Off the beaten path

I’ve mentioned before how much I love having a state park practically in my backyard. I can hike and kayak there, and with my annual pass, it’s some of the best money I’ve ever spent.

With Spring Break still in full swing, I’m staying close to home to avoid both the beach crowds and insane traffic. What I didn’t anticipate, and I should have, was that the park would also be inundated with extra people.

It was a beautiful day for a hike, even with the added foot traffic. I took Asta with me, and enjoyed having my little Chester along for the fun. We took a lap around one of the two park trails. One trail hugs the bayou shore and the other, the one we took, wends around what used to be a lake.

Preserve restorations on the lake have helped it revert back to the natural wetland-creek that it once was. We tracked an ibis for a while, and scared a troop of turtles sunning on a log. Unlike our other Lab, who contrary to her dog instincts hates water, Asta is going to be a swimmer. I may have to get her a life vest and take her canoeing this summer. That will make for some interesting photo opps.

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

Green thumb: spring gardening

A few weeks ago I weeded my two raised planters (the extent of my gardening ambitions), and this weekend, I finally got my spring planting done.

I put in a few strawberry starters, a new adventure for me since I’ve never tried to raise fruit before. The Mister wanted me to try, so… I dedicated a single planter for the experiment.

In the other, I have jalapeños (a plant I’ve had a lot of success with) and a few herbs – Thai basil, and cilantro, along with a pot of chocolate mint. Not sure what I’ll do with the mint, but it smells wonderful.

Over the past several years, I’ve usually put in tomatoes, but this year I’m trying something different with them too.

My planters sit in the far southern corner of my backyard, where I suspect they don’t get a sufficient amount of direct sun – I have lovely plants, but they suffer from bloom drop. I’ve rarely had more than a half a dozen toms ripen to maturity.

This year, I’m trying to raise my toms in patio pots, which I can position on my… wait for it… patio, where they can get adequate light. I hope this works, because there is something magical about the taste of homegrown tomatoes eaten fresh from the vine.

I have a little more room in one planter, so I plan to get in some more gardening this week. I just need to decide what I want. Suggestions welcome, fruit or veggies – Northwest Florida, Hardiness Zone 8B.

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

Water logged

The recent deluge of rain made St. Andrew’s State Park in Panama City a bit water-logged, flooding the lower section of hiking trails along Gator Lake. I was still able to get in a good walk and snapped a few shots around the high water. The tiny island in the middle of the lake was, as usual, brimming with nesting heron and ibis (Ibix? Ibises!).

A small family of cormorants, a mother and five juveniles, were paddling around among the reeds, but my loud Sasquatch feet scared them off before I could snap a photo.

The Spring Breakers were out in force, so I avoided the beach. Traffic was nuts. Within an hour, I saw two out-of-towners pulled over for speeding (I know they were speeding because they passed my car like I was sitting still – karma has her own blue-light special), and two more accidents with multiple emergency vehicles. Hopefully, there were no serious injuries.

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

Taking it to the streets

In lieu of a photo hike Saturday, Mister went with me to the Big City to take our little Asta to see a specialist about her injured hip. Our vet sent us with a referral to an orthopedic doc to get a second option about whether the pin holding the break together could be removed.

With her last X-ray, and surgery notes in hand, we went into this appointment with trepidation. There was no telling what this doctor would recommend.

Asta wasn’t too sure about the car ride, wandering over the back seat of our car, and me, for most of the hour drive. Finally at one point she did try to relax a bit, giving my sore legs a break from her little paws digging into my thighs while standing to look out the car window.

She was very relaxed at the vet’s, waiting patiently to be called back for her exam. The doctor was gentle with his manipulations of her legs and paws, even squeezing her toes to make sure she had sensation in her feet. We found out that at some point her right scapula had also been broken, but it wasn’t clear if that was also from the car hitting her, or from before that.

After checking her out, the doctor said he wasn’t recommending surgery at this time. The break was in fact not knitting as well as he expected after this long (two months). He suggested physical therapy, something I had asked our vet about before and was told there was nothing like that I could do.

I’m not going to be doing any deep tissue massages, rather he wants us to walk Asta… a lot. The idea is to fatigue her good back leg enough that she is forced to use her injured leg. Initially we were told to keep her off the leg to let it heal, now she needs to start putting weight on it again. Walking we can do.

After four weeks, if she’s not using her leg more, then we have two options. One: remove the pin and do nothing else. She can get around pretty well using only three legs, and the doc said it would NOT be inhumane to leave her alone; or Two: remove the pin and redo the surgery, using a plate instead of pinning. I’m not excited about that second option.

My hope is that since she was using the leg before, that she will again. It’s just a matter of time. We’ve already gone on our first walk around the block, and now, I can take her with me on some of my photo hikes. I am excited about that.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

Last peaceful weekend

I did a little checking this weekend, a little Google recon, because it’s good to know things. When you live near a popular tourist destination, especially a summer favorite, it’s important to be prepared. Monday, the beginning of the first, full week of March, also marks the beginning of college Spring Break season.

From now until the middle of April, co-eds seeking sun, fun, love and libations, will flood our beaches in a constant stream of drunken debachery. This could be my last solitary photo hike until next fall. Alas…

My one consolation is that, despite the bright sun and clear skies, it’s actually cold. When I hit the sand on Saturday it was 34F with a 12mph wind. Yet, if past Spring Breaks are any indication, the chill won’t keep the revelers from hitting the beach, so I took advantage of the peace and quiet while I could.

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

*Photo venue: Henderson Beach State Park, Destin, FL

Rain delay

Saturday was a miserable rainy day. Not just wet, but relentless rain and thunder. More of the same is expected on Sunday and Monday. So much for an early spring – thanks Phil.

I took the opportunity to work on my indoor photography, something I truly loath. I fished out my bounce flash, but didn’t want to forge the river that my driveway became to fetch my tripod.

With the unstable spring weather (and summer, winter and fall), I really should get out more than one day a week to take photos. Is it too late for a New Year resolution?

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

Bay Bluff

After a few weeks of staying close to home, I finally got AWAY for a photo hike. I drove over to Pensacola, and wandered around Bay Bluff Park boardwalk. The walk is more than a mile long, and wends down the bluffs to the train tracks that run along Escambia Bay.

It was a windy, cold day, but still sunny and beautiful, so I also had to make a stop at the beaches on Okaloosa Island near Fort Walton Beach.

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City