Monday, August 9, 2010

(Day 221) Odds and ends

Today was our last day to go to a beach since tomorrow is a travel day. No, we didn't return to the one that the weather evicted us from yesterday. Instead we went to one nearby that we'd also visited a couple of times earlier. I had already walked around the area before and posted some photos from it. One of the 'pressures' of doing a 365-day photo project is to come up with at least one post-able photo each day, and to try to make it somewhat unique and interesting. I was really wondering what else I could get here.

Then, my wife and daughter spotted some dolphins cavorting only a hundred yards or so off-shore. I followed my wife and daughter, camera ready, as they took up the pursuit, and we ended up on the pier under which we'd last seen them swim. They were too far out in the water to get a decent shot by the time we arrived, so I remained loitering on the pier, while the others went back to the beach.

Before long, this fellow joined me and I thought he'd make a nice subject:

(70-200mm  f8  1/160 sec  ISO200)


















After making a few photos of him, I too sauntered back to the beach, relieved in the knowledge I had a photo for the day.

We've become much more attentive to the weather and I've developed a better eye for interesting cloud formations. I was watching a pretty impressive rainstorm dumping on a community across the bay - you could actually see where the rain started and stopped. I thought I saw something developing out of the rather dark clouds, and sure enough, as I kept watching, a whitish funnel appeared to be forming. I'd never seen a real live waterspout before, but there it was, right before us (well, likely still about 2 miles away). So I figured I'd add it to the blog too:

(70-200mm  f8  1/1000 sec  ISO200)

We never saw it touch down, but we did see confirmation on the news tonight that it was a waterspout. It only lasted a few minutes before it retracted into the clouds.









Later that afternoon I decided to take a walk to an area near the beach where I had spotted some large yellow flowers, on a previous excursion. My daughter and granddaughters decided to come along for the walk. As we approached the large bushes with flowers, a quick movement caught our eyes, and there was a larger specimen of the fleet-footed 'lizards'. This little guy appeared to be friendly - he ran along branches and up and down the fence, pausing occasionally to allow a photo to be made of him. When I moved in closer for a better look, he flashed his colourful 'kerchief' at me. We all thought this little fellow was worthy of some exposure, so I've posted him below:

(70-200mm  f8  1/50 sec  ISO200)



This evening I did some research on him and discovered that he's a brown Cuban anole - I'll have to take someone's word for that since he wasn't carrying a passport. If you're interested in reading a humorous piece on these little creatures, check this out.


So I went from wondering what I was going to shoot today to having an assortment of subjects.



Note: tomorrow is a travel day; I'll likely make some photos but will likely not post, or visit anyone, till the day after.

22 comments:

becky said...

Wow, that water spout is really cool! You've captured a moment in time... there & then gone. You never know what's going to come up when you're paying attention... love the stormy shots below, too.

Scott Law said...

You're right about the odds and ends. That poor bird looks like he's seen some rough times lately, but I love the water spout and the lizard with the orange throat thingy. Hope you have a safe trip tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

The colors on the bird are great!
Awesome waterspout shot!!
That's an anole alright! The colorful 'kerchief' is a mating ritual.

Have a safe trip!

['ô ] Avery

Unknown said...

Wow, Gary is sending his cousins over to entertain your wife or what? - :-D

Nice close-ups!

Greetz,

Joseph

bonifer said...

Geees, Lucky Last Day, I would say !! Great shots, love the lizard and the waterspout is not something you see often !!

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Well,that is quite the interesting assortment of pictures.I guess,it pays to always have that camera ready.Even though I am not a fan of lizards,this one is pretty cute.
Blessings,Ruth

darlin said...

Rick that lizard photo looks as though he stopped and posed at just the right second in time. It's an amazing shot, all of yours are amazing shots, but out of the 3 here this one is my favorite... and I don't even like lizards! The waterspout is interesting, I don't believe that I've ever spotted one of these neither. Great shots... enjoy your trip home!

Costea Andrea Mihai said...

tornado? dangerous capture!

marty said...

de très belles photos - l'oiseau est magnifique et the waterspout impressionnant !
je te souhaite une belle journée !
bisous

imac said...

You just never know - do you Rick, what to expect when you go out.
Some times you expect and get nothing, then there's the time - as you did- go out not expecting and you come back with a bundle

Levi said...

Water spout photo is superb!
Happy traveling.

Rick said...

@becky - it happened right before my eyes; I'd never seen one - it was fascinating! I love a good storm - usually makes for good photos. Thanks for stopping by Becky.

Rick said...

@Scott - thanks Scott - made it safely. Yes, that bird looked a little ruffled - he was on the pier - maybe no one tossed him anything that morning. Oh, I found out the orange throat thingy is called a 'dewlap'.

Rick said...

@Photog Ave - thank you Avery. I thought it was 'just' another black bird till I saw his colours on the PC. LOL - and I thought the anole was just being friendly; maybe TOO friendly ;-)

Rick said...

@CarreraCaballo - LOL!! Actually my wife didn't come along for the walk; I don't think she would have been amused ;-)

Rick said...

@bonifer - thank you - and here I was worried I might not get a shot. It would have been even cooler if the waterspout had been in the bay in front of us - but that might have been too close!

Rick said...

@Ruth's Photo Blog - yes, some days I have more sots than I 'need'.

You're like my wife then when it comes to lizards - she didn't even think this guy was cute! :)

Rick said...

@darlin - ha ha, we certainly thought he was posing, the way he was running around, stopping long enough for me to get a shot, then running off again. He flashed his dewlap at me 3 or 4 times, just so I could get a good shot I think.

Thanks Darlene - made it home at 02:15 am.

Rick said...

@Costea Andrea Mihai - yes, a tornado over water. Good thing it was a couple of miles away.

Rick said...

@marty - merci encore; "some days are diamonds, some days are stone" - this one was a diamond!

Have a great week, and bisous pour tu!!

Rick said...

@imac - you're right, mac; there are days when I never know what to expect and sometimes there are results that amaze me because my expectations were exceeded.

Rick said...

@Janell - thank you - on both counts!