Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

1st Plan Fails for the Attack Bird

Thursday December 3 and                                                    Most Recent Post:
Friday December 4, 2015                                                      Key West: What a Drag, The Ingham and Mallory Square
Curry Hammock State Park

Marathon Florida


Every effort I've made to transfer this  post written in Live Writer to blogger for posting has failed so I have totally rewritten the post and brought the pictures in one at a time so they will appear in the right places and not float all over the page.  The sizesI've used  are large and extra large (too big) and not the way I would like to see them but I've written these posts and I want them published.  I am unable to download the new Open Live Writer because it will not take my blogger login and password apparently for the same reason none of us can use blogger.  IF you have a blogger account and were able to use that login and password to download the new Open Live Writer please let me know.



THURSDAY




As I mentioned in a previous post we've been dodging the rains and high winds for the past 5 weeks we have been in the Keys.  The weather folks are little to no help.  They predict and Mother Nature laughs and does what she wants.

Today they predict rain - how very unusual - and it does rain but luckily there are 4 hours in the morning when it doesn't rain.

It's actually a glorious morning.  I get out for an amazing dawn, possibly the most beautiful I have ever seen.


The colors in the sky lighten as sunrise nears.  This picture is taken looking east.  It is taken about 5 minutes after the one above also taken looking east.





This one is taken 5 minutes later than the above and looking west.  Everywhere I look the colors are fantastic.





Two minutes later and looking east again, I know the sun is about to rise as the colors are becoming more and more muted.






One of the things I most enjoy about a Curry Hammock sunrise recently is the presence of the reddish egret.  He's not all that common so it is a thrill to see him nearly every morning.  That is him in the 3rd picture above and in the sunrise picture below.






Sure enough, here comes the sun, just a hint  at the horizon before rising behind the purple clouds.
I love the way the sky colors reflect in the foreground of the water and the farther water nearest the horizon glistens almost silver.





And then things darken as the sun moves up the sky, clouds or not.  The night heron here is also present most mornings.  No wonder I'm out at dawn.






In the east a group of a dozen Great Egrets must have gathered because of something good to eat.  They look wonderful in the reflection in the water of the pink clouds










As they walk up the shore and I turn my camera to the west, they are now walking through, not pink but golden water.






I have to put a picture of the golden road to the sun as the final entry in this magnificent dawn and sunrise.  Being here to witness this makes the problems of rain, wind and bugs seem worth it just now.









It's just after 7:00 when I return to Winnona in a joyful mood ready for breakfast.  The rain starts shortly.  

Over night the winds have rearranged the black plastic plan for foiling the Crazed Catbird leaving two small openings.  David says it will probably still work as a CC deterrent.  I just know he will find them and resume his pecking.  The rain ends about 10:30.  

In no time at all CC has returned.  I bang on the window.  He moves off into the bushes.  I know he'll come right back.  I take up a position in front of the larger opening and don't have to wait very long.






There he is peering in the window at me.  Now I am a bird lover of the first order but I'd like to either knock some sense into his bird brain or wring his little neck.  He is not listening when I tell him there is no threat here and the window trim is not good for him.












David goes back out and fixes the plastic covering AGAIN but I fear with the constant rain and winds, it is clearly time for plan #2.   
We've had several suggestions, thank you all very much.
I have a second plan in mind but I'll need some equipment to implement it.








With the rain stopped, I don't want to go shopping for a bird deterrent supplies,  I want to be outside.  Laurel and I take a walk back on the shore where we encounter not only the Reddish Egret, slightly damp from this recent rain, but also Nancy the Parrot and her staff Joanne and Don.











Laurel is still cheery in spite of the weather.







The Reddish Egret either tires of our picture taking or has some other business to attend to.






Now here's a nice bird that won't peck at your windows and is pretty unique to find in a state park.









Rain isn't deterring this little crab in the detritus or the Great Egret traveling the shore.











But in short order it sends Laurel and I back inside.  She to prepare for a visit to her uncle.







I guess I'll go get the supplies so that IF it stops raining we can try plan two.





FRIDAY

It rains all night long, heavy pounding rains.  It rains all day today too.  I mean seriously all day.  It never stops.  So what to do on a rainy day.  Well cook, eat, and shop right?

