This Saturday is the Orlando Wetlands Festival http://orlandowetlands.org/ .
If you’re in the Orlando area this is a double header day. First visit Ft Christmas a recreation of a 19th century frontier fort – plus other historical buildings, then bus over to the wetlands for a tour. Plus other festival happenings.
“Intelligence without ambition is like a bird without wings” – Salvador Dali
First picture is a limpkin. A bird I confused with the American Bittern which is the second pic. When I am out and about picture taking the limpkin is the most asked for bird. People stop me and ask about sightings frequently. I’m guessing that Central Florida is a known habitat for this bird.
The second is the American Bittern, one of my favorites. This bird has just come off his natural posture, which is beak in the air pretending to be a reed among the many.
Previous post with misidentified limpkin https://picturethisbyfrank.com/2015/01/20/young-ibis/ . Scroll all the way down, the first pic is indeed an ibis.
Quote seen at http://thinkexist.com/quotation/intelligence_without_ambition_is_a_bird_without/7487.html
“I am always mentally photographing everything as practice” – Minor White While reading The Zen of Creativity by John Daido Loori I was introduced to Minor White. He was an influential American photographer who co-founded Aperture magazine in 1952. He also was a professor of photography at MIT. To see some of Minor White’s work go here http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/minor_white/ or watch this space. I will be going to the library today to see what’s available – a quick search shows 88 books by or about Minor White – I will be busy.
There is nothing you can see that is not a flower; there is nothing you can think that is not the moon. – Basho
There are lots of these vines along the trails at UCF Arboretum. My favorite parts are the buds – they remind me of mini aliens.
This guy had a great vantage point from high atop the pines.
Thanks to UCF for preserving this oasis. I spend countless hours here soaking up the beauty.
For my other posts on the arboretum see – https://picturethisbyfrank.com/2015/01/08/acres-of-diamonds/
Quote found at http://zenquotes.net/tag/flower
“An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” Henry David Thoreau
Fabulous day at Orlando Wetlands Park yesterday. Learned a lot – met some great folks. Looking forward to coming up to speed and being able to contribute. Saw many different birds that I hadn’t noticed before. Notable are the Cara Cara and vermillion flycatcher. Picture is a little fuzzy – but in person it was beautiful. I need to figure out if my shutter speed (1/500) was too slow, or auto focus failed.
This morning’s walk will be at the UCF Arboretum – looking forward to enjoying the air.
Quote found on http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/?p=22736
“I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it” – William Shakespeare
From the first day I found this park last fall, I fell in love with it. A 1500+ acre man made wetland which is used to filter water from a waste water treatment facility before flowing into the St Johns River. The wildlife and vistas are spectacular. That coot in the picture was one of thousands that were frequenting the park last weekend.
Today I begin my first day as a volunteer for Friends of Orlando Wetlands, hopefully there is work I can do that will be helpful. And for me the reward will be spending more time at the park.
Website – http://www.orlandowetlands.org/index.php?submenuheader=9
“You shall draw everything and everyday” Frederick Franck from the Awakened Eye. (I, of course substitute draw with photograph.}
Just finished A Day with Albert Schweitzer – A Lambarenene Landscape by Frederick Franck. A wonderful book sprinkled with great drawings. Frederick Franck was a dentist and artist who spent several months at Albert Schweitzers’ hospital in Lambarene in 1959 and then wrote this travelogue with an honest portrait (written and drawn) of A. S. and late colonial Africa. You can see the early development of F. F.’s later Zen philosophies and love of all living things.
I was very happy to find this book in the library, yet sad that it had not seen the light of day since 1990. The book also bore the markings of F.T.U. which was renamed to UCF in 1978. It will be my last Frederick Franck book for a while as I have exhausted the local library resources.
“Every start upon an untrodden path is a venture which only in unusual circumstances looks sensible and likely to be successful.” – Albert Schweitzer
These photos were taken at Blanchard Park in Eastern Orange County. Lovely park along the Little Econlockhatchee river aka Little Econ. http://www.ocfl.net/CultureParks/Parks.aspx?m=dtlvw&d=8#.VNyG23ba5BI
This river is a tributary of the Econlockhatchee River which is part of the St John’s river system. For more info see http://sjrwmd.com/middlestjohnsriver/econriver.html
“Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today” Mark Twain
Mark Twain is one of my literary heroes. He was the ultimate wanderer. Starting down the Mississippi, he went out to Nevada, then San Francisco, Hawaiian Islands and the Mid East. Along the way he wrote some great travelogues – Innocent’s Abroad, Following the Equator, Autobiography among others.
Here’s some pics from the Virginia City, NV home of the Territorial Enterprise where Mark Twain wrote for the newspaper.
Picture This by Frank 