This picture was taken at Circle B Bar Reserve south of Lakeland, Florida. The reserve contains a vast wetland area that is home to birds, bobcats, wild pigs, otter, gators, and on and on. Best of all, it is FREE.

Resurrection Fern can be seen along the tree branch. This fern appears dead, but when it rains it will burst to a vibrant green.

The Davis House offers a rare chance to view a log house built from chestnut wood before the chestnut blight decimated the American Chestnut in our forests during the 1930s and early 1940s.

While my grandson and I were strolling through a nearby community of homes recently, we were greeted by this flower hanging over the sidewalk. I have no idea what type of flower it is but it looked magnificent.

Available in the Bay View Michigan collection at:

17-robert-carter.pixels.com

I do not know the name of this flower. Any help? Taken at Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, Florida.

Found at Circle B Bar Reserve, a wetland reserve south of Lakeland, Florida. These birds (Ardea herodias) measure 42-52 inches (105-130 cm) from beak-tip to tail-tip.

This guy was dipping the fish to assist in his swallowing . . . ?

This Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) just happened to bury its head into the water as I snapped. It worked for me . . . The photo was taken at Circle B Bar Reserve near Lakeland, Florida.

Sandhill Cranes (Grus Canadensis) are huge birds, measuring 36-48 inches (183-213 cm) from beak-tip to tail-tip. This one was found along a trail at Circle B Bar Reserve near Lakeland, Florida.

At the beach in San Diego, California.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming . . . As we drove by and saw the sun backlighting the steam from thermal features, we had to stop even though the sky had no special color.

View On Black

Luke 2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

THE CHRISTMAS NUT! This is a true story that happened a few years ago in my church. Sunday school was just let out and the little ones came filtering back up from the basement to the main church auditorium in Indian River Baptist Church. A young mother was rejoined by her two youngest. They came up to her very excited because of the cute craft they had just made in their classes. The boy was 3 and the girl 5 years old. They showed Mom the cradle manger made from a cardboard tube which had been cut in half lengthwise, turned over and the two halves stapled together. A whole peanut in the shell had been wrapped in a scrap of swaddling from paper towel and a face drawn on it. This baby Jesus was then placed in the cradle manger with some straw made from recycled junk mail. The little boy had already eaten his peanut and loudly exclaimed, “Jesus is a nut!”

Kathie Luther* Heart Windows Ministry*

One of many quiet benches at Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, Florida. These bromeliads and ferns dress up the bench's location.

There is a per person fee to enter this garden . . . but unlike some gardens, I find this one never disappoints. This huge park-like setting is a gem.

While visiting The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I spotted this photographer carrying his camera and monopod over his shoulder as he strolled the road. He is taking in one of the pleasures of being a photographer, i.e., glancing around to see the beauty that surrounds him.

I watched this Green Heron for a few minutes as he sat motionless and then spied something. In the next two images, he hops to another log for a closer look and then, in the third image, attacks (though this image is taken at 1/800 second, by the third image it was down to 1/200 of a second and was not sufficient to stop action). The bird measures 17-18 inches from beak-tip to tail-tip.

Feeding Behavior

Forages mostly by standing still or stalking very slowly at edge of shallow water, waiting for prey to approach. Sometimes uses "bait," dropping feather or small twig on surface of water to lure fish within striking distance.

Eggs

3-5, sometimes 2-7. Pale green or blue-green. Incubation is by both sexes, 19-21 days. Young: Both parents feed young, by regurgitation. Young begin to climb about near nest by 16-17 days after hatching, usually make first flight at 21-23 days, but are fed by parents for a few more weeks. Young are reportedly capable of swimming well. 1 or 2 broods per year.

Young

Both parents feed young, by regurgitation. Young begin to climb about near nest by 16-17 days after hatching, usually make first flight at 21-23 days, but are fed by parents for a few more weeks. Young are reportedly capable of swimming well. 1 or 2 broods per year.

Diet

Mostly fish. Eats small fish such as minnows, sunfishes, gizzard shad; also crayfish and other crustaceans, aquatic insects, frogs, tadpoles. Other items include grasshoppers, snakes, earthworms, snails, small rodents.

