(Day 309) The cleanup crew arrives

The storm abated, the skies cleared, and the sun shone again this morning. All in all it looked like another beautiful day shaping up. All the critters that had taken shelter from the driving rain the night before were out again. My wife, who was talking on the phone to get a cable TV issue resolved, suddenly motioned to me to look out the front window. A large flock of ibis (anyone know the plural ?) had descended on the front lawn and were busy feasting on all the worms and bugs that had come out to enjoy the lovely weather. I of course grabbed the camera and sneaked out a side door to grab a few frames.

(70-200mm  f11  1/60 sec  ISO200)

(Day 308) In the jungle, the mighty jungle

Those ominous clouds from yesterday's post not only ushered in a pretty decent rainstorm last night, but they were the advance guard of a system that brought waves of rain today. I say waves because we experienced bouts of pretty intense rain interspersed with periods of sunshine. The day after we arrived here I set our rain gauge outside - by this afternoon it had already registered 50 mm/2 in. of rain. And this evening we had another deluge that no doubt added to the total.

I recall that we had similar weather experiences earlier this summer. I know that Florida bills itself as the 'Sunshine State' and now I've determined that there are 2 types of sunshine here  - regular sunshine and liquid sunshine. Those 2 conditions go a long way towards explaining the jungle growing just outside the front window. During one of those 'regular sunshine' periods today I disappeared into it for a few moments to capture some images. (Now, don't misconstrue any of these comments as negative - I didn't have to shovel any of this precipitation !)

(18-55mm  f18 1/4 sec  ISO200)

(Day 307) Looks like we're in for stormy weather

Since I've never been in Florida at this time of year, I'm really not sure what sort of weather to expect. I do expect it to be a little warmer than back in Ontario. The weatherman here had told us to expect rain this afternoon, however, other than some dark clouds passing to the south of us, we were blessed with continuous sunshine. After dinner we decided to head down to the water to a place called Glover Bight. We were hoping to catch the sunset, and I think a lot of people had the same idea.

I'm sure that the sun did set, but we, along with many others, did not witness it at Glover Bight. Clouds covered the western part of the sky. Further over, to the south, were banks of rather ominous-looking clouds. I think we discovered where the rain was waiting that the weatherman had forecast.

(18-55mm  f11  1/20 sec  ISO200)

(18-55mm  f11  1/80 sec  ISO200)

ps - these clouds delivered the weatherman's promise a short while after we got back

(Day 306) 'Exotic' weed ?

I was out in the back yard this morning waiting around while Sasha was doing the doggy thing so I could clean up (ah, the life of a dog lover - it's not all fun and games, you know). I was looking at our bougainvillea which has grown into a large plant and which is currently full of flowers. On another fence I noticed a strange looking orange 'fruit' hanging from a vine that covered most of the fence. It reminded me of a Japanese lantern, a plant we had in the garden at home many years ago. I made a mental note to come back later with the camera.

In the late afternoon I came back for another look and discovered they were also growing all over the ficus hedge at the back. I also noticed that the 'fruit' I had seen in the morning was now split open and showing bright red seeds. The ants and wasps had also found them - I suspect they had been waiting around for them to open. I made some photos and then tried to find some information on them. After much sleuthing, I found out what they were - 'balsam apples' - although I've never seen apples looking like these. And I was right to think that they were weeds - they're prolific growers. I think I'll wait a few days, though, before I remove them - the ants and wasps looked like they were having such a good time.

(60mm  f14  1/3 sec  ISO200)

(60mm  f22  1/2 sec  ISO200)

(Day 305) A bed of roses ...

Monday Nov. 1, 2010

... is where I need to lay my head - at least for one day. Our jaunt to Florida came to a safe conclusion today - approx. 2,500 km/1,500 mi later, and 23 hours of driving, including the necessary stops for quick relief and sustenance. Sorry to say that with such a schedule, I could only memorize the scenes I thought might warrant a photo under different circumstances.

So tonight I'll just leave you with a view of the softness and gentle fragrance that will envelope my head ... in my dreams, of course.

(60mm  f4.5  2 sec  ISO100)