anhinga time

Little white downy under feathers became airborne while he preened in the morning light.

featherliness

If I had these wings I'd be showing them off too. She was on the very top of the tree preening and feeling quite proud of her glossy ibis feathers.

a little excitement

Huge, I mean the biggest alligator I have ever seen, and I've seen quite a few. He just pulled himself out of one pond and walked like some prehistoric creature to the neighboring pond, no, maybe walking is the wrong word. He "hauled" if you know what I mean. I think he was about 15 feet long and easily 3 to 4 feet wide. My blood pressure is still up...

the golden hour

Ending the day with the brown pelicans and the mesmerizing reflections.

clear the palette

Nothing better than a good drink after eating a bunch of dead stuff along the Kissimmee River.

A gathering on the Kissimmee

These greater yellowlegs were feeding on the edge of the Kissimmee River Restoration area north of Lake Okeechobee. If I could have gotten out of the pontoon boat and waded to them I would have.  They were so delicate and beautiful.

Little green heron

What's the difference between the alligator eating a turtle and this sweet little green heron eating her minnow. Nothing actually, they both need to survive. It's me that has the problem, witnessing all that nature has to offer is hard sometimes. Yet I go after it time and again, deepening my understanding of nature and stretching my heart to it's limits.

last rays

into the night...

2 heron chicks

mommy, daddy, mom, dad, me first, I'm bigger, me first, forget him, I'm getting hysterical, hurry, hurry mom, dad, somebody feed me!!!!!

a wake up call

The light, the warmth, and the awe of it returns no matter what.  It expresses itself first on the edges of clouds, all softly golden and tangerine in color, and then thrusts its rays up into the finished night sky.

 A new day has begun in the Everglades.

on the wing

It was early morning, and flocks of birds gathered on the still waters at Echo Pond. These black necked stilts with their long pink legs were quietly feeding while I was quietly watching and making images to remember them by. The snowy egrets took wing when they were startled and the stilts soon followed.

white pelicans

They are one of the larger birds in North America, with a 9 foot wingspan. They work as a group lining up and driving fish toward shallower water. This community of pelicans was fishing in Echo Pond near Florida Bay in the Everglades. They went back and forth, scooping up a morning breakfast. They are much shyer than the more familiar brown pelicans and I was glad for my 400mm lens that allowed me to see them better on the distant shore. They were spectacular.

be still my heart

This was heart stopping.

 The alligator came out of the depths of the swampy water at Anhinga trail and crunched on this unsuspecting snapping turtle. She put up a great fight, her little feet never stopped trying to escape. He opened his huge jaw many times and repositioned her. They eat their prey whole. In the end she escaped, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Really, I believe it's true. I couldn't watch any longer, it had something to do with my heart.

The Everglades

There are few places that touch my heart the way the Everglades do.  I could feel the connection standing there in the dark waiting for the sun to rise in the Mahogany Hammock area. The fog went gently through the landscape reminding me that I would never really know this place. I could only hope to touch a small part of the mysteries it had to offer. I felt like the fog in a way, like I had to go quietly and linger in order to feel where I was. If my mind is not quiet my heart can't connect. 

on the wing

Startled by children's running feet they reply with raised wings and new positions to reflect upon.

dear readers

Pay attention please I have something important to say to you. When you receive the blog email DO NOT REPLY to the sender, it goes into an internet black hole and I never hear from you. If you want to comment you must click on the title PhyllisWeekesPhotography and it will open at the blog site online and there you can comment or just enjoy a larger version of the image. I know it's crazy, I don't know why that happens but it does and unfortunately readers have been replying to the email and I have never received any of them. Hmmm I wonder what I've been missing.  I do hear from many of you via my weekeswork@mac.com email and that is just great. Hope this helps, this macaw looks like he means business don't you think?

an abstract

a still day in the marina...