sharleenstuartTell me a Story: September 2017
Just before I went in for surgery we had friends come and visit. They were both from South Africa and they had stayed with us the previous year as well. It was a short 4 day visit but I was glad that it worked out to happen prior to surgery so that we could get out and do things.
On the Saturday Michael had suggested that he would like to see Alligator. We have the perfect spot for that so Richard suggested that we go on the Sunday for a kayak through the Loxahatchee National Park. We are almost guaranteed to see gators. The night before Beverly and I went up to photograph the sunset at the same place and she got the opportunity to see a gator in the water.
However, no such luck for Michael. We have had a lot of rain so the water levels were very high and there was no place along the edge of the river for the gator to hang out and suntan. Ironically we did not see any in the water either.
However, it was a fun kayak. Although it was overcast, I really got sunburned on my legs which left me peeling just in time for surgery. Not fun.
I had taken my old Canon Rebel on the kayak with me. I can live with it if that one falls in the water – I cannot live with it if the Canon 6D falls in the water. However, there is some issue going on with the Rebel and it’s auto focus. So these images, were taken in manual using fully manual settings while on a moving kayak. Telling Richard to stop every 5 seconds was not going to work 🙂
So here are some of the images from the kayak trip that we did.
Starting out on the kayak trail.
Beverly and Michael had to get the rhythm of the oars before they started moving too far.
Reflections of a beautiful day out on the water.
Water Lily’s in abundance.
Crossing paths with folk who had the same idea as us.
Typical scenes from the kayak.
A beautiful Halloween Pennant Dragonfly. There were so many dragon fly out that day.
I loved seeing the Water Lily flowers.
Water levels were high. Typically you can see the posts of the notice board. The water is about half way up.
Water Lily in it’s simplicity.
Apple Snail Eggs. The snails lay there eggs in clusters. We once had a snail lay it’s eggs on our back dock and it was a very interesting process to watch. Each egg is pushed out in a layer of slime towards the cluster. I guess the slime fixes it to the rest of them. The Limpkins love to eat the snails when they hatch, as do the Snail Kites. Both are found out in the Loxahatchee National Park.
Little Blue Heron – another beautiful bird found in the South Florida area.
Beverly and Michael have the rhythm going now and we are moving along.
Grasses along the edge of the water.
A Turkey Vulture is a common sight in South Florida. A vulture is something I did not think I would see moving to the USA but I see a lot of Turkey Vulture and Black Vulture in the area.
Up close on a Water Lily
Beverly and Michael – you will note that they switched positions at a dock we saw along the way. She was far braver than I would have been. You would not catch me trying to get out of a kayak on the water to change positions. I know exactly where I would land.
Bubbles forming in the water behind the kayak
Bubbles on the water
The end is in sight.
Michael is relieved. This turned out to be a 3 hour trip and I think they were both glad to be out of the kayak and back on dry land. They worked muscles that they have not used in a while.
Thank you for joining me for this month’s Tell me a Story. This is a circle blog. Please take time to visit my fellow blogger LUPJi Photography | North Virginia Event and Wildlife Photographer and see what he has for you this month. Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their pages.
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sharleenstuart 
Beautiful images of your adventure, Sharleen! I love the low perspective you have captured while on the water. Looks like it was a fun day.
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