A Young Skateboarder

 And a squirrel crossing the road.

Great White Egret

These two stabs didn't produce any fish.

Not happy about his misses.

He prepared to fly off to a more promising location.

Brown Pelican

 

Whizzing past the boardwalk.

Pork Chop

A very friendly English bulldog.

Chow Time

Wood stork and meal.

Birthday Party

 It was her birthday.

Red-Shouldered Hawk

 I turned around and there he was.

New to the Neighborhood

I am wondering about the new guy in town.

Turkey Vulture

 

Turkey vultures are always floating around up high, often in large groups, but this lone vulture came down near the ground and then took flight not far from me.

Down It Goes

 This was a handsome house, but it suffered a serious fire last summer.  Now it is being leveled.

Juvenile Wood Stork

Seven or eight wood storks hang around a small pond in my community.  Wood storks are considered "threatened," which is one step healthier than "endangered," so having a large group nearby is good.

In this group, more than half are juveniles, identifiable because they still have hair on their necks.

This guy looks like he was singing, but wood storks are mostly silent.  I was pretty close and couldn't hear anything.  He held his bill open long enough that it probably wasn't a yawn.  And it wasn't a hot day, so it wasn't panting.  I did a google search but didn't easily find an explanation for this behavior.

Me Golfer

 ME  LOUSY  GOLFER was taken when I asked.

An Unlikely Couple

One thing I have learned during the pandemic, while I don't go out much, is that birds of all different kinds seem to get along.  Sometimes in a friendly way.  

Sometimes by ignoring each other.

This excitable egret danced.  The implacable wood stork just kept looking for chow. 

Arthrex

 Arthrex is probably the most successful company in southwest Florida.  It is a privately owned company that develops and makes medical instruments and other products used in arthroscopy (minimally invasive surgery), orthopedics and sports medicine.  Arthrex's global headquarters is in Naples.

The Arthrex complex has been undergoing a building growth spurt to match the growth in its business.

The headquarters building is on Innovation Drive.  Clever.

Osprey

 

This osprey circled the lake a couple of times.  One pass brought it close to me.

I think it had a small animal in its claws but I can't identify it.

Flying Egret

 These images are not as crisp as my usual standard, and some white is blown out, but I like them.

A great white egret and its reflection.

Mack

 Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack.

License Plates

I wondered where he spent his time after December 25.  Florida!  The North Pole is too cold!

Really?  I thought you were a Hyundai. 

I wanted to wait around to check out whether this was truth in advertising.  But I left.

Viv, meet Gigi.  Gigi, meet Viv.

W-2 . . . hmmmmm, a tax accountant?

I'm in favor.

Biohazard?  I kept my distance.

An Adult Bald Eagle

 An adult bald eagle, with white head and bright yellow beak.

A Juvenile Bald Eagle

Bald eagles don't develop their pure white heads and bright yellow beaks until they are 5 years old.

Juvenile bald eagles have mottled brown feathers.  This juvenile is probably a couple of years old.

Naples Daily News

 Like print news everywhere, the Naples Daily News has been struggling.  Last year they abandoned their massive and rather new printing press and outsourced the printing of the newspaper to a Sarasota affiliate.

Last month they sold their eleven year ol building to Naples Community Hospital.  NCH plans to move some administrative functions into the first floor.  NDN will lease space on the second floor.

In 2000, the NDN newsroom had more than 100 staff members. In 2009, the newsroom roster declined to about 80 before the Daily News moved into this office. Now, fewer than 25 journalists remain employed at the local newspaper.

The Naples newspaper has declined from its peak press run of more than 107,000 newspapers years ago to what is estimated to be fewer than 40,000 daily newspapers today.

Mary

On an island in a lake near St. Leo The Great Catholic Church in Bonita Springs,

Turtles

 Oh, for the days when I was a teenager climbing onto an overcrowded raft.

Anhinga Reflection

 Posted in Weekend Reflections.

A Bald Eagle, the Symbol of America

Yesterday a friend called to alert me about an eagle behind her house.  When I returned home with this image (among others), I learned that an armed mob had stormed the United States Capitol, egged on by our narcissistic, deranged, embarrassment of a President.  Outrageous!

I pulled my previously scheduled post and mulled over how to replace it.  A dove, symbolizing peace?  How about a puppy or a chubby baby, to be calming?  or a kiss for love?

I present a bald eagle, our national symbol.  We are strong.  Maybe we are not united, but we will heal.  And the National Embarrassment will be escorted out of the White House on or before January 20.  

Although if he is kicked out by the 25th Amendment before then, fine with me.

Straitjacket, shackles and leg chains work for me, too.

Shell Path

 

Fly Away

 

If I could fly, I would fly so high

Up into the bright blue sky.

I'd ride on rainbows and float with the clouds

And give the sun a kiss. 

If I had wings like a beautiful bird

I'd soar through the air with the greatest of flair.

I'd see all the mountains and trees from above

And the big blue sea.

New Year Art Show

 The annual New Year Art Show was held on Fifth Avenue South last weekend.  I went on Saturday.

"Social distance" and "wear your mask" signs were everywhere.  All artists and most attendees complied.

I mainly walked around the edge and looked into the display tents.

People in blue seem to like blue ceramics.

A big painting is sold!