EARLY FEBRUARY ON THE CANAL

  

 

 

 The morning eye-opener

(Sunrise looking across the canal from our dock area)

 

 

  
Cattle Egrets and an awkward-looking ibis in the pines

 

 On the morning walk  – a little later the same morning (or one very like it)

 

Pileated Woodpecker

 

The canal is on the East side of our 'Canal Cottage'  – the homes across the street from us on the west have wetlands behind their yards.    All of the above  birds were perched there on the same morning.   

 

 We stayed kind of close to home last week, but on the way to do necessary errands, I stopped at the Eagle Pasture for some quick pictures:

 

 

It was a two-for-one at this stop because there was a red-shouldered (I think)  kestrel hawk that seemed to be watching the nest.   The bottom center picture (not using any zoom) shows how far apart the two birds were  — the tall tree on the left is the eagles' nest tree and the tall snag on the right is where the hawk is sitting.)

 This is M-15, the male of "our" eagle pair  guarding the nest — Harriet laid two eggs this season, but one was not viable.  You can as usual watch the baby's progress on the SW Florida Eagle Cam.

 

Just to show it's not all Nature's Paradise around here, I took the picture below while stopped for boat traffic:

 

      

We spend quite a lot of time waiting at stop lights — traffic's heavy this time of year — there are really a LOT of people spending winter here in the sunshine.   But somehow I don't mind waiting when the bridge is up — just because it is so interesting to watch, I guess it doesn't seem as boring as waiting for a plain old street light.

We boat under this bridge sometimes, but it doesn't have to be raised for normal boats like ours — only for big, big yachts.  (I was way too far back in the line to spot this boat by the time the bridge closed and traffic started moving again.) 

 

So last week was an ordinary week — just the usual starts-and-stops and the usual every day activities.

But we don't take them for granted, especially when we know what the weather is like pretty much everywhere else in this country.   Ordinary days are a blessing.

 

Special thanks to the hosts of each of the following great sharing opportunities and thanks to all who visit and especially those who comment!    I don't take any of you for granted either.

MOSAIC MONDAY;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  NATURE NOTES;  ALL SEASONS;  WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY;  SIGNS SIGNS; and  SKYWATCH FRIDAY