Amelia Island holly

Amelia Island holly
Amelia sand dune

Friday, July 19, 2013

The Time of the Hawk



The natural scene on islands have their own time schedules.  Here there is a season for butterflies, another for dragon flies and another for hawks to name a few.  The screee of hawks as they call from 
tree to tree is unmistakable.  Sometimes we will see a beauty up close and we have our treat for the day. The trees in our backyard seem to be a favorite haunt for them, or perhaps it is the naturalized garden 
boasting of small animal life that attracts them. One of the more humorous sightings is when the squirrels decide to play tag with juvenile hawks in front of our back windows giving us a ringside seat. The squirrels know the hawks are too young to be a threat and are still learning to stalk. 
 The game is on!

One day, I saw an article in our local paper about hawks with a photo of two of them in a birdbath.
Well, we upped that one with this photo of three of them in our own birdbath. I sent it in and lo and behold it made the paper.  Our Red Shouldered hawk trio were famous.





Living here in Amelia Island one can enjoy all kinds of bird life.  But, if you want
to go further afield, head for The Alligator Farm in St. Augustine which is
about an hour away.  The Alligator Farm boasts many local and exotic
alligator species.  But, for the photographer, the real draw in the
myriads of birds nesting in the trees over the pond.  There are loud cries as feathered parents
tend to their young.  It is bird chaos.  Warning: do not go on a hot day, the smell of
guana is overpowering.  I got this photo on a visit there, our only one thus far.
My husband says, once is enough!
I just read on their website that now they have a zipline over the Alligator Pond!
What an opportunity for the daredevils among us...










Monday, July 15, 2013

Old friends, new friends.....silver and gold.

Life on an island resembles that of a Village.  Prepare to amble and ramble, to slow your steps.  We have learned to do that.  Learned to let life flow and carry us along.  The gurus remind us of that maxim all the time, but sometimes it takes an island, like a Village, to bring that home.

Just yesterday is a case in point.  Getting up early before the heat we headed out for a walk around our neighborhood.  Almost home, we caught up with a new neighbor who invited us in for a  tour and chat. The tour was great and the chat told us we had much in common....new friend!

Once home we decided to go out to breakfast.  As we started the car out of the drive, we were stopped by two fledgling pileated woodpeckers who were playing about on our front lawn  practicing hunting for bugs in two smaller trees. It was delightful! Of course, my camera was in the house! Thats a lesson I never learn.  The woodpeckers nest each year in a neighbors yard and we had not seen them this year. To our delight here they were!!


                                                         Photo borrowed from the Internet


Finally we drove down the road and arrived at a new found Breakfast place: The Mustard Seed Cafe at Nassau Health Store here on the Island.  We met the chef and staff and they personally attended to our specific orders while at the same time we got to know each other.  That included the fact that the chef is an experienced artist, like me.  We sat in front of a beautiful mural which an artist friend of mine had completed this past year.  While we awaited our omlets, I shopped for items I needed.  Our omlets were superb!  And I found what I wanted in the aisles.

Then we were off to our grocery store.  Of course, we met friends there and concluded some volunteer planning discussions as well as sharing the goodies with good prices that day.  The checkout folks are old friends, too.  No long lines here.  No hassle. 
 Slllloooowwww living done up southern style.

By this time our morning had gone the way of delightful mornings and we arrived back home ready for an afternoon siesta.  If we had gone downtown we would have no doubt had more adventures. That is the way it is on a little Island.  It is a good feeling, a smiling feeling, a feeling of home.


      Old friends, new friends....one is silver the other is gold.  Remember that from your childhood?
The Island is doggie-friendly.  Often, shop owners and tenders are assisted by their own pooches who
perform a welcoming function all their own.  Here one of our favorites 
welcomes another just-the-right size customer.




            When I looked up synonoms for small I found such words as: fine, without force or
                         loudness, fragile.  Yes, that sounds like our Island and our life here.
                                 



                             

Friday, July 5, 2013

THE FOURTH ON AN ISLAND


Each year the Fourth of July is always a busy time on Amelia Island. This one was no exception!  Here is a wonderful photo by Billy Robertson of a Harbor sunset downtown this week.

We spent the Fourth on a boat moored there with the perfect combination of good friends, good food and drink, all topped off with a spectacular Fireworks display.

                                              How better to spend our Nation's birthday?

Billy's  photograph is of a display put on by Mother Nature preceeding the fireworks the next night.

The Island was inundated with folks spending time at the beach, in the shops and moored in the harbor.
The whole week the weather had been iffy at best and showered us with thunderstorms in the afternoon, drenching rain,  and no promise of a good Fourth.

 Then; amazingly it all changed to beautiful skies and perfect weather.

We wandered to the beach for a bit, too, earlier in the day. It was busier than ever. Amid the sparkling sea scene we spied this group working their way down the surf line in some sort of beach game . For younger folk than we....fun to watch, though. I t felt good to see that even they were out of breath!!




HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!

          May you stay safe and sound and true to yourself!!!



Monday, July 1, 2013

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY


Happy Fourth of July from Amelia Island!

This little guy has quite a history on the Island.  It's owner (who happens to be me) inherited it when we purchased our home here.  After some resistance and reminding that he/she was a fixture here I consented to dress him/her. It gets smiles and chuckles.  Children love to visit it. 
Who am I to fight tradition!

Everything else is decked out in Fourth finery, so why not?

 Fourth of July, the ubiquitous American holiday.  A time for us all to
remember the courage of our founders in fighting to ensure the incredible
freedoms that are ours today.  A reminder to treasure, to cherish,
to safeguard them.  Each generation is called upon to
help that goal become a reality all along the continuum of life.


The duck is made of cement, but nonetheless sends a message that the
Fourth is more than flags flying and fireworks.

A safe happy Holiday to you and yours!!