Sky Watch Friday

Whispy clouds thinly hung over an inlet full of small sailboats near St. Augustine, Florida.

Visit the Skywatch Blog for all the weekly photos.

Princess Place Preserve

Princess Place Preserve is actually an offshoot of Faver-Dykes State Park, located along Pellicer Creek and just west of Washington Oaks State Park on the other side of the Intracoastal Waterway.

A long entrance road takes you past more beautiful marsh views:

The central / main section of the preserve offers more panoramic water views:

A boat dock provides access should you desire to arrive in that manner:

But as interesting as the marsh and bay might be, there are wonderful, manmade things to enjoy at Princess Place - and an explanation as to the unusual name... tomorrow.

Fluffy clouds reflected on the still waters of the waters of the Intracoastal Waterway near High Bridge south of Flagler Beach, Florida, part of Bulow Plantation State Park.

Visit http://skyley.blogspot.com for all the Sky Watch Friday fun.

Washington Oaks Gardens State Park: Part 2

Some photos today of the Intracoastal waterway side of Washington Oaks State Park.  The Intracoastal is here connected to the Atlantic Ocean via Mantanzas Inlet just north of the park, so the water is mostly salt/brackish.  It is not uncommon to see dolphin in the Intracoastal.

Navigational marker for boaters:

White egret flies along over the middle of the Intracoastal, perhaps hunting for an early lunch.

The southern tip of a narrow island that lies in the middle of the Intracoastal just west of the park.  The dark row of trees in the distance is the true mainland of Florida (and is, at that spot, actually part of another park that we will visit later).

More shots of yesterday's sculpture

Since yesterday's Skywatch shot was just of the head, here are some shots of the rest of the sculpture, which is actually part of  a fountain in a recently remodeled section of the zoo. 

This little boy visiting with his grandparents was quite taken by it.
Here I wanted to capture the bubbles and base of the bird nest.
Lastly, a close-up of water bubbling out of the fountain itself around a spiraling group of fish and leaves.

ABC Wednesday: "I" is for Intracoastal Waterway

ABC Wednesday this week is "I" for Intracoastal Waterway. The below shot is the ICW is from between Little Talbot and Fort George Islands, two coastal barrier islands east of Jacksonville, between which the ICW passes.

Taken from the Wikipedia article:

The Intracoastal Waterway is a 4,800-km (3,000-mile) waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are man-made canals.

The waterway runs the length of the Eastern Seaboard (Maine to Miami, Florida), from its unofficial northern terminus at the Manasquan River in New Jersey, where it connects with the Atlantic Ocean at the Manasquan Inlet, to Brownsville, Texas. The waterway is toll-free, but commercial users pay a fuel tax that is used to maintain and improve it. The ICW is a significant portion of the Great Loop, a circumnavigation route encircling the Eastern half of the North American continent.

The creation of the Intracoastal Waterway was authorized by the United States Congress in 1919. It is maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Federal law provides for the waterway to be maintained at a minimum depth of 12 ft (4 m) for most of its length, but inadequate funding has prevented that. Consequently, shoaling or shallow water are problems along several sections of the waterway; some parts have 7-ft (2.1-m) and 9-ft (2.7-m) minimum depths. The waterway consists of two non-contiguous segments: the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, extending from Brownsville, Texas to Carrabelle, Florida, and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, extending from Key West, Florida to Norfolk, Virginia (milepost 0.0). The two segments were originally intended to be connected via the Cross Florida Barge Canal across northern Florida, but this was never completed due to environmental concerns. Additional canals and bays extend a navigable waterway to Boston, Massachusetts.

The Intracoastal Waterway has a good deal of commercial activity; barges haul petroleum, petroleum products, foodstuffs, building materials, and manufactured goods. It is also used extensively by recreational boaters. On the east coast, some of the traffic in fall and spring is by snowbirds who regularly move south in winter and north in summer. The waterway is also used when the ocean is too rough to travel on. Numerous inlets connect the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico with the Intracoastal Waterway.

Navigate your way over to http://abcwednesdayround3.blogspot.com/ to see what everyone else has dredged up. :)

Venice?

No, not Venice... the street in front of our house just after the main part of Tropical Storm Fay finally edged its way west of us yesterday afternoon. It was about knee deep down that street most of the day (I know because there were a few crazies out walking or biking in it...)

