A Foggy Start to the Day

See Weekend Reflections.

Gator

A big alligator lazed in a canal at the edge of the western Everglades.

Two Pair

A pair of wood storks and a pair of snowy egrets.

In the western Everglades, probably the Fackahatchee Strand.

Western Everglades

The western Everglades east of Naples include a tapestry of protected areas.  I pulled off Route 41 somewhere near the Fakatchee Strand to see the wildlife.

This is a wide angle view of the beautiful scenery.

Egrets flocked together but were skittish when they saw or heard me.  I googled and learned that a bunch of egrets is a congregation, an RSVP, a skewer or a wedge.  Seriously?  

Who would talk of an RSVP of egrets?

Hampton Social

Hampton Social is a nice restaurant in the Mercato, a "happening" shopping center in North Naples.

The manager hired one of the restaurant's servers, Summer DeSalvo, an aspiring artist, to paint beach- and boat-themed murals on panels above the restaurant's windows.

Nice job, Summer and Hampton Social,

Click here to see more murals on Monday Mural. 

Pelicans of Chokoloskee

I took a drive to Chokoloskee, a very small town of fewer than 400 inhabitants.  It is on a small island at the northern edge of the Ten Thousand Islands, connected to Everglades City on the mainland by a causeway.  Chokoloskee was home to indigenous Calusa before Europeans arrived.  Today there are fishing, boating, camping, occasional rental homes and ecotourism.

AND, pelicans. 

At "The Fishing Hole" -- a boat ramp -- pelicans fly in and out.

And perch and preen themselves.

Fifth Avenue South

"Streetscape" is the February theme for City Daily Photo bloggers.

Fifth Avenue South is Naples' main shopping street.  These are both near the start (the east end near U.S. Route 41), at the intersection with 8th Street.

About halfway down Fifth Avenue South, at the intersection with Park Street, 

a palm shadow stood out.

Across Fifth Avenue South and down a ways further, at East Lake Drive:  White.  All white.

Except for the sky.  And the palms.  And the lighting shadow. 

Click here to see photos of streetscapes from all around the world.