It rains and we make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.





Last night it rained so hard that it woke us both up out of a dead sleep pounding on the roof.  This morning we see some water on the dashboard.  David has resealed this windshield once already.  Looks like this side is going to need more.  But not until it stops raining - if it ever does.  And if it does,  we'll be so excited, we'll forget about this until the next time it rains.





We decide to run errands.  We stop at Publix for groceries and the Dollar Tree for bird supplies and some holiday stocking stuffers. 

Still raining.  I'm making soup for lunch.  Even if it isn't cold, somehow being trapped inside makes me think of soup.









I'm going stir crazy inside so I put on my raincoat and venture out to see what's going on.  Site 27 has turned into a lake.  Now that's particularly amazing since on these coral islands the rain usually just drains right through.  Clearly the draining can't keep up.





Sun is setting,  It's STILL raining.  I can see from the front window that the path to the bathroom is under water.






The weather we have had in the Florida Keys for the month of November and now December is simply the worst I could have imagined short of a hurricane.  It really is time for us to get a few days break here.

26 comments:

  1. I think your post look fine. Thanks for making the effort. All it will take is a little practice with the spacing and format, and before you know it you'll be blogging just as easily as before.

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  2. Great sunrise! These pictures save me from having to get up early:) I have read a lot about the blogger problems the last few days on blogs. I just did a post in the usual way last night without problems. I do not use the drag and drop method for pictures, but rather the chose picture import process. I can load them all up at once and they are inserted into their assigned spots without problems and lately it has been a real fast upload?

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  3. Stunning photos!!! Thank you for all your work.

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  4. I might get up earlier if I could see such a sunrise. But I have no clear view of it from my place, so I will just enjoy yours.

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  5. The post looks great! Those sunrise photos are amazing! I know you aren't a fan of extra large photos on your blog, but I love them! I don't have to click on them to enlarge them to be able to see small details...no eye strain!

    Your wet Nov/Dec makes me wonder what our El Nino winter is going to be like on the West Coast...we're still waiting...!

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  6. I had to take a break from working on a blog post so I feel your pain with Blogger. Too bad about your weather. Hope once the rain finally stops the bugs don't get worse!

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  7. It is interesting to see, both on your blog and others, that what we worry about all the time doesn't seem to be a problem with our readers. Your post looks just fine, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Even the big photos are fun. Hugs to you

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  8. Love you sunrise pictures, it is absolutely gorgeous! Hope it stops raining soon for you, I would be going crazy too, staying inside all that time.

    I too think you post looks great. I remember a few years ago when Kevin made a few changes to the format of our blog, one of our readers said "they wouldn't care if we wrote our post on a piece of lettuce, he would still read it", which just goes to show you that it is your words and your pictures to keep people coming, not how pretty the blog is set up. People just want you to keep writing and posting your beautiful pictures.

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  9. Sorry to see so much rain for your time there. Hopefully, it will move on soon. Nice you were able to get out to bird with Laurel. She is definitely the person to bring sun to a cloudy day:) We had a bird problem in Midway in the Everglades. It was a beautiful cardinal John named Charlie. The problem was that beside the window reflections, he would sit on the window awnings and see his reflection in the black paint, as well, and peck there!! He sat on the car mirrors and made white streak there, too. He was a major pain!! Well, at least you are rewarded with beautiful sunrises and sunsets with all the clouds...the silver lining:)

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  10. I agree with M. Lisa. I like the big pics.

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  11. Beautiful pictures - sorry you're having trouble with the blogging though. I love the birds and that you're making friends with them :)

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  12. I know it took lots of extra work on your part, but not having an interesting post from you would be like a day without the sun rising! (Perish the thought!)

    Hope you win the battle with that CC. Window trim is expen$ive!

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  13. Blog looks good to me and the sunrise photos are fabulous!! I am always a fan of BIG photos;o)) The Reddish Egret was there when we were and I did get the chance to see him do his crazy fishing dance;o)) You have had terrible weather which makes me sad cause it is such a wonderful place and you would have loved it under other circumstances.

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  14. Some beautiful shots... especially the parrot!

