Things to See in Marathon, Florida

I guess I’ll classify this as another day of odds and ends.  I’ve taken these pictures over the past two weeks and just didn’t get around to sharing them. I won’t even try to put them in any particular order.

Thatch Palm leaves are some of my favorite subjects.

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Underside of Thatch Palm Leaf

Sleeping Andy is another of my favorite subjects and this photo may be one of best ever.  Not that it is a great shot, it’s just that I’ve never seen him leaning over this far before.  Note that his hand was still on the mouse.  Sometimes, as he is falling asleep, he will move the mouse around.

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Andy Asleep at the Keyboard

There is no way to sugar-coat it.  Buzzards are just ugly birds.  He would not look any better if he was in focus. This one was sitting on a boat in the canal.

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Ugly Buzzard

Then he turned sideways and I noticed the beautiful feathers.

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Buzzard Feathers

This is an immature ibis standing on a mangrove branch in Oceanfront Park.

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Immature Ibis

Here is something I don’t recall seeing before.  This Great Blue Heron was standing on the very top of a mangrove tree at Crane Point.

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Great Blue Heron Atop a Mangrove Tree

Here is a silly small pleasure that gives me great delight. I bought this little floating tea infuser in a grocery store somewhere on the road this season.  I can’t remember where. The plastic lily pad screws onto the top of a metal infuser basket.  I don’t know why I get such a chuckle every time I make a cup of tea.  Maybe it is the smile.  Also, it is the easiest tea infuser I have ever used – to fill and to clean.

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We sit outside to drink our coffee every morning and watch the wildlife in the mangroves.

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This little lizard was sunning herself on a crook in the tree trunk.  I took a number of pictures before she seemed to notice me.  She kept tilting her head to look at me the way dogs do.

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I have gotten out of the habit of taking the camera with me wherever I go.  When I remember that I forgot it, I say, “Something great is going to happen and I won’t have a picture to document it”.  Sure enough, we saw three three iguanas in a stack at Oceanfront Park. One large one with two smaller ones on top of her.  I’ve seen pictures of baby alligators sitting on the mother’s back.  It was a wonderful missed photo op.

I also did not have my camera with me when a car pulled out of a shopping center and ran into the side of Andy’s car. I took pictures of both cars at the scene, but can’t figure out how to get them off my cell phone.  It doesn’t matter.  The other guy’s insurance company (Liberty Mutual) said they will pay 100 percent without seeing any pictures.

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Notice the rear tire.  I can’t decide if the other guy’s tire rubbed paint off our wheel, or whether those black marks are the rubber from his tires.

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We were so impressed with Liberty Mutual.  They have been so nice and eager to help us. I think they are living up to their television commercials.  We drove down to a body shop in Key West today and dropped off the car.  Liberty Mutual arranged for Enterprise to pick us up and give us a Jeep Cherokee while the RAV4 is in the shop.  Then, we went to Golden’s Deli, where I got the Lox Platter that I have been craving for weeks. You may as well make the most of an unfortunate situation.

This Great White Heron was at Oceanfront Park.  I took half a dozen pictures and then, when I turned to walk away, it squawked and flew away, fussing as it went.

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Great White Heron