The Bird Woman

I am scared I'm becoming one of those bird freaks. You know, the kind that wear their funny hats, suspender shorts, black socks pulled up to their knees, big beige boots and always have binoculars hanging from their neck. I must confess....I love birds. Any bird. Even vultures. I think they are cute. Look at this face.

I am now trying to remember to have my camera with me at all times just in case I see a bird that beckons me to take his picture. Which, they all do. Living in Florida is a dream come true for a girl that has a heart that skips a beat every time she sees a bird through her camera lens. No wonder I have heart palpitations! There are soooo many different types of birds in Florida. Be right back...(I need to go get my suspenders and black socks then head out for a walk). Oops, did I say that out loud?

Everglades National Park

Kevan and I traveled to Homestead, FL to see Coral Castle. Kevan apparently did his research before we arrived in Homestead and had a little idea in the back of his mind that he didn’t share with me until after we were finished with Coral Castle and had a few wine tastings at the winery. He wanted to drive all the way to Flamingo, FL.

As you can see from the picture below, it is the southernmost tip of Florida.I have to say, I wasn’t really excited about the idea. It was 5pm and there are no restaurants/gas stations on the way and I like a plan. I like to pretend in my mind that I am this adventurous woman, but in reality I don’t like things sprung upon me! Also, I don't like to be in the middle of nowhere when it is getting dark. I do not like the dark! So, we decided to stop at the Visitors Center and check it out first. They were closing, but the ranger told us to go to the Royal Palm Stop and do the Anhinga Trail before we headed out. It was a few miles up the road so we decided to go. I'm so glad we did.When we began the trail we saw this Anhinga trying to swallow his catfish dinner.

Just a few feet from this guy/gal we saw another one drying his wings in the sun.

Anhingas are really funny birds. Driving around Merritt Island we see them all the time in the water. You will be looking out at the water and all of a sudden you will see this little head pop up. You will think in your head that it must be a snake or a turtle or something. Not a bird! Birds don't walk/swim around underwater. Then, you see him go back under and come back up with his little head popping up like a scope on a submarine. It is really funny to watch. Once they get their fill of fish they jump out of the water and dry their wings on the side of the bank. They also have feet like a duck.

As we continued the Royal Palm trail we found a boardwalk that went out into the water and looped around to a place further down the trail. Now, I like docks and all, but I'm not crazy about a huge boardwalk that you can't see land from because it is this huge trail that goes all around the water. But, I sucked air in and tried to be a man (I mean, a tough woman). Trying to forget that the boardwalk was making creaking noises when I walked on it and I could fall through at any moment (because people fall through all the time! lol!). I didn't say I was rational. You wouldn't want to fall in with a thing like this right next to you would you?

I didn't think so. We saw at least 6 of these guys swimming around just waiting for a helpless woman to fall in!

As we were finishing the boardwalk trail we saw more birds like this one:There were so many more wildlife, but I can't post them all here. So, if you are interested in seeing the rest, go here.

Memorial Weekend

Kevan and I went to Weston, FL for Memorial Weekend. We stayed at the timeshare resort, Vacation Village of Weston. We had a small 1 bedroom suite. It was one of the nicest resorts we’ve stayed at through our RCI Timeshare. We had a HUGE pool with the largest hot tub I have ever been in. It was very quiet, clean and all the workers were really nice.

When I woke up in the morning I went out onto our balcony and saw this little baby sitting in one of the palm trees.

Then, while Kevan was in the shower I decided to go ask the pool lady where the best place for breakfast would be. On my way I saw this worried Mama with her baby.

The pool lady told us that the best place for breakfast was Bagel Mania in Sunrise, FL. It was really good and I highly recommend it if you are in the area. We ate there all 3 mornings that we were at the resort. :o) Over the next few days I will update everyone on the rest of our trip.

I'm back

I stopped blogging for awhile because I've been busy with school (Liberty University) and with work/life. But, I've decided to start my blog up again to record some things Kevan and I have been doing.

My husband and I recently purchased a new Nikon D5000. First I purchased the D3000 and then a few weeks later decided to go back and get the better one. I do not know much about photography, but I'm hoping it becomes a new hobby that Kevan and I can have fun doing together.
The weekend we purchased it we decided to go to Merritt Island and takes some pictures with our new camera. Click the pic below to go to see our first pictures.