Nesting

May nest as isolated pairs or in small groups, rarely in large colonies. Male chooses nesting territory and calls repeatedly from prominent perch in tree or shrub. Displays of male include stretching neck forward and down and snapping bill shut, pointing bill straight upward while swaying back and forth. Male and female may perform display flights around territory. Nest: Site is usually in shrub or tree 5-30' above ground, but sometimes on ground; often very close to water but can be quite distant. Nest is a platform of sticks; male begins construction, then female builds while male brings materials.

Circle B Bar Reserve, located near Lakeland, Florida, is a great place to be surprised by what you encounter . . . and it is FREE admission.

While visiting a local farm market in Petoskey, Michigan, I was drawn to their crop of flowers next to their driveway. The flowers in the foreground are Bachelor's Buttons. The road that curves through the hilly terrain can be seen near the barn in the distance.

At f/11, I was able to get a large section of flowers in focus while still getting blur on the distant barn.

[Michigan in Pictures, 7-16-21]

So many of the special 'gardens' I visit seem to disappoint. Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida, never disappoints. Bok Tower contains a carillon that a variety of artists play regularly.

In this shot over the tower pond, Mr. Bok's grave can be seen beneath the door to the tower.

Every year I place a version of this photo I took six years ago on to my Flickr photo-stream. The photo shows WWII Royal Navy veteran Russ Arthur, now 91, passing his poppy to his great grandson, Joseph, now 10 and three quarters !

For my Dad, my brothers, my nephews and Great Grandpa Russ Arthur.

On this first day of autumn, I drove by this sunflower field in Wyoming, USA. The farm house can be seen in the far distance below the mountains in the central portion of the image.

This was taken near the mouth of the Hurricane River as it flows into Lake Superior at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan's upper peninsula. The sun has been set for some time with clear skies overhead. Longfellow referred to Lake Superior as Lake Gitche Gumee in his Song of Hiawatha and Gordon Lightfoot also sings of Lake Gitche Gumee in his 'Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald'. (072816 062 ELHM)

“The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down, of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee. Superior they say, never gives up her dead, when the gales of November come early." On November 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in Lake Superior. The 29 crew members sank with the freighter hauling iron ore.

This Mute Swan was found napping on Lake Morton, Lakeland, Florida.

This orange flower was found at Hollis Gardens, Lakeland, Florida.

Visiting a flower garden recently, I was snared by the Allium patch. Their rigid green stem holds up a flower that surpasses a softball in size. This one here is just being born, but others in full bloom can be seen behind it in the bokeh.

The picture was taken at a flower garden in Bay View, Michigan, near Petoskey, Michigan (the very northwest shore of the lower peninsula).

Available in the Bay View Michigan collection at:

17-robert-carter.pixels.com

The Common Gallinule measures 13 inches (33 cm) from beak-tip to tail-tip. Circle B Bar Reserve (CBBR) is located south of Lakeland, Florida. If you visit central Florida, skip Disney or Universal for one day and visit this outstanding reserve . . . and it has FREE admission.

May be purchased at 17-robert-carter.pixels.com under "Grand Teton National Park" . . .

These guys were grazing peacefully as we drove past them in the Grand Teton National Park. It was a case where I had to shout "Stop! Take a picture!" We all need that voice once in a while. We did not see nearly as many animals in the Tetons as we saw in Yellowstone but the park's beauty is indescribeable . . .

It was a nasty, drizzly day . . . the rocks were wet and slippery . . . no other tourists were in the area . . . my wife had headed back to the car to get her umbrella . . . I was alone just above Moose Falls in this cramped area to set up in peace. As I stumbled around the area from rock to rock while trying to balance my umbrella, tripod, camera, and other assorted equipment, I slipped off a rock into the river up to my thigh, almost breaking my arm, hip, and back. After laying half-in and half-out of the river for a couple of seconds and realizing I was okay except for a few immediate scrapes and aches, I slowly pulled myself up onto my hands and knees, assessing my equipment. Nothing damaged! Wow . . . what a thrill. My wife arrived back on the scene several minutes after I straightened myself up and she never mentioned my wet pants. Later in the day, I told her about my fall and she said, "I had wondered why you pants were so wet."

This beautiful bridge is part of the Moose Falls stop in Yellowstone National Park. It was a somewhat nasty morning weather-wise but even the weather could not spoil this wonderful spot.

