Afton Villa Gardens II

With images still unprocessed from my March 15th photowalk at Afton Villa Gardens, I made another trip on March 29th. I'm so glad I went! In just two weeks the gardens have exploded in color. The wisteria, tulips, and azaleas were especially full and vibrant. Here are a few I thought you might enjoy.

Two mothers were out doing an Easter photoshoot with their darling girls.
I couldn't help getting my own shot. They were so adorbs!

Thanks again to Frank at FABirding for helping me with my blog crisis yesterday. All of my posts were still in English, but my dashboard and settings were in some kind of African language I'd never heard of! Note to self: Stay away from blog settings when tired.

Also a big thank you to my wonderful blog pals for sticking with me during this blogging transition I'm finding myself in. Not sure once a week blogging will cut it...we'll see how it goes. I will be making rounds the rest of the week, so if I haven't gotten to you yet, please be patient. :)

Lake Des Allemands

Friday, July 25, 2014 at my cousin's camp. Fun times.

There are several of these jetties around the campsites. Each year
erosion from hurricanes and other storms whittle away the land.
They have tried to protect them by reinforcing the borders.

Oops...'scuse me!

Some type of algae maybe?
Eggs from the Apple Snail.
Thanks, Wally!!!!

All along the banks are piers with each one hosting its own little garden.

Close up of the cypress knees.

I hope you enjoyed your trip around the bayou. There are more photos, but I don't know when I'll get around to posting them.

Chance Update:
Chance is back home after being hospitalized for possible Vestibular Disease. His progress is slow, but we're hoping for continued improvement in the coming days and weeks. The doctor explained that he will have a permanent head tilt which we can accept. However, he is not the same happy dog following me from room to room. He sleeps most of the time because I suspect it's too stressful for him to get around. Even trying to stand up from a lying position is difficult and he becomes very shaky. Yesterday he tried to turn around too quickly and fell completely over. Scared him AND me to death! But he has begun to eat and drink a little, which is encouraging.

Due to my limited time with Chance and working from home next week, I will be taking a short blog break. Probably just a week, maybe a little longer. Thank you as always for your kind comments and visits. It is truly appreciated! I'll miss you guys, but will see y'all soon!!!

Mossy

Noticed this "fence" as we were leaving Jefferson Island. I'm calling it a fence because it has posts and a wire strung between them. Not sure if the moss ended up there naturally or someone thought to put it there. Both images were snapped with the iPhone.

Here are some other shots with moss in them.

Breeding great egret, Lake Martin, 3/22/14

Rose-breasted grosbeak, my backyard, 4/26/14 (moss on far right)

Barbara the barred owl, Bluebonnet Swamp, 3/16/14 (moss also on right side)

Back in February I told you about the barred owl pair, Barbara & Barry, who made a nest close to the boardwalk at Bluebonnet Swamp. The chicks were scheduled to appear the second week in April. Weeks went by without any sightings of the parents, much less the owlets. Finally, Barbara appeared a couple weeks ago preening on a boardwalk railing; another day she was spotted bathing in dirt. Some days later, Barry made his presence known. The chicks were never seen, so we don't know if the harsh winter did them in, or if a predator got them. We were so disappointed. But at least the parents are okay and we know they will try again next year.

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Fontainebleau, Part II

More of our day at Fontainebleau State Park.

Shallow waters with sandy beach.
I'm too afraid of the brain-eating amoebas to get in there.

Anhinga

How delighted I was to see a rabbit AND a fawn together. Awww!

Time to skedaddle!

Children playing on low-lying live oak branch

Linking to Skywatch Friday. Many thanks to the meme's host!

Avery Island Wrap-Up

There are many more photos of Avery Island besides these, but I think I'll put this baby to bed for a while. I still have photos from Lake Martin on the same day to process, and those need to be posted, too. Hope you enjoy. As always, I appreciate the kind comments and visits. Y'all make my day!

There are signs like this all over the island. And yes, they are necessary.

My husband was convinced this wasn't real. Then the gator opened his mouth. Silly man! 

I really became bored with them after a while.
There is nothing beautiful about them, but it is a rush to get close.
If the sun is particularly bright, it makes taking photos of them very challenging.

Great egret with breeding colors and breeding plumage.

I must've looked at this picture twelve times, but only today noticed the eggs.

Observation tower where I took all of the egret photos.

Swallowtail kite. This is a first for me. Not my best photography, but putting it up anyway.

Another live oak with spanish moss. Azaleas are blooming like crazy everywhere.

Feedly has been acting a little strange lately, so if I missed your post, I'm sorry. Some of the feeds show up days later, all at once. I guess Feedly is experiencing growing pains. I'm still mad at Google. :(

Sharing with the wonderful Skywatch Friday.

Flora of Avery Island

Spanish moss hanging from an enormous live oak tree, adorned by azaleas beneath.

Wisteria.
I experimented with different angles and backgrounds. Trees and sky in background.
All wisteria shots are from the same plant.

Pointing the camera at the sky gives a cooler color temperature and different perspective.

Bamboo as a backdrop gives a warmer look.

The fine leaves and bark made the photo look too harsh at f/8, so I applied a slight gaussian blue in Photoshop.
Is it too much? I'm trying to experiment more with processing.

The trees are filling out nicely already.
Breeding platforms for nesting egrets and herons. They use the trees also, but they seem to gravitate toward the platforms.

Does algae covered water count as flora? Great egret with breeding plumage and colors.

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