Key West Museum

Here is an interesting old building in Key West. It is now used as a museum, but used to be the customs house on the island. For more info about this building click the address below.

www.kwahs.com/customhouse.htm

Key West Week!

It is Key West week on my blog. My oldest son who loves to travel took a fast boat ride from Fort Myers to Key West last weekend. He said I could use some of his pictures on my blog. I last went to Key West over 25 years ago. It is the most southern island in the Florida Keys and the most southern point in the continental USA. Since there is a lot of history there it hasn't changed too much. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Photo Friday: Circle

Here is an unusual photo of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. My son held the camera down on the floor and took the picture pointing up. He wanted to see what was under the bell! You can see the clapper and I guess all the wires are part of the security system, maybe. Anyway, the bottom of the bell is a circle.

Royal Palms

I always like this kind of palm tree. There are many kinds, but this kind is unique because the top part of the trunk is always a bright green color.

Marina

I took a bunch of pictures today of the waterfront in my town. There are a lot of large boats and sailboats there too right across the street from city hall and the fire department. The building behind the boats is a restaurant that is out on a pier.

Skyway Bridge at night

If you read my blog you know that I love taking pictures of the Skyway Bridge everytime I travel over it. Here is one I took in June early in the morning before the sun came up.

Grasshopper

This guy was only in our yard for a few minutes. Just as soon as I took his picture he flew off over the roof. Ain't he cute?

Photo Friday: Friends

I am not sure how good their friendship was, but here is a funny picture of our cockatiel showing our chicken how to sit on a clothesline.

Snake on Fence

Have you seen this picture of the snake in our backyard? We got this picture awhile ago of it taking a shortcut to somewhere. It is a non-poisonous black racer.

Sunset at Beach

We went to the beach last night to swim and see the sunset. It was worth the trip!

Florida Giraffe

This isn't exactly an animal that is native to Florida, but like a lot of the residents here in our state he has been here quite awhile and feels like a native.

Photo Friday: Four

Four Blue Angels from an air show in Florida. Please take a look at some other photos of Florida on my blog.

Fountain

I thought this was a pretty fountain at Silver Springs.

Macaw

Here is a colorful blue and gold macaw we saw spending the day at Silver Springs.

This is also my 200th post on my blog! I hope you are ready for another 100 or more pictures of Florida.

We got good news yesterday about hurricane season. They are now predicting that it won't be as bad as first predicted. It only takes one bad hurricane to ruin your day, but hopefully Florida will be spared this year. The rest of the country too. I am hoping I will have no hurricane pictures to put on my blog this year.

Happy Monday! Smiling gators!

Lots of gators. We saw these guys eating raw chicken. They sure love their food. Gators are dangerous, but they are a big part of the Florida natural environment. Florida wouldn't be the same without them.

Swamp

Here is a nice picture of a Florida swamp or wetlands. The green stuff covering the water is not really algea or scum. It is duckweed which is a plant with very small leaves that can cover over water. It looks solid enough to walk on it, but it isn't. Duckweed is a plant you can buy for your pond or swamp!

Click here to read more about duckweed:

www.mobot.org/jwcross/duckweed/duckweed.htm

Cougars

These two cougars were so cute to watch. They are very similar to the rare Florida panther, most people can't tell the difference. The cougar is not endangered, but the panther is. There are only a few left in the wild in Florida.

Click here to read more about panthers in Florida:
www.floridaconservation.org/panther

Photo Friday: Private

This gator was looking for a private place to sit in the sun away from curious tourists on a Jungle Cruise at Silver Springs. He is free to go wherever he wants and isn't captive. He is big though!

Circle Tree

This palm fell over more than 50 years ago and grew in a circle. People stand in the middle of the circle for good luck.

Silver Springs

We went to Silver Springs in Ocala and saw the beautiful Silver River. The blue place in the river is a spring. The water is so clear and fresh. The water temperature is 72 degrees year round. A little chilly to swim in, but beautiful to look at.

Mermaids!

We took a weekend trip to several older Florida attractions. This is from Weeki Wachee. They have a mermaid show in a natural spring. I remember going there as a child. Today they also have a large water park with slides in the spring and the shows are just a part of it. The spring water is 72 degrees year round so it is a refreshing water park for sure.