Photo Friday: Anger

I guess I don't take many pictures of angry people or animals. This picture of anger needs some explanation. The odd blue shape in the picture is my van's side window. Two years ago someone smashed the window and wrecked the ignition trying to steal it. I am not sure why they didn't actually steal it like some of the other vans in the neighborhood that were taken. My guess was that when they smashed the driver's window they filled the seat with broken glass. Maybe that slowed the thieves down a little. It made us angry to have to pay to have the repairs done.

Old Florida on the move

We still have some beautiful old houses in our part of Florida. Unfortunately some of them are on land that developers want to build condos on. Many of these 100 year old houses and buildings have been torn down, but a few are lucky enough to be moved to another location. This huge house on the Manatee River was moved on a barge up the river to Tampa Bay to its new home in Ruskin. I am glad that it gets a chance to keep reminding us of the old days in Florida.

Photo Friday: Girl

It didn't say our "girl" had to be human. This girl is my daughter's new pet rat. Her name is Possom. Isn't she cute?

Photo Friday: Bright

I thought this was a bright cloud shining between the two condos in Sarasota. The sun was about to set and the whole area just glowed.

Manatee Zone

We live in an area that is blessed to have manatees. They are slow, sweet, slow, gentle, slow, docile, slow animals. Did I say "slow"? They are huge and live in shallow waters that are shared by fast, dangerous motor boats. These signs are up to warn boaters that they need to watch out for manatees. Unfortunately manatees are identified in the wild by the shape and size of propeller scars and missing flippers they all have. Manatees are becoming extinct. There are less than 2000 left in the world and most of them live near Florida. Unfortunately they are not on the endangered list anymore, but are listed as threatened which doesn't protect them as well from boaters. For more info about manatees and how to save them from extinction click below.

www.savethemanatee.org

911 Please don't ever forget!

The 5th anniversary of 911 is here. Pray for our country and our world. There are still people who want to kill Americans and anyone who is not one of them. This picture was taken at the site of the World Trade Center in New York. This cross is said to have fallen from one of the towers in the shape of a cross. It is a comfort to the thousands of people who visit the site everyday.

To read more about the cross at the site of the World Trade Center.
www.september11news.com/Mysteries1.htm

Photo Friday: Boy

This was a picture we took at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It is a boy holding a pet squirrel. We thought the squirrel was cute. I don't know who the artist is. Take a look at the rest of my blog for some great pictures of Florida, my home state.

Tubing

We went tubing on the Ichetucknee River and rented tubes outside the state park. I was a little concerned about how to take three large tubes to the river. The people renting tubes had it all figured out. Here is how they tied the tubes onto the trunk of my car. We only had about 3 miles to go with the tubes tied on. I thought it was pretty funny. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the beautiful spring fed river because I didn't have a waterproof camera.

Click below to find out more about Ichetucknee State Park that is just north of Gainesville.

www.floridastateparks.org/ichetuckneesprings/default.cfm

Hemingway Cats

One of the famous places to visit in Key West is Ernest Hemingway's house. He loved cats and the cats that live there today are supposed to be decendents of his cats.

Key West chicks

There are a lot of chickens who live wild in the Keys. Aaron got some cute pictures of a mother hen and her chicks. There is a big controversy in Key West over whether the chickens should run loose or be caught. Here is an excerpt from a website I found about the big chicken debate in Key West. Look carefully at the picture. How many chicks do you see? There are more than three! Click on the picture to enlarge it.


www.livableoldtown.com/eviction_looms.htm

The wild birds, which have been featured in national newspapers and television networks like Comedy Central, have local fans and enemies. "The town is split 50-50 on this," Jones said. "You either love them or you hate them."

The city recently has received complaints from 150 residents asking that the city trap and remove the noisy roosters from their neighborhoods. There are an estimated 2,000 free ranging chickens in city limits, Jones said.

Aside from some humans, the birds have virtually no predators on the island. Most dogs and cats fear the aggressive roosters. City law prohibits cruelty to all animals and bans luring, enticing, seizing, molesting or teasing the birds. The law requires that owners cage their fowl, but the wild birds roam the streets and roost in the trees.

The chickens, which are believed to have been brought to the island by Cuban immigrants who wanted to use them for cock fights, even have their own store.

Key West Sailing

Here is a pretty view off the coast of Key West.

Photo Friday: Silver

I am interrupting "Key West Week" for a silver picture for Photo Friday. This is the actual ink set used to sign the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. We saw it in Philadelphia.

If you are addicted to You Tube take a look at a video we made about the Evil Dark Fang and the Blond Wolf starring all of our pets! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF1Agzbtup8