Family Visit, Chapter 2

I was informed by my friend Chris up in North Georgia that Tuesday was National Squirrel Appreciation Day.  I thought it was an appropriate time to revisit the most special squirrel I ever knew, Shelly, who shared our lives for a year and a half and gave us insight we never dreamed into this world of squirreldom.  We learned so many things from her about squirrels, who have this other world gaze up close leaving you unable to ever tell where they are looking, but they seem to see all.  I learned what wondeful mothers squirrels are, that they raise two sets of offspring a year.  As single moms raise their offspring alone, building a home, giving their children every possible advantage by giving them a nurturing and loving family life.  Shelly disappeared shortly after this photo was taken and it was our last visit from her.


Here's to Shelly, where ever she may be, and to all the squirrels no matter how aggravating they might be as they gnaw into our attics, eat our birdseed, and generally make a nuisance of themselves, but all the while endearing themselves to our hearts as we watch their daily fight for survival in the wilds of our own backyards.  And although we said we would never again raise one, our door is now open if another one happens to be orphaned in the neighborhood and needs a caring home for a while.
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 Back to my own family visit and a long story, but I will try to be brief.  I decided that my family needed to go on the Amelia River Cruise, as you know one of my favorite things to do with visitors.  If you remember in the preceding story I told you this Ring-billed Gull was called the "fast food gull".  We got to experience first hand how well deserved that name is.  Even if he is a scoundrel, he is a pretty thing in the bright afternoon light.  

This gull was hanging out on the railing next to the ticket office.  I had brought my brother, Mike, and his wife, Denise, some chicken strips from the restaurant where the rest of us had just had lunch. As Denise casually leaned against the railing munching on the first bite of a piece of chicken, Slick the Gull swooped down and relieved her of the rest of that fried temptation.  It was a shock to her as she turned in disbelief and said "That Gull just took my chicken."  Sure enough he was sitting on the dock below gobbling up his ill gotten gains.  

They are doing a much-too-frequently-required dredging project in the marina which keeps filling up with silt.  I wonder why they don't just extend the dock out further in the water and just let the rest fill in.  Looks like it would be cheaper in the long run.  The sludge from the project made a pretty line drawing on the surface of the water, however.


On board, everyone is settled in for the cruise.  All nicely prettied up with neatly combed hair.  I didn't take any "after" shots because the hairdos did not hold up very well in the wind.


It was a beautiful day with clear skies and smooth waters, "the better to see reflections in, my dear".



A close up of the reflections of this waterfront building was very interesting indeed.


The port with its big red cranes was also especially interesting to photograph.


The old rusty looking sailing vessel we had passed on the last trip looked very peacefully moored today, with the calm seas and the reflections in the water.  Mooring fees can be quite expensive, so many choose the free route and anchor out in the river traveling back and forth in their dingy.  Looks like the owner is at home or else the dingy would be gone.


The Pippi Longstocking House has a new copper roof which does not look as nice to me as the old red tin one.  Maybe it just needs a little time to weather out and blend in better with the old.


Smiley's Girls is slowly being relieved of any valuable parts.  She had sunk to the bottom while sitting at the dock.  Salvage people have been working on it and I wonder what will happen to its final carcass.


Nearby a fisherman mixes his blues and whites into the pool of rich colors reflected from the rusting sides of the retainment wall.


Although I have taken this photo many times, it is always different and today's calm, smooth water provides a whole new impression through the camera lens.  Now that could be an interesting painting.


A Pelican skims the water across the bow of the boat.  He seems to be in slow motion as the air currents provide the lift to glide across the surface without having to flap his wings.


A couple of kayakers enjoy the bountiful supply of kayaking areas which we have, being surrounded by water in one form or another.


Cormorants take advantage of the rocks as a resting place out of the water.  Cormorants have beautiful pale blue eyes but I can never seem to be close enough to get a shot of that, unlike Slick the Gull who likes making himself up close and available.


As we enter the mouth of Beach Creek on Cumberland Island another Cormorant which seems to usually hang out there is swimming around in the water.  I get him in focus to try for the eye shot when suddenly he takes to the air.  Great because I would not have been able to get that shot otherwise.


