Skywatch Friday

Last week was my first entry into Skywatch Friday. I chose photos of storm clouds which I had seen during the week. This time there are clear skies. This photo was taken when my son and his family were down in Florida for a week in June. We went to the beach on Monday morning, and a nearly cloudless sky was our backdrop for the day.

See other entries here.

He came too

Continuing with Carmi's theme, behold the python. When I was at Snooty's party on Saturday, this fellow was too. I actually found him beautiful and would have like to have touched him. I didn't hear his name, but in looking at photos on the internet, I think he is an albino ball python. Please correct me if I'm wrong. There was a little boy there who asked if he could please touch him, and the gentleman who had the snake there said that he used to be able to let people touch and hold his snakes, but insurance doesn't permit it any more.

This python is in stark contrast to my little pygmy rattler that I met the other night under my garbage can. After that meeting, I dreamed I had rattlesnakes in my house. I remember when I was young, I used to dream I was at my grandpa's house, and the dirt road would be full of rattlesnakes...probably some deep-seated psychological problem there, but I survived.

I'm looking at you

Saturday at Snooty's birthday party, several animals were there for the festivities. These wise guys were there from one of the local wildlife shelters. The top one is a screech owl, just about seven inches tall. I'm reminded of the time that we were having our driveway widened. The friend who came over to give us a price said, "I hear a screech owl."

Along the front of our yard are several royal palms. One of them got hit by lightning a few years ago and died. The fronds were no longer there, but up in the top was a screech owl's home. Charlie made their sound and up they popped to let us know they had heard him. That tree also became the home to some woodpeckers.

I didn't pay attention to learn the name of this owl. In looking at photos of owls, he appears to be a great-horned owl. They are such interesting birds, aren't they. Join the photographic theme of animals over at Carmi's place.

Happy Birthday, Snooty

Today was Snooty's 60th birthday. Snooty, our resident manatee resides at the Parker Aquarium in the South Florida Museum in Bradenton. As I mentioned the other day in my Project Black post, the county I reside in is Manatee County. Snooty came to live here in 1949 when he was brought to Bradenton to be part of our yearly DeSoto Celebration. For a while he was called Baby Snoots, and then when he was a baby no longer, Snooty became his moniker.

For many years he lived in a small tank with not a lot of room for movement; it was more like a big swimming pool. Now he has a lovely tank. I don't remember how many gallons it is, but it is well-suited for him. From time to time he has companions in the tank. Lowry Park Zoo has a rehab facilities for manatees that have been injured by boat propellers, and sometimes they have more than they can handle, so the aquarium here houses some until they can be released back into the wild.

When I arrived at noon, this docent was telling the large crowd that had gathered a lot of facts and figures about Snooty. He was being fed while she was talking, and as you can see, the paparazzi was there. Snooty eats around 70 pounds of lettuce a day. Today since it was his birthday, he was going to given some strawberries for a treat. The other manatees are not hand-fed. Their food is tossed into the tank. The lady said that they must think that their food falls from the sky.

Our local newspaper had an article about Snooty yesterday. If you go here, you can see a photo of Snooty's face. He really is a cute guy. There is also a video of him and his birthday.

For more animal photos, visit Carmi's blog. He is sponsoring a photo theme of animals this week.

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A couple of people have commented that they didn't realize that manatees lived so long. I don't actually know if they do in the wild. Perhaps now they tag manatees as they release them to follow up. They are interesting creatures. There are places in Florida, one place I know for sure, where you can swim with them. SeaWorld houses quite a few, and we have our Snooty here in Bradenton.

Skywatch Friday

When I was growing up here in Florida, you could almost set your watch every afternoon at 3 o'clock by the showers that came our way. Over the years, the weather has changed. We go through periods of drought, but generally in the summer we get our rains, and sometimes, hurricanes.

I love looking at the sky and the cloud formations and I'm glad to have found this project. I saw several of the SkyWatch Friday posts when I was looking at some of the projects on Anna's blog

Thematic Photographic - Animals

Carmi has posted a new phot0graphic theme for this week - animals. If you go to his site, You can see his entry - cows - and look in the comment section for others who are participating. The day the we took Ella to the beach we saw this little guy as we were leaving. He sat on the picnic table munching away and paid us no mind at all.

Project black - 4

While photographing the manatee sculpture pictured in the post below, I walked over and looked down into the marina. And lo and behold, there were some black rocks, so I got two photos for Project Black in one day. I know this isn't project green, but I do like the little plant who is sticking its head up in the middle of the black rocks.

