Lake Tomahawk wild-life (and not so wild-life)

 There were some Swallowtail butterflies enjoying the minerals in the gravel.

 A little boy pointed out the baby turtle on the stick.

 After seeing mamma Swift tweeting away, I knew there had to be a nest under the balcony. It's in a different place this year, but there were some little heads with white cheek-stripes peeking out.

 And oblivious to all those wild creatures, upstairs there was a senior exercise class going full swing!

When it was over the Spanish class started, and most of us have lunch while conjugating verbs and looking up the right ones. We supposedly are a conversation class, but we still are mostly just on vocabulary.  Each week we take home 2 words, and then form sentences using them, then share the sentences to see if anyone can understand them. It's a lot of fun!

More walking along the Hillsborough River

 Monet might have liked this...lily pads, trees reflected, our shadows standing looking into the water, and there are some little fish in the shallow dark water also.

 Branches of a tree which blew into the water with the storm that hit on April 20.

 Looking out toward the Hillsborough River from the boardwalk, we'd sometimes see canoes paddling by.

 

Only his back shows, by looking along the same direction as the largest branch in the center of this shot.  Sort of yellow stripes across this little aligator's back.

 He must be like those cats who hide their heads and think they are invisible that way.

 Map of the park...we were on the blue boardwalk...went out almost to the end of each direction.

 I've seen many anhingas in Florida, though they mostly looked black to me.  Perhaps if their feathers were completely dried out, these shadings could be seen.

We saw one of these, but I'm pretty sure it was just a model posed in the swampy area near the boardwalk.  It was pretty though...and the model didn't move, and this was not nighttime.

Doves & Pigeons

So what happens to those white doves that are released at celebrations and go flying off into nowhere?  How about this white guy along with normally colored pigeons?

He's flying on the left side of this picture toward the Exxon sign.

Here he's perched right above Exxon.

And back on his wire with his grey friends.

Montanagirl, eat your heart out!  (She is a talented blogger who posts gorgeous action shots of all kinds of wild birds...so my little dove/pigeon is my civilized equivalent!)

Quote for today:

I think over again my small adventures, my fears, those small ones that seemed so big, all those vital things I had to get and to reach, and yet there is only one great thing: to live and see the great day that dawns, and the light that fills the world.

Old Innuit Song