Backyard Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

David's Images of the Day Photoblog
Views of the land around the world
Great Blue Heron and a pair of Mallard Ducks in the pond at the nearby Sourland Mountain Preserve. I guess they decided to spend the winter here rather than in Florida. Some years this pond freezes over.
The main road on the east side of the park was open so I spent the day. It was cold and windy, and a new storm appeared to be building. It has been interesting to watch the seasons in the National Park.
I stayed at the Historic Vinoy Hotel in St. Petersburg. This was my last day in Florida, and I took a series of images of the dawn colors over Tampa Bay from my balcony. The Vinoy Hotel is a great place to stay and I want to return.
We drove to Sarasota to visit Marie Selby Botanical Gardens to view the Orchid show. The gardens do not allow the use of tripods in the conservatory, but did allow me to use my walking stick as monopod to stabilize the camera while taking pictures. I tried to work quickly so not to block other visitors to the gardens. It was a target rich environment. After visiting the conservatory we spent time wandering around in the outdoor gardens. It was there I got an image of a crab spider having a fly for lunch.