It isn’t that often that we come across a group of manatees we can see up close. But today my husband and I hit the jackpot! He was riding his bike home from the beach and called to tell me there were many manatees near the bridge at Stanley Goldman Park. I raced over with my 200 mm lens.

The water is very warm there, and that’s why they often gather in that spot. A mommy and her baby were loving each other up, and in the last 2 photos you can see manatees drinking water from a hose a man sprayed from his back yard. Read all about manatees here.

Cypress Knees

Roseate Spoonbill

Water ripples after gator takes a swim

Cypress reflection

One awesome knee

A forest of misty Cypress trees

Cat (of some sort) paw print? Panther? Bobcat?

Great Blue Heron

Low, low water levels

Iced tea-colored water

Air plant

Young alligator

Hawk

Humongous grasshopper

Daddy Long Legs

Graceful Crane

Ibis and Heron hangin out

Stork

Pelican

I found a dead butterfly in perfect condition on the sidewalk. Poor thing. It sure is beautiful and was fascinating to look at through a magnifying glass. I put it in a cardboard box and shipped it to my daughter at college so she could look at it through a microscope.

Every day I am grateful for many things, and today I am extra grateful for my dog, Darwin.

I truly believe that people who are lonely or not lonely, sick or healthy, happy or depressed, can improve their quality of life by having a dog. Dogs:

• Love you unconditionally
• Do not discriminate
• Are happy about the smallest things: A hug, a treat, a ride in the car or a game of catch
• Follow you around and make you feel important
• Are loyal to you no matter what
• Need you to take care them, which makes you worry less about yourself and more about your pet
• Require that you exercise them, and in turn, you get a daily workout
• Sit right next to you when you are sick or sad, making you feel better instantly
• Have been proven to lower stress levels as well as blood pressure
• Improve your social life by attracting attention from other humans when you are out walking

So go ahead and find yourself a new best friend who walks on all fours. You’ll be so glad you did.

Check out what appears to be a net-casting spider living on my back patio! Is this an elaborate pad for a spider, or what?!

Huge Cicada

Millipede like Lilly Badilly!

Greener than green leafy-looking leaf bug

Intricate and awesome ant hill maze

The couch potato

Cuddling with his sister who just came home from college

Darwin’s new girlfriend, Sophia