August morning walk

I want to share some photos of our early morning walk around the lake. It's been quite pleasant out in the mornings for the past two days and I actually wanted to stop, linger and photograph instead of huffing and puffing towards home. They're all from Lake Irma yesterday.

If you click to enlarge this picture, you might see a Great Blue Heron sitting near the peninsula.

Here it is a little closer (cropped):

Gizzy having a drink and enjoying the view.

That little dot in the preceding photo is an alligator, yes we have a 4' Alligator in the lake and we're all worried about our ducks and the goose. The city said they'll remove him as soon as they find someone who is certified to do that job. Alligators are endangered and it's against the law to kill them here, even though many people do. My friend, Sandy Olsen, who runs the Banks Lake Outpost informed me that any gator 4 feet or more is considered a nuisance animal and will be removed and destroyed or donated to a gator farm for food - yes, gator tails are very popular here. I've never had one and am not the least bit interested.

Here's a bit closer of the little alligator:

I don't want him eating our ducks, yet the thought of him being killed makes me sad.

Look, I photographed the moon in the water...it was about 7:30 am and the moon was still out. You need to look hard - it's very faint, but it's located in the center of the photo where the weeds form a V-shape.

The Great Egret stalking his breakfast. I love to watch him hunt.

Here I played around with the effects a little bit...

I always enjoyed that palm tree - it stands out because it's the only one around the lake of its kind! I think it's a Sago Palm.

Looking up through the fronds of the palm into the blue sky, reminds me of a vacation I once took in Key West, Florida!

This is how to get around the lake Gizzy-style!

The Water Hyacinth are invasive plants to this region, but they sure look and smell nice.

I love the way the morning light casts interesting shadows on things.

An abandoned barn near my apartment (special effects with Picasa.)

  

Crepe Myrtles in pink and white

(with a honey bee on the blossoms in the center)

I hope you enjoyed the photos and have a wonderful weekend everyone!