The Manatees of Blue Spring

Sunday, February 3rd - - Located north of Orlando, Florida along the St. Johns River, Blue Spring State Park is the winter home of a small population of West Indian Manatees. Perhaps a dozen or so were within the viewing area provided by the park on the day I visited. For more information on the Manatees, see the Save the Manatee website.







The shallow, crystal-clear water is ideal for viewing the Manatees.





A little one coming up for air.





A group of four youngsters heading upstream.






This one was feeding on the algae at the bottom of the stairs. It was there for quite a while and it was one of the larger manatees in the area that day.





Another large one meandering upstream. They seemed to like to hang out beneath the viewing platform.






A more mature manatee.





A psychedelic version, compliments of a little wind and some sunshine.





There was a lot of pushing going on around a tree that had fallen into the stream.





The green leaves must have been the best tasting...

Stage 01

My humble tropical garden on its first photographed day, July 21, 2006. Note that only a banana plant and pygmy date palm were present.

Hyak Nordic ..

Jennifer and I went out to Hyak Sno Park to ski again. She had a good time last time and she is eager to get some type of exercise while pregnant. Fortunately Nordic Skiing is pretty low impact, and we went to Hyak due to the extreme flatness of the trail. (It is a converted railroad grade.) Jennifer is concerned about falling on anything remotely hilly, so the flat trails fit the bill.

Momma zipping along

Conditions were windy when we got out of the car. Not surprising being at a mountain pass and near a five mile long lake. I was wishing I had brought more clothing. We both started out with our poofy jackets on and eventually stopped to take them off once we had warmed up. I went considerably faster than Jennifer, but kept checking on her to make sure she wasn't overdoing it. We got a special treat in that the track got groomed while we were there. Although truthfully the track was in pretty good shape prior to the grooming. It would have been more special if we were skate skiing.

Along the lake

At some point Jennifer decided it was a good time to turn around. I told her I was going on further and would catch her before the car. I probably went about a half mile further before turning around. I was slowed by seeing someone I knew and chatting for bit. But I did catch Jennifer with at least a half mile to go before the parking lot. I think I did about six miles total.

This was a fun outing and Jennifer is caused less pain from skiing than walking. She is having fun getting exercise, and her exercise level had picked up since we started skiing because the pregnancy usually causes her to lose steam when walking.

Sandhill Crane

Mother Nature's Curves

For those of us who are Monk-like, straight lines are the way to go. They are clean, they allow you to line things up nicely and they just make sense.



I noticed when editing some pictures from the Sunken Garden, that Mother Nature really isn't so much into straight lines. In fact, Mother Nature has glorious curves to most of her creations. Some things are simple circles and ovals.





Some are more twisted and are complicated in their form.




Some have a bit of a pattern to them, even if it is a rough, loose sort of pattern.


There are bold curves, that make bold statements!





And then there are the sort of luscious curves that have me thinking va-va-va voom curves are here!



As much as I love straight lines, I gotta admit that Mother Nature knows what she is doing with all of those curves! Just stunning!

A Day in Primary Colours

Red curtains. They are there for practical purposes - welding screens to protect the eyes from the intense glare of the arc. Brazing happens on one side of the shop, welding on the other. In the middle is this vinyl semi-transparent barrier. But the red backdrop spreads an aura around the room, bathing it in a mysterious, yet energising light. I see the light flicker dimly behind it, and somehow the universe seems to make sense.





Against the vast expanse of red, five adults open long cardboard boxes with the hushed anticipation of polite children on Christmas morning. Inside the boxes are steel tubes wrapped in newspaper. The unraveling is almost formally festive.






The blue work shirt. My grandfather worked in a machine shop and wore one well into his old age. In the '90s, the boys I went to high school with wore the same shirts because it was fashionable. They played in garage bands and dressed like mechanics, never having been near a wrench,which used to annoy me. Now some of them wear blue work shirts unironically, having indeed become mechanics or machinists. So it goes.






Blue buckets full of gloves, cotton and leather. I burned myself three times building my first frame. Once by picking up a piece of scrap metal after it had just been hole-sawed off. Another time by grabbing the frame too soon after it had been torch-dried post washing. And the third time by accidentally brushing the hop tip of a filler rod against my cheek. Who knows, sometimes the gloves help. Other times they are a hazard and can get stuck in a machine.








Yellow packaging, labels, warning signs, equipment decals. It is noticeable, even in a sea of other colours. See me, read me, peel me.





Yellow booklets, dusty yellow machines. I am too easily enticed to visit the other side of the curtain.




More pictures.

Lake Dorothy ..

The lake

Jennifer and I went for a mellow hike to Lake Dorothy. This is a highly maintained trail. (Lots of stairs.) It has an elevation gain of perhaps 1000' depending on how far you go and it is only about a mile and a half to the lake. Once at the lake there are numerous campsites and toilets for staying overnight.

Stairs and large downed tree.

Lake Dorothy is one of the larger lakes in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and is nearly a mile and a half long. We walked to the halfway point where Jennifer got a swim in, while I rested on shore. Then we continued to the far end of the lake before turning around and heading home. You could continue on the trail generally south until you reach the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River as well. But at that point you would need a car shuttle.

Jennifer was looking for a nice mellow trip to start hiking again and this proved good for that. Although we both wound up tired at the end and had to stop at the Sultan Bakery for a snack to make it home.

Fungus on tree stump

Also, it was quite crowded for a Monday. I presume it is a mad house on weekends.