Thankfully our storm drains did their job and within an hour or two most of it was drained and gone.

No damage to report for us - just lots of leaves down in our yard - the roof and cars are covered. We did see quite a few branches and some trees downed in the neighborhood, and some areas nearby are flooded - it happens when you get over 12 inches of rain in a short period of time.

World Golf Village Tower: Part Deux

A few more views of the tower at the World Golf Village, this time from out on the course of the Slammer & Squire, which begins and ends both nines right next to it.

ABC Wednesday: "Z" is for Zephyrhills

Another limited letter for most of us this week with Z, but we make do... how about a nice bottle of Zephyrhills spring water from my own home state of Florida?

(Photo graciously taken by my lovely wife, who has her own blog here. Shameless plug)

Per the Zephyrhills website "About Us" section:

"The history of Zephyrhills® Brand Natural Spring Water begins with a small town that earned the name “City of Pure Water.” This town is located among the scenic rolling hills, citrus groves and lakes of central Florida. The town was called Abbott Station and has a history dating to the Civil War. Paying $3 an acre, Simon J. Temple purchased the first section of land. In 1909, Captain H.B. Jeffries, a Civil War veteran, chose the sight for a war veterans' colony because of the abundance of good water. While showing the town to prospective residents, Jeffries overheard one of the guest's remark how zephyr-like breezes caressed the beautiful hills. The melodic name suits this ideal setting and gave the captain an idea. So, on March 10, 1910, Abbott Station officially became Zephyrhills.

In the same spirit, we named our water Zephyrhills because, to us, it's more than a name, it's a celebration of what's most natural about Florida. We believe Zephyrhills® Brand Natural Spring Water is the best that Florida has to offer: great-tasting water from natural springs in Florida. While Zephyrhills® Brand Natural Spring Water still comes from the Zephyrhills area, we have also selected additional spring water sources in Florida that will continue to deliver the clean and refreshing taste of Zephyrhills® Brand Natural Spring Water for many years to come."


And just for a little geographical reference, the town of Zephyrhills, Florida is here:




View Larger Map


So grab a nice, cool bottle and head over to Mrs. Nesbitt's Place to drink in all of the other ABC Wednesday posts.

Sky Watch Friday

Pretty blue sky and cotton ball clouds for this weeks Sky Watch, hanging over a lake (really a giant retention pond to collect rain and runoff water from the nearby appartments and shops). These appartment/condo communities have overrun our city in the last 10 years - they're everywhere. At least these are colorful, providing somewhat of a contrast to they typical monotone, cookie-cutter buildings everywhere else. And the fountains in the lake are nice to look at while eating in one of the small restaurants that reside just behind where I stood to take the photos. But enough about the ground - this is Skywatch! So enjoy the lovely sky - mid-80s with a slight breeze; perfect Florida early summer. :)

A closer shot for a better view of the fountains.

(Taken on the Nikon S210.)

Visit Tom for all of the Skywatch Friday fun.

Gull on the wing

A black headed gull soaring on updrafts over the breaking surf.

Summer Storms

A street full of water - almost a pond by this point. Luckily the storm drain is right in front of our house so it drains off pretty quickly.

Sea World: Part 10

A lovely pond with a small waterfall in the background, and a duck swimming merrily along hoping for scraps from sandwiches, no doubt.

Pelicans on Posts

And yes, a few gulls, too.

It was quite windy - the birds are all facing the same direction so the stiff breeze doesn't ruffle their feathers - literally. :)

Sky Watch Friday

A view from the back of the Mayport Ferry, an auto ferry that crosses the St. Johns River from Mayport, Fl on the south bank to well... a ferry station on the north bank that is not near any true town - all of which is technically part of Jacksonville, Fl.

More on the Mayport Ferry in a few days - probably Sunday. Come back for more photos and a little more history! :)

Abandoned or just swimming?

Pineapple Fountain

A fountain topped by a pineapple (hard to see here from the low angle) outside some shops in St. Augustine, FL.

Sky Watch Friday

Boats and clouds off the St. Augustine inlet.

ABC Wednesday: "D" is for Dock

For this ABC Wednesday, "D" is for dock - this one next to the St. Augustine Yacht Club and currently the resting place for at least a dozen pelicans resting from their morning hunting trips.

Beached Boats

Some small boats and catamarans beached next to the boat ramp beside the St. Augustine Lighthouse and St. Augustine Yacht Club.