Sometimes you just get lucky when you are viewing the world through that glass disc on the end of the camera.  It takes a lot of effort to get airborne from a sitting position on a fluid surface like water,


Mike and Denise reflect on their days when we once took them and their young child, Bryan (the first of 5 children, and now the father of their grandchild, Oliver), along with, believe it or not, Mom and Helen, and all went backpacking on Cumberland Island.  My mother has never forgiven me for that trip and swears to this day that we put all the heavy stuff in her pack, even though in truth, it was just the bread.  Actually Mike just about killed himself trying to take the lion's share of supplies.  We rigged up a cart out of an old two wheeled golf cart, added a plastic square drink case from a Quickie Mart onto which we strapped Bryan's carseat, creating the perfect equipment to pull him the 3 miles up the island to our campsite.  With my kids and two other sets of cousins in tow it was quite an adventure.  Mike and Denise hope to some day revisit the island when they are here.


We saw lots of the horses engaged in their unending activity of eating.


Near a University of Georgia study area sat this funny looking Great Blue Herron.  Not sure if he was just soaking up the warm sun rays or drying his wings.


One horse was especially pretty with a shiny chestnut coat, his white blaze face, and not looking quite so pot bellied as many of the horses can look.  There is one solid white stallion that I have not yet seen.


Another Great Blue tries to blend into the marsh, imitating a blade of seagrass.


Overhead one of the many jets who fly across our skies brings back the reality of the modern world as it seems to be soaring past the pale daytime moon.


A good view across the marsh through the break in the trees is also the Kings Bay Submarine Base with all kinds of modern technology in play as they watch over our shores.


But ahead lies the past in its lost glory.  Dungeness a long ago scene of granduer that most of us can only imagine now lays in ruins.  How fleeting life and its possessions are.


Our return trip was very nice but fast and very cool and I retrieved blankets for Mom and Helen as we passed near this shrimper.  The water temperatures in the 60's create a much cooler perceived temperature coupled with the speed of the return trip.  It was another very lovely adventure on board the Amelia Island River Cruise luxery liner (maybe a slight over statement) and a special thanks to our Captain Kirk for a job well done.  


One last view of the shrimpboats with all the rusty, but very artsy looking buildings in the background..


And just like the storied piggies, we are "jiggity jog", back home again.


It is always interesting to see the working shrimpers as we pass the boats and wonder what their lives are like.



The family is now gone back to Washington State and North East Tennessee but more good memories have been made.  Back in the van I keep a close eye on our van Monarch to see if his being jostled around for several days, taking several road trips in the process, had a determental effect on his being able to emerge sucessfully.  When I begin to see color on the bruised Chrysalis I know that it won't be long until we know the outcome.  I parked next to the gallery so I could check on him as the day progressed.  But it seems that it would still be another day before we know.


Sunday morning as Bruce left to go to the gallery he gave me a shout back and said if you want to see your butterfly emerge you better get out here.  I grabbed clothes, the camera and headed outdoors to witness the event, having a really vested interest in this special one, who by now has seemed part of the clan.  The colors tell me the chances are good for a healthy Monarch.  The watched pot never boils.  I clean out the car while I wait, then I sort all my fishing gear, sorting hooks, straightening out lines, but still nothing.  I decide to run in and grab cup of coffee.


And, well of course, this is what I found when I returned.  I yell for the neightbors to come see.  We stand and watch as the wings gently unfurl.


Slowly the crinkles begin to expand as if they were laundry being pressed by on the ironing board.


Gravity and the pumping of fluid from the body into them set them up for their future flights.


Yes our fellow is perfect.  A tough little guy who may not realize it but has passed by the sights of Northeast Florida already.


Inside our little Gulf Fritillary was not so lucky.  There is a name for them when they are born this way, deformed and destined never to fly.  Unable to flush him down the comode which may have been the merciful thing to do, we instead brought in flowers for him to hang on and proceeded to feed him sugar water from a plastic syringe and gave him an extra week and a half of life.  Last evening when I went to feed him, he had died.  They don't all make it and things do happen which we don't understand, especially with this fellow which seemed to develop normally even though it was slow. But he was comfortable, just never could fly with wings which were too crumpled.



But Vannie our "van" Monarch was beautiful and spread his wings as the light filtered through while I made calls to all the rest of the family with the announcement of "It's a boy!!!"
I can't tell you how many butterflies we have released this season.  With the warm weather the Monarchs have just kept laying and everytime I bring home plants I bring home more tiny caterpillars who grow into more adults eating me out of house and home but eventually turn into these beautiful creatures.

Next story will be about shooting birds and rustling caterpillars, so another adventure into the realm of winged critters is revealed.

