Happy New Year from Sunny Florida

Waiter at Jane's Cafe, 13th Avenue South, Naples, Florida.

Jane's only serves breakfast and lunch.  You need to find another place tonight.

Just a Photo

Do you ever have photos you like, even if you can't explain why?

Construction Wall

Murals on a security wall in front of a construction project reflected on parked cars.

I couldn't pick one.  Weekend Reflections.

So Long Until Next Year, Hartford!

Mark Twain House yesterday, in the late afternoon.

I am leaving Hartford this morning in 5 degree temperature (-15 degrees Celsius).  

Flying back to Naples today, where it is expected to reach 81 degrees (27 degrees Celsius).

Did I Mention That Susie is an Amazing Bargain Hunter?

Susie found this L.L.Bean sled for Willa and Hazel for $30 on an on-line tag sale.

It Was a Great Christmas

 

Lola and Sequoia wanted to know if any of the presents were for them.  Sorry, girls.

Willa loved her pink hat.

Wessel got binoculars and a bird book to identify the birds.

It snowed overnight!  How perfect to wake up to a winter wonderland on Christmas day.

Hazel loved her first Christmas.



And Willa helped with the baking.  (Check out the flour on her nose!)

Merry Christmas!

From the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey in Spain, last September.

Christmas Carols

I was at a neighbor's house for a Christmas party when the doorbell rang.  A large group of other neighbors started singing Christmas carols.  I am always a bit reluctant to show groups
of neighbors who didn't ask to be photographed for a blog, so I ran this through a filter.

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it.

Poinsettia Tree

Hartford's City Hall has a Poinsettia Tree in its atrium during the holidays.

Budget pressures nearly canceled it this year, but some businesses stepped

forward to cover the costs.  Take a good look.  I doubt they will want to keep

bailing out the City, year after year.

UConn Hartford

The University of Connecticut's new campus in downtown Hartford is dressed for the holidays.

Ice Skating

I am back in Connecticut for the holidays.  

Hartford's Bushnell Park has an ice skating rink that opens at Thanksgiving and closes in January..  

Many skaters rent skates (the blue ones) and are skating for the first time

Wood Storks and Their Friends

A small pond near my Naples home is covered with algae and duckweed.  Great bird food.

Wood storks have a threatened status.

But they are plentiful around here.

They share the food with egrets.

And roseate spoonbills, ibis and ducks.

And herons.

Doug and Juetta

Looking in the window of a women's clothing store, I saw a handsome white-haired man in a white shirt and black slacks and a thin, attractive woman in a white blouse and black slacks.

The walls were white and many clothes were black or gray.

Perfect for some black and white shots, I thought.

Before opening the store with his wife, Doug was an orthopedic surgeon.

(Well, what other background should the owner of a women's clothing store have?)

And Juetta is a former four-time state baton twirling champion, NFL cheerleader, and runway model for international designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Bob Mackie and many more.

The Gardenia

Naples artists Marcus Zotter and Bryan DeProspero decorated an apartment building on Bayshore Drive, a neighborhood that is beginning to brand itself as the Bayshore Arts District.

Monday Mural.

Barbara

I arrived at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary right after Barbara Gurry Rowell.  She was there to pick up her lovely watercolor paintings and sculptures of birds, which had been exhibited at the visitor center.

Her paintings are delicate and Audubon-like.  I tried to find a position to photograph

Barbara without the reflected overhead lights but couldn't find one.  Sorry, Barbara.

UPDATE:  Blogger friend John of "By Stargoose and Hanglands" took the offending reflections out.
Aren't blogger friends wonderful?

Sandy

Sandy is a volunteer naturalist at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  She was greeting visitors.

The next guided tour was in 45 minutes, so I went out on my own.
(I like to go at my own pace anyways.)  

On the way back, I ran into Sandy again.

Egret

 

I followed a beautiful great white egret for a while at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary as he moved ever so slowly through the swamp and then along a log.  Occasionally he would spot some food
in the water and dart his head so fast that I never caught him in action.

Nursery logs

Hurricane Irma knocked down a lot of trees at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, including some of the named, hundreds of years old, tall cypress trees.  It isn't all bad.  Most of the trees just toppled where they were.  The ones that landed on boardwalks have been pushed into the swamp, where -- as

"nursery logs" -- they will host insect families, ferns, orchids and other life.

Anhinga Nest

A female anhinga nested in a tree in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

The male was nearby but mostly obstructed from view by twigs and leaves.

Five Dolphins

If Hurricane Irma decapitates your favorite five-stemmed tree, what do you do?

A woman in Bonita Springs called Hector Najera Sola of Naples Mahogany Chainsaw Art

and got five frolicking dolphins.

Pet Grooming

On the side of a pet grooming and boarding business in Naples.

Is this a mural?  A sign?  A painting?  I don't know.  You decide.  Monday Mural.

McLaren

A lady in red near the McLaren in front of the Inn on Fifth added a bit of interest.

Auriana said her nephew loves fancy cars so she was texting him a photo of the McLaren.

And if you have any idea how I managed to get the sign, planters and background crisp
and in focus but the lighted balls moving, I would love to know.  

The Naples Players

A community ensemble of amateur performers puts on plays in Sugden Plaza.