Project black - 3

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I live in Manatee County. The river that separates Bradenton from Palmetto is the Manatee River. From time to time one sees manatees in the river. Boaters are asked to be cautious in certain areas of the waters, but sometimes these gentle giants get injured by boat propellors.

During the winter, large numbers of manatees can be seen at a power plant not too far from here. They come looking for warm waters and find them there.

This Saturday is the 60th birthday of our resident manatee, Snooty, who lives at the South Florida museum. He was born in captivity and brought to Bradenton when he was young. When we took our first graders on field trips to the museum, he was always the favorite. Of course, he was the only living thing in the place. After the party, I'll post some photos of the goings-on.

To see more Project black photos, visit Anna's blog.

On another note, this evening when I came home from church, I went to put my garbage can out by the street for pickup in the morning. When I moved the can, there was a small snake underneath it. On first glance I thought it was just a black snake or garden variety of some kind, but when I looked at him, his tail was shaking like a rattlesnake. He was only about nine inches long. As I looked at him again, he gathered himself as though he were going to strike, and strike he did. His mouth opened up as he got into position. Normally I would leave snakes alone, but I'm sure this was a baby rattler, so I went into the garage and got a shovel and killed him. Now I'm wondering where the mama is.

Often on the night before garbage day I go out late and put the cans out, but I don't think I'll do that again.

Tony Snow's thoughts on Cancer

The first thing I heard this morning when I woke up and turned on the television was the news that Tony Snow had died during the night. He had been on my mind the last few days as I wondered how he was doing.

After his recurrence of cancer, he wrote an article that appeared in Christianity Today. Z, over at her blog has posted the article that he wrote. Read it and consider.

I remember when Don died the gentleman who had been my field director in Haiti sent me an e-mail when he heard the news. He wrote, "We just heard on Don's arrival." He arrived too early as did Tony in our eyes. But what wonderful comfort is to know that we'll meet on the other side.

Project Black -2

Taken at the fair this year, this mama was being groomed for show.

Her calf was there too with her mama. The little girl in the photo below wasn't old enough to show an animal this year, but her mother said she could hardly wait until it was her turn.

Mama cow is my entry for project black tonight. Visit Anna's blog to see more.

Black -1

Tucker, my daughter's first cat, my first grandkitten, was a beautiful black cat, who lived with Sarah for six years before he succumbed to cancer. This is my first in a series of black photos for Anna's Project Black.

Thematic Photographic - Light

Carmi's photographic theme this week is light. My mind went immediately to this kitchen table at my cousin's cabin. The afternoon sun provides all the light needed. My cousin and her husband moved an old cabin that was going to be torn down to their property and restored it. Walking into it takes one back a few years. To read more about the cabin go here, here, and here.

Wordless Wednesday

The heavens declare His glory

When Carmi started his Thematic Photographic, I joined in, and I was particularly interested when he chose "sky" as a theme. I posted a photo of clouds the other day, and a couple of folks commented that they just don't see skies like that where they live. Well, here are some more clouds. Often the clouds like those in the top photo turn into rain clouds. This particular shot was taken as we were approaching the Sunshine Skyway from the north end on our way from the airport in Tampa, going home to Bradenton.

Some days there is not a cloud in the sky, and other days they are majestic like this one.

The morning that we went to the beach was one of those days when there was hardly a cloud...not a one, but the beautiful blue.

Thematic Photographic - Sky

Carmi selected a wonderful theme this week - sky. We have such beautiful skies. The photo doesn't do justice to the clouds in the sky here. The light glowing through the clouds was just breath-taking. You can see other "sky" photos or join in by going here.

Looking at this sky, I'm reminded of the passage of Scripture that says "When I consider your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the starts, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor...You make him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

But, Daddy, I don't want to get out of the pool.

For your reading and viewing pleasure

Here are a few photos of Ella, taken while she was here in Florida with "Gammy." I still have a smile on my face when I think about her visit. This week I've been reading a lot of blogs and have read some wonderful posts. Go here to read a heart-warming story that dates back to World War II and the Berlin airlift. You will smile and perhaps have a tear or two as you read this story.

Over at Kenju's place, today she posted a newspaper article about a long distance relationship that lasted for many years, spanning the ocean. Again, your heart will be warmed as you read the post. Click on the photo and you will be able to read it with ease.