Next years resolve is that I will never again be lacking in butterfly weed as I have been this year.  I am collecting seeds and rooting plants as fast as I can get them going.  My yard will be a veritible butterfly refuge. 

Family Visit 2012

The Gulf Fritillary had finally turned into a very ugly Chrysalis looking like something which should be a piece of bark on the side of a tree.

Looking like half caterpillar, half cocoon we were not sure what to expect of its outcome.


One peculiarity was that it would be swung to the left at one time of the day then to the right at the opposite end of the day.  You never saw the movement but it just happened every day.  I did research and found that this is what they do.  It was such a slowwww developer though, that I wondered if it will be normal in the end.


I saw this unusual tag on my way home from the gallery just before my family came for their visit.  I thought there had been some serious hurt and bitterness to inspire this response.  If you can't read it all the bottom footnote says (in addition to the tag which says BTRAYED) " AND... I GOT IT ALL!!!".  Be careful when you mess with a woman she may turn around and bite you.


I managed a quick walk with my friend Anne, who is back from Cape Cod for her snowbird visit.  The evening before my family's arrival, we took a few minutes to just walk on the beach and catch up.  The sun was setting low and the many beach patterns were catching that last glow.


As I reached the parking lot to head on home, with the sliver of the moon as our witness,  Anne and I resolved to not let her visit this year be spent with each of us being too busy to work in our together time.  We will plan ahead and set up some dates for doing some things together, maybe bike riding, which will be easier on my knee.  I would hate for her to have to carry me back if I couldn't make it on a long trek into the wilderness...not that we are ever that far from civilization here.


Although the family arrived in Jacksonville on Friday night, I had already committed to a speaking engagement with a group of Presbyterian ladies visiting Amelia Island, so it would be late Saturday afternoon before I could take the ferry over, and finally get to be part of the reunion.  Good thing the birds can't read, they certainly will be breaking all the rules as they sit on the ferry pilings doing both, trespassing and fishing.


I met the rest of the crew at a restaurant on the Intra Coastal Waterway, overlooking the water view underneath the bridge as the sun set behind the horizon. 


Inside our small dining room space, I tried for a family portrait with my seat empty of course, -someone has to (wo)man the camera, and although I managed to crop out much of Nicki, I did get the rest of the crew.  Helen, Mom, Susan, and a family friend Charlie; Mike, Denise and the bi-sected Nicki. 


With a Low Country Boil on the menu the next night, my regular shrimp man was nowhere to be found and I had to opt for Mayport Shrimp instead of Fernandina ones.  Of course this week there was no fresh corn at the Farmers Market, but Strawberries from Jane and Tommy of King's Farm Produce, were in abundance, fresh from their own patch.  They can't be beat, and we ate many of them as snacks that night straight from the box.  They are located toward the back of the Farmer's Market in case you are in need of berries while they are in season.  This time it would be Mom drafted to make the biscuit shortcakes, similar to what her mother nce made, for the Strawberry Shortcake.  The difference in hers and mine is that I am not so generous with the butter.  Mom, like Paula Deen, thinks butter "rules".


Since my old van held everyone comfortably, we all loaded up on Monday to take advantage of my State Park Pass and do a southward State Park tour of the area.  As we started out on the trip my sister suddenly noticed that we had an additional guest as she said "Sandy, you have a Chrysalis on your van door".  Evidently I had an escapee when I was bringing home Butterfly Weed to feed the Monarch offspring, and he, being mature, had just decided to make the best of the situation.  There were a few brown spots which had probably been caused by being treated like a punching bag by those of us exiting and entering the van before noticing his presence.  Time would tell if there was internal damage.  But from then on my battle cry pierced the air each time we stopped as I shrieked "WATCH OUT FOR THE BUTTERFLY!!!"


Our first park visit was Guana State Park just South of Ponte Vedra.  I had not visited the West side of the park, having had my car broken into when I parked once in the remote beach parking lot for visiting the eastern beach side.  With everyone's pocketbooks in the car I did not want to leave the car in that parking lot again.  The West side, besides this lovely river view, did not have that much to see without leaving the car and walking, and Momma was not that up to walking very far.


The St. Augustine Lighthouse was next on the tour.  Although we did not climb the stairs to the top it was still a pretty place to visit.