On January 23, 2015, we attended an event called Alafia River Rendezvous. Participants in this two-week event dress and live in the manner of pre-1840 individuals in America (e.g., Native Americans, Cowboys, mountainmen). The event is open to public visitors for three days. The encampment covers a huge swath of land in central Florida, near Homeland.

These three French fur trappers were preparing a campfire when I interrupted them and they were good enough to pose.

I am not doing proper justice to the description of this fantastic event but, to say the very least, I would encourage any visitor to Florida to attend this huge event at least once. It takes place each January and may be Googled.

We can never resist a bird sitting so patiently and posing. Measuring 16-16 1/2 inches (41-42 cm) from beak-tip to tail-tip, this smallish gull is named for its call.

Taken at Universal Studios Orlando in Orlando, Florida. The detail on this structure draws the eye. The young ladies near the front door and gentleman on the bench topped off the scene.

I generally do not do any real 'street photography' but came across this quote:

"I was drawn to street photography because there are pictures everywhere there: a woman holding a dog, a baby screaming to be put in a pram, kids playing punch ball, stores with huge barrels of kosher pickles outside. I wanted to photograph life, and here it was." -Harold Feinstein

Tepee is from the Sioux word 'tipi', meaning 'dwelling'.

On January 23, 2015, we attended an event called Alafia River Rendezvous. Participants in this two-week event dress and live in the manner of pre-1840 individuals in America, e.g., French trappers, American settlers, Native Americans. The event is open to public visitors for three days. The encampment covers a huge swath of land in central Florida, near Homeland.

There are many tepees at the rendezvous but, due to the crowd of visitors, it is difficult to get images without people.

I am not doing proper justice to the description of this fantastic event but, to say the very least, I would encourage any visitor to Florida to attend this huge event at least once. It takes place each January and may be Googled.

Taken at Circle B Bar Reserve, a wetland reserve located south of Lakeland, Florida. This "Buteo lineatus" was not frightened in the least. He measures 17-24 inches (43-60 cm) from beak-tip to tail-tip.

On a recent outing with my grandson we came across this house on the shore of Lake Michigan, outside of the City of Petoskey, Michigan, at Petoskey State Park. The late afternoon sun worked perfectly. I tried including a bit of the water, but I could not get the look I wanted . . . it was actually what you might call distracting. I went for the dreamy look of the windblown White Pines and dunes. (062015A 227)

As I walked the Bear River Trail in Petoskey, Michigan, I came across this unusual bush with these 'flowers'.

Found at Circle B Bar Reserve, a wetland reserve south of Lakeland, Florida. The Spanish Needles flower is found all around this reserve and is a favorite of the butterflies.

Taken at the Bay View Memorial Garden near Petoskey, Michigan.

Love of the Ocean being passed from one generation to the next.

Found in my wife's flower garden.

The Davis House offers a rare chance to view a log house built from chestnut wood before the chestnut blight decimated the American Chestnut in our forests during the 1930s and early 1940s.

This farm is located near Petoskey, Michigan. It is called Gabriel Farms. The farmhouse itself is large and the wrap-around porch makes it look even larger.

The two trees in the left of the frame are poplar trees of some sort (Populus x canadensis?). The two trees located just off the front porch are 'Northern Catalpa' trees (Catalpa speciosa). The Northern Catalpa had bunches of white flowers and large green leaves.

A bit of poetic license here. Taken at a farm in Petoskey, Michigan.

Found at Fort DeSoto State Park, Florida.

EXPLORE: Mar 22/12 #272

These flowers are the result of the poem that my father recited often to me and that was a precept of his life:

If you've had a kindness done,

pass it on.

It wasn't meant for you alone,

pass it on,

let it wander down the years,

let it dry another's tears,

till in heaven the deed appears,

pass it on.

I helped an elderly woman who had a fall at church. Who wouldn't?

She sent me a beautiful flower arrangement. Who would?

And so I pass the flowers, not meant for me alone, along to you in the spirit of my father's poem.

Autumn has arrived and docks have been removed from the water. Here, the tamarack trees have begun to change color while Michigan's state tree, the White Pine, towers over everything.

The Ascia monuste here has an umbrella of grass. Found at the wetland reserve Circle B Bar Reserve south of Lakeland, Florida.

We entered Everglades National Park at the main entrance and drove to the end of the road. It took us about 1 hour to reach the 'town' of Flamingo. This national park campground is located right on the water.