Finally, since Ella's diagnosis with CF, I have read many blogs by CFer's. Many go through very hard times, but there is such a strength of spirit and love of life that keeps them going. This morning in my mailbox was this link. Lo had a double lung transplant a couple of years ago that went south. A year ago she had a second one, and in her journal this morning she writes of her journey. It is truly amazing to read of her journey and triumph through difficult times.

Please, please, read all three. You'll be glad you did.

Mancat Monday

I'm hijacking Debra's title for my post today. Every Monday she has Mancat Monday, and usually Mr. Ping is the subject of her post. I have been wanting to show off Sarah's cats for a while and I thought today would be a good day. If you've read here for a while, you know that Sarah had to put her beloved Tucker to sleep some time ago. She gave a very loving tribute to him here.

Before Tucker ever got sick, Sarah decided that she would get another cat to be a companion to him. Thus, along came Samson, a furry friend that she met at Petsm*rt. She had the habit of going in to get her cat food and always stopped by to see the kitties who were up for adoption. Thus, along came Samson. He is a sweet-natured cat. The vet loves him. He's so easy-going and loves to play. He loves to be scratched under his chin, but he isn't too much for getting up in your lap.

When Tucker got sick, Sarah began to think about getting another cat, not to take his place by any means, but to have another one there to be Samson's companion, once Tucker was gone. Well, one day her friend told her about this black and white cat, again at Petsm*rt, who looked like he was begging for a home. So home he came.

"Mom, Monroe's not eating, and he won't come out of the closet," Sarah said one day. I told her to give him a little while, and he would warm up to everything. She finally took him to the vet and found out that he was one sick cat. His gums were infected, his ears were a mess...anyway, to make a long story short, $400 later, he is a healthy, happy cat. She jokingly told the vet that she was keeping him in business.

When we went to take Tucker for that fateful day, we got to talking to the vet about Monroe. She had not seen him, but she said, "Oh, I heard the techs talking about measuring his whiskers because they're so long." Monroe is a cuddler. He doesn't care to be in your lap too much, but when I was over kitty-sitting a couple of weeks ago, I lay down on the sofa, and he got right up beside me, all comfy.

When Sarah went through all she did to get him healthy, she said she was going to write the H*mane Society a letter to let them know how much it had cost her, but she said that when you adopt one, you sign a waiver. My thought about all that is that if they can spay or neuter and put in a micro-chip, they could take the time to check them over otherwise. Maybe he slipped by. At any rate, he is a wonderful cat, as is Samson.

Thematic Photo - Wood

Carmi is hosting a photo theme, Wood, over at his place. Last week when my son and his wife and Ella were here, I dragged them up to Dade City to visit the Florida Pioneer Museum. Much of my history is there...the office of the doctor who delivered me and was my doctor, is in the museum; the one-room school house from Lacoochee; the train depot from Trilby where my granddaddy worked. After the railroad was changed from "rails to trails," the depot was moved to the historical park, and this engine from the Cummer Sons Cypress Mill was brought here.

As Carmi started this theme, I wondered what I had that would fit. My mind went to these huge logs that I saw on the back of the train. They represented the livelihood of many people in Lacoochee from the 20's, through the depression in the 30's, and on until the mill closed in 1959. During the depression the mill hands worked for 10 cents an hour.

The town was truly a company town and thrived during the hey-day of the mill. Housing was built for the employees. Rent was 50 cents a week. After they got electricity in the early 40's, a house could have electricity for an additional five cents. A commissary was built; when the houses were filled, a hotel was built near the mill.

My father worked at the mill, and during the war, because many of the townspeople went to serve in the Armed Forces, German was prisoners were brought to work in the mill. Part of my father's job was to guard them.

It was in Lacoochee that he met my mother. She had come to live with her sister there. They married in 1933. I was born in 1941, and we lived there until the war was over in 1945.

After the lumber mill closed, other companies came in and worked at different industries. Today the building is still there, but nothing is operating. As the saw mill declined, people began to leave. Many moved to Dade City. Every year, however, there is a Lacoochee reunion that is held. The VFW hall is filled with people who come back to reminisce, look at old photos, and talk about those days that are no longer. You can read much more about the history of Lacoochee here.

Thematic Photo - Wood

When I was at my son's this winter, I enjoyed taking photos of the bare trees. One day I was sitting in my car and looked up and saw this "creature" yawning, crying, or I don't know what. Carmi, over at Written, Inc, is hosting a different thematic photo each week. Visit his blog and join in.