The house adjoining the lighthouse is really pretty architecturally, and sits in a very nice setting surrounded with gracefully arching branches from the many live oak trees and silhouettes of the various species of palm trees.


Just next to this area is Anastasia Island State Park with its red Dangerous Tide and purple Dangerous Sea life flags flying in the chilly breeze.  The wind had ushered in a light cold front making for our coolest day of the visit.  My brother and I headed for the beach, going our separate ways; his led south toward the pier and mine north toward a flock of birds.  The purple must have been a warning for the Portuguese Man O' War, although I did not see any.  It was too cold to be in the water anyway, at least for any self-respecting Southerner.


While Mike and I enjoyed the views from the park, the rest of the ladies headed to the Ice Cream shop in the park to wait us out.


The birds were dealing with the wind in their own special ways, most normally by facing into the wind and tucking their heads between their wings, burying their beaks to keep the wind from whistling down their very prominent and exposed nasal passages.  The Ring-billed Gull was not wisely facing into the wind and was getting a bit of a breeze underneath those feathers.  In the summer his head would be mostly white.  They have the reputation for being the "fast food gulls" as we later found out.  (Next Story).  These birds mate in southeastern Canada and nearby border states so I guess they should definitely be considered migratory birds.


There was only one other bird which was a migratory species that I saw in the flock, a Foster's Tern, with his early winter eye mask which will later turn into a cap.  They nest on floating marsh grasses, sometime on top of muskrat dens or the abandoned nests of other birds.  They do not nest in our area but just are part of our "snowbirds" who like to winter with us.  They actually nest from the Western Gulf all the way up to the Great Lakes and New York State.  We always enjoy seeing these snowbirds; as artists who run galleries like to see the non-winged versions of the snowbird come through the door.


The wind blowing across the beach area has also produced a great sculpted landscape on the unspoiled dunes, soon to become a well known shorebird nesting area.


A closer version of the patterns of the shadows of the grass and the ripples would make you believe you had encountered a snow bank up north.


Anastasia State Park is a very nice park to visit and spend time exploring.  It is located on Anastasia Island just across the street from the Alligator Farm where the Marsh birds build their massive rookery.


A flock of Great White Egrets hang out just across the dunes in the river marsh area probably just waiting on those hormones to get them moving toward the Farm.  It is a great location for a rookery, with the Alligators to protect them from predators as well as abundant food sources in the surrounding areas on either side of the Farm.


Heading a bit further South to one of my favorite parks, which I wanted to take Mom to see, we came to Washington Oaks State Park, just across Mantanza Inlet and South of Marineland where I go to do my Sea Turtle training sometime next month.  The Blues Sisters, as my Neice has nicknamed my mom and Aunt Helen,  thought it was great although it was a bit of walking for Mom.  I posed them with the statue behind them but it was my girls I wanted in focus.


Washington Oaks was a private estate and was donated to the State for a park.  The gardens left by the previous owners include a formal rose garden, lots of Artesian Spring fed ponds which smell of their sulpher content, and Citrus Orchards growing many species of oranges, tangerines, lemons and grapefruit.


The Koi Pond brought back memories of my recent experience with being emersed in Koi-dom while I did the Koi painting.  I don't know what the straight line is across the photograph unless it is a spider web.  It showed up in all the photos and almost looks like we were fishing for Koi but I swear we were not.


It is a peaceful park with lots of natural and landscaped beauty, and is always very sparsely populated with people the times I have been there.


Lovely pathways with benches, and overlooks with water views to enjoy.



But a fishing we did go.  It had been many years since mom was able to accompany us on a fishing trip.  That is how we used to spend all our family vacations, and wherever we went it had to be a place to fish.  Daddy loved the beach and fishing in the surf.  The rest of us grew up loving to fish also.  Daddy would always plan our yearly trip well in advance, trying to see something different on each trip.  Then we discovered the Outer Banks, especially Ocracoke Island, and after that all roads led us there.  It was the first place I ever encountered a laying Sea Turtle which of course I had little knowledge of then.  It also led me to seek out Cumberland Island, another remote island but I thought a much better place to visit with its great Live Oak Trees and more varied enviroments.  Another whole different story, which families are prone to explore when they get together.  The week is passing much too fast, though with the days filled with just being together, something which is a too rare with our locations spread far apart.  We did another big greasy fish fry with our catch, and I'm sure everyone's cholesterol soared, but it was a good time and not often that they got to have fish so fresh.

More will be explored in another story...to be continued.