Camera Shy!

This fellow heard me sneaking up on him.  

 

He turned fast and plunged into the water, but not before my camera and I memorialized him.

Red-Tailed Hawk

 Off she goes!

First Presbyterian Church of Naples

 

One block north of Fifth Avenue South, this church on Sixth Street North features fine stained glass.

Budweiser Clydesdales

Budweiser's famous Clydesdale horses are making appearances in Southwest Florida this week.  I went to see them at the Mercato, a shopping center in North Naples.

 

I went around to the staging area at the back of the center.  The horses were led off their trailers, groomed, fitted in their harnesses, and lined up for their procession.

 When the horses were lined up and waiting to begin, they twitched and neighed and looked antsy.

I decided to station myself on the less busy service road between the staging area and the street where the horses would parade.  Once the procession began, the horses stopped fidgeting and were professionals.  

The Dalmatian on the wagon likes the camera.

Cindy

 Cindy has been a hostess at Brio's Italian Restaurant in Naples since it opened fifteen years ago. 

The hosts, bartenders and wait staff at Brio's are required to wear black.   Cindy has an exemption.

New York Yankee Idols

Jay Baker is an exceptionally philanthropic resident of Naples.  There is currently an exhibition at Baker Museum (named after generous gifts from Jay and his wife Patti) of New York Yankee memorabilia collected by Jay Baker.  It was fun to see, although a bit painful for this Boston Red Sox fan. 

Rooms of memorabilia were organized around five Yankees:  Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter.

The Babe Ruth room featured a video of the Babe's farewell ceremony and a photo of him wearing a batting championship crown.

The highlights of Lou Gehrig's room were a photo and video of his memorable goodbye speech ("Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth").

Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio were honored with the plaques that had been placed on Yankee Stadium's center field fence; Mantle insisted that his hero's plaque should be placed higher.

Jay Baker has also collected DiMaggio's 1939 "Sultan of Swat" crown and Mantle's 1962 gold glove (awarded to the best fielders).

Jeter's memorabilia were organized around a wall-sized photo taken at his retirement ceremony.

Stickwork

"Sea Change," a new and massive sculptural work constructed from bent willow branches by the artist Patrick Daugherty, was featured at the Naples Botanical Garden's night lights show.