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  15. Thanks for posting some beautiful pictures. Colder here in AZ than it is back in VT...what's up with that.

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  16. Thank you for this perseverance, the post looks great. How could it not with that amazing sunrise. I'd be down about all the rain too but you sure do cook and eat good on these inside days. This CC is really taking birdwatching to the extreme.

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  17. Those are the most beautiful sunrise photos I've ever seen! Thanks for sharing them, since I didn't exactly make it out onto the beach quite that early. :-) It was so much fun walking on the beach with you, in spite of the heat/humidity/bugs/and rain. I think your post looks great. I'm also glad that you're persevering and continuing to post.

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  18. I feel myself breaking out in song.... OH what a beautiful morning.... Oh what a beautiful day.... Lucky for you, you are spared the sound! I can only imagine how beautiful it was to be surrounded by all the beautiful colors. It never lasts as long as my heart wants though. Since I have used blogger most of the time I recognize the issues. I mostly use the large size and occasional extra large size when I can't contain my enthusiasm for an exception pic. Good Luck with you war with the CC.

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  19. Wonderful sunrise pictures, must have been inspiring to witness in real life.

    Once again, I wonder if your roof top air conditioner gasket is leaking. The water drips out of where David is, or at least it did on our RV, and the fix was cheap and easy. I did it from inside RV with help from youtube and $ 14 gasket from Amazon.

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  20. I don't know if you changed your fonts while I was reading your post the first time last night or what happened. I was reading it on my tablet and the font for the entire post was like you had in the opening paragraph. It didn't translate well on my tablet and I couldn't read it without having to enlarge it and scroll side to side to finish a line.

    Somehow, all of a sudden the font changed back to your normal bold and clear font that is so easy to read and I could read the post on my tablet. Crazy. I agree with the others that your blog look perfectly fine, although I know how much work it was to get it to look like this using Blogger.

    Anyway, those sunrise pictures are definitely spectacular. We also like to be up at dawn, especially in the Keys. I am sure going to miss the Keys this winter. It's become such a part of our lives.

    You are very patient with the catbird. I hope you have found a better solution than the plastic bags and he is no longer a problem.

    I'm sorry you are having such bad weather. I promise you, that is very, very unusual, except during a hurricane or tropical storm. The past 4 or 5 years we've been coming to the Keys in the winter, has been mostly dry with very little rain. When it has rained, it's always been in one area and if you just drive up the road, it would be dry. We've been in the Keys often where we are completely dry and the mainland of Florida is socked in with a stationary front, and we would be thankful we were in the Keys. I hope it hasn't spoiled you on the Florida Keys, because it truly is unusual. It looks like your weather has improved, and I hope the winds have died down and you are able to get out to the reefs. They are truly the magic in the Keys.

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  21. You know I'm a fan of the xlarge pics, and yours are spectacular. That sunrise is the best I've ever seen - lucky you to be there to see it live (and lucky us that you shared it). Glad you and Laurel got some outside time together. I remain envious :-) Your attack bird is certainly tenacious, and on top of the LW and the rain, I'm sure he's lucky not to find himself as part of the soup! Hugs to you both, and hoping the frustrations are fewer and the joys increasing.

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  22. Post such as this is the reason why I hope you continue to do. Thank you so much for your perseverance in creating your post, Sherry. Your sunrises are spectacular and so are the bird photos.
    Its been unseasonably cold here in the Sonoran Desert and we are on a freeze warning starting tonight until tomorrow 12/16.

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  23. I am definitely going to make an effort to rise with the sun when we are there, your morning beach walks are wonderful. I am so sad you are having such problems, your pictures are awesome and if I don't comment every day, just know they are helping me get through thse last couple of dreary weeks at Amazon.

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  24. Amazing photos and the blog post looks great on my Kindle!! Damn cat bird...too bad you can't lace that trim with something noxious to him.

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  25. I have never seen a reddish egret- what a pretty guy! The sunrise is amazing!!!! Such gorgeous colors that they almost look unreal. The catbird is a character! (Yep I bet he's obnoxious!) The soup....yes please! You make good soup! Have a discussion with the catbird and maybe he'll give up- xxxooo

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