Gone to See Florida Fall 2014 Road Trip. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
Great Blue Heron appearing to walk on water as it comes in for a landing along Blackpoint Wildlife Drive. I’ve also included slide shows with some of the other birds present that day: Anhinga, Black Vulture, Double-breasted Cormorant, Great Egret, Hawk, Osprey (with a fish), Tricolored Heron, and Turkey Vulture. Note that some of the Vulture images are graphic.
Great Blue Heron Walking on Water. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 500, 500 mm, f/7, 1/4000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Individual images in the slideshows can be viewed here.
[Update from the post last year. While visiting a neighbor across the street I noticed a wind-chime that used the same type of spoons. I wonder if a crow took one and dropped it off in my backyard???]
I was out in the backyard using a rototiller to prepare a new section for the expanding wildflower meadow. The land had been a farm years ago, but this section had become overgrown with brush. The brush was cleared last year, and this summer the section was covered with a black tarp to solarize the soil (kill the weeds, especially the invasive “mile-a-minute” vine). The rototiller found lots of rocks, and roots from the brush. At one point, I noticed something silver being thrown back by rototiller. It turned out to be a spoon. The rototiller blades did a bit of damage to the spoon. I brought it inside, and washed it off. The only identification of the spoon was an imprint on the back of the handle “Oneida Silversmiths”. After doing some research online, I think I identified the design of the spool as Oneida silverplate “Clairhill-Fairhill (1978). One site had it on sale for less than eight dollars. So, not an antique 🙁 . The house was built around that time, but how the spoon got 200 feet behind the house is a mystery.
Oneida Silversmiths Spoon. Backyard Archaeology in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/16, 1/3 sec) (David J Mathre)Oneida Silversmiths Spoon. Backyard Archaeology in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/16, 1/3 sec) (David J Mathre)
Dad chasing an old hen. Urban garden in St. Petersburg. Looking forward to seeing the new batch of hens this December.
Dad Chasing a Hen Running Loose at an Urban Farm in St. Petersburg. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (ISO 100, 23 mm, f/3, 1/640 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One 8, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)
