BACK EAST TRIP, PART 4 ~~ 1st WEEK IN JACKSONVILLE

BACK EAST TRIP, PART 4  ~~  1st WEEK IN JACKSONVILLE (June 04 - June 10)

WELCOME TO FLORIDA

Nothing is more Floridian than flamingos. They are definitely a "thing" everywhere you go in Florida, maybe because there are a lot of them there, especially in the southern parts of the state. Most of the flamingos in Florida have wandered in from Mexico, Cuba, or the Bahamas, as they are now not considered to be native to the state. But they once were referred to as a native bird, and there is a concerted effort to have them re-instated (read article here). Whether they are native or not, it doesn't matter because they are everywhere, although a lot of them are not real.

The day after we arrived in Florida, we were so tired of driving that we just hung around the house and relaxed. I sat outside on the front steps for a few minutes and listened to the cicadas singing. Linda snapped this picture of me and the welcoming committee.

We all had a good time getting reacquainted with each other since it had been so many years in between visits. Linda and Susan (my sister's partner) formed a special bond, I believe, probably because they have to put up with me and my sister.

My sister has gone by the nickname "Manners" since high school. Her actual name is Linda, but it comes in handy that she uses her nickname more often than not, because with two Lindas in the same house, it can get confusing!

Manners & Mimi

FAMILY INTRODUCTIONS

Last week I showed you a picture of Indigo, one of my sister's cats. In addition to Indigo and the other twelve (!) cats, they also have two dogs, Mimi and Hannah. Linda and I were both excited to finally get to meet our little "neice," Mimi. We had seen numerous pictures and videos of her, but it wasn't like meeting her in person. And let me tell you, she is a cutie. She doesn't look so small in pictures, but in person she truly is tiny. And so sweet!! We both immediately fell in love with her, although I am not sure the feeling was mutual. Here she is giving me the eye, dressed up in one of her many sweaters. This little girl has more clothes than I do!

Mimi

Their other dog, Hannah, is not quite so tiny, but she is a sweetheart as well. She is also quite a bit older than her little sister.

Hannah

Indigo was the only cat we had much interaction with because he was the most social one. Here is a picture of him with his mommy Susan.

Indigo and Susan

SURROUNDED BY BEAUTY

After we met all our new relatives, we decided to look around the place a bit and see what was happening. I anticipated lots of beautiful flowers and critters, since we were, after all, in Florida. I was not disappointed. Here is a sampling of some flowers & lizards we saw at my sister's house and in the surrounding area.

Mr. Cardinal took a tour of the back yard at one point. He was so excited to be back in his native range in the East, instead of being out West where there are no Cardinals.

My favorite spot to take pictures and video of the birds was in the kitchen, since it was cool and had a good view of the bird feeders. I did sit outside and take pictures a few times, but let's face it, why not do it from inside where the A/C is?

I especially wanted to be inside when I was trying to shoot the Cardinals because they are somewhat skittish and reluctant to go to the feeders while someone is sitting outside on the patio. In the photo above, I'm shooting out the kitchen window to capture this video below. I left the soundtrack on the video so you could hear our comments. My sister and I were delighted to see this:

Early morning was the best time to get pictures and video because that's when the most birds seemed to visit the feeders to eat breakfast. I was so happy to get video of a Carolina Wren and both a female and a male Downy Woodpecker at the suet feeder.

I don't know how many of you have seen a cicada up close. They look like the biggest fly you have ever seen in your life. But if you look closer, you can really see their beauty. When they emerge from their nymph stage (which looks like a beetle-type bug), they are bright green, but that color soon fades. However, they retain hints of the green in their coloring. This guy posed for me to take his picture, and then he started singing, so I got video of that. The video is a big shaky because the wind was blowing the branch around a bit, but you can see his lower abdomen vibrating if you look closely. This is how they produce their song.

Cicada

Lizards have always been one of my favorite critters, maybe because they are so colorful and they help in keeping the bug population down. They always fascinate me when they display their dewlap, the colorful flap of skin beneath their head and neck (read article here). My mother used to call that their "blankie" and she would sing a little song whenever we would see this behavior, "Lizard, lizard, show your blankie!"

All was not just fun and games with bugs and lizards, we did manage to venture out a few times. We visited a local theater nearby in hopes of seeing the movie "Rocketman," but alas, they were sold out. Still, Linda managed to get a picture of three of us in a small park across the street.

Thus ends our first week in the big city. I had the opportunity to do one of my favorite things, which was a ton of cooking for more than two people for a change. We rested up from our long trip and took a few walks down memory lane. There were still adventures to come in our second week, so check back again next week to see what happened!