger than the fellow above…
I’ve never seen a Manatee before so this was rather cool for me…he was at the Marina in Key West…he/she seemed very docile until someone attempted to get its attention then he swam away…
flowers, fruit & a rooster…
taken on the grounds of the house we stayed in…Marco Island…
don’t know what the fruit is but the tree was weighed down with them…Marco Island
this is at “Blue Heaven Restaurant” Key West…it is and out door restaurant and as you can see they have Roosters who I think live there… as I’ve never been to the restaurant with out seeing these fellows…this time there were moms and their chicks as well…I’ll post photos of them later…this wouldn’t fly here in Canada…
looking for heat…
today is one of those days when I’m thinking of Florida…so I’m posting three photos from there…
this is one of the beaches at Naples, at the end of 5th Avenue…there was a person laying on the sand that was rather close so I used the cloning brush and brushed him out…kind of a cool process…this was my first attempt…I think it is rather visible but I’m sure my technique will improve over time…
this is the same beach but if you look way down on the right you will see the white of the condos/high rises farther down…again I used the cloning tool to eliminate a body I didn’t want in the photo…very nice beach and not busy at all!!!
a US Navel ship docked at Fort Zachary, Key West…
do you know why?
I found this photo of a Key West sunset and it is rather pretty but there is a very large halo above the sun…can anyone tell me why this happened? did I have the flash on? I’ve also had photos with circles in them…again not sure why this happens…
for those of you who enjoy the snow photos here is one of a tree that pretty much obliterates the house with the snow on it!
clear skies and ocean…except one!
I have many more snow photos but I thought maybe I should show you something else…we did get some snow last evening…not sure how much…enough to need to shovel!
this is in new town in Key West…it is not far from where you come on to the island…pretty but I prefer old town, it is much more quaint!
Key West marina…there is a nice boardwalk, with restaurants, in case you need to keep your strength up…
this is Lake Nipissing when the water has been drawn down, the left hand point is called Cheery Point…they draw down the water every fall to avoid flooding in the spring…I used to live to the right of the photo…we had a huge sand bar, often similiar to this, most falls…in the twenty years we lived there I remember a couple of times we had flooding in some areas along the shore line…we had damage done to our break wall and water came up very close to the house…I moved from this house in 2010…
just after sunset…
haven’t been on a boat of any kind in too many years to count…just after the sunset…west coast of key west
south beach…key west
this is as you can see a tiny beach at the southern end of Key West…I’ve stopped by and took a few photos, but never actually sat down for the day…in all honesty, in my opinion, Key West isn’t the spot to go for a fabulous beach…although this one is not bad…I enjoy Key West for the smallness, the sun, & the friendliness of the “natives”…having said that it isn’t a place for everyone…I think you will enjoy it if you are somewhat of a “hippy” at heart…or a bit artsy… :~)
passing by…
this cruise ship is passing by the beach at fort zachary state park in key west…
after the snow we had today, I couldn’t resist posting this!!!
South Beach, Key West
Heather Cote... 