TRANSFORMATION

                              " TRANSFORM: to change in form, appearance or structure"

 

 

I'm always looking for ways to enrich my life. So I decided to take a class in Sign Language. It was one of the neatest things I've done. I had a great teacher and asked him if he would be willing to volunteer in my classroom to teach my 1st and 2nd graders Sign Language.  He did, and he was fantastic with the students!  They loved him. He would teach Sign Language once a week. Then at the end of the school year, the teacher would invite about 12 of his retired deaf friends to come and spent the day in my class with my 1st and 2nd graders. The students were not allowed to "voice" with the deaf...everything had to be done in Sign Language. The retired deaf had a blast with my students. I'd have the students do an art project with the deaf.

 

 

 

 

Every other year I would do the Life Cycle of a Butterfly.  I'd send away for 50 Painted Lady butterflies starting from the caterpillar. I'd set up these caterpillars so that the students could watch them grow and then change into a chrysalis. They could actually watch the caterpillars knit themselves into a cocoon.. We'd just stop everything in the classroom and put up our chairs to where this was happening and spend lots of time watching this happen.

 

 

 

 

When the chrysalis were about to hatch....we would put all the students desks to the sides of the classroom.  Then I'd put up a HUGE tent.  We would watch the chrysalis hatch into beautiful butterflies. When the butterflies would hatch they would be very weak. It took a few hours for the butterfly to gain strength by opening and  shutting their wings without flying. My students were simply amazed at the entire experience.

 

 

 

 

But what was really neat is that when all the butterflies were hatched and flying around, we'd put the 50 butterflies into this huge tent.  We'd put in wet sponges filled with sugar water.  Then I'd let 3 students at a time sprinkle sugar water all over them, take off their shoes, and then climb and sit down very carefully in the tent. Soon enough the butterflies would come and land all over them....on their faces, hair, socks, arms...etc.   Some students would actually hold 5 butterflies at a time on their hands.  The children were delighted.

 

 

 

 

It so happened that one year when the retired deaf spent the day in my class, that I had up my huge tents with the butterflies. The deaf were very engaged in watching the children in the tent with the butterflies.  There was senior deaf man, named Johnny, who asked me if he could get in the tent too. That was fine....so he took off his shoes and went to sit in the tent. I completely forgot about him...and finally remembered. I tapped on his arm and he twisted around to me ...and there he sat with butterflies all over him with tears running down his smiling face. He "signed" to me that this was the best experience of his whole life!!

 

 

 

Sometimes it's difficult to be "transformed."  Sometimes life changes unexpectedly and that is really hard...(especially as we get older.)  I try to look at unexpected changes as new experiences in my life as a way to grow.  We may find in these changes a  new direction in our lives for the good!

 

I need to heartily thank Bob Pelkey for his advice about starting a blog...which is really outside my comfort zone...and a big thanks to my friend, France, for encouraging me on this project!

 

"Everyone needs beauty as well as bread,  places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul."       John Muir

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          

Little Things

Hello !

This morning I got up early and rode my bike along Kings Highway down by the ponds.
The ponds were busy with all sorts birds looking for breakfast.  What was really neat to watch were the Moorhens in the ponds leading their babies around as they searched for tasty morsels. As I approached on my bike the mothers bleated out a warning and all the babies scrambled for the bulrushes!  Some pretty yellow flowers greeted me as I rode by.

                                             

 

I usually am the cashier for a small thrift store and food pantry on Sunday mornings.  There is a retired Brazilian couple who help also in the thrift store. Every once in awhile I come across such interesting lovely people and this couple is one of them.  The lady of this couple has such a beautiful singing voice. As we worked last Sunday she told me an experience that she had lately.

 

Her grandchildren had spent the summer with she and her husband. A week ago they took them to the airport in Tampa to fly them back home.   They parked their car at the Tampa airport as they took their grandchildren to the right terminal.  They forgot to write down the section where they had parked their car.  Now if you have ever flown from the Tampa airport and left your car there you can know how confusing it might be if you don't write down exactly where you left your car. At the airport there must be at least 4 named sections for parking your car...and there are at least 3 or 4 levels in each section.  So when the couple came back to drive home they realized they didn't remember where they had parked their car. They went to each section and walked up and down rows looking and looking for their car.  The just couldn't find it.  And didn't really know what to do.

 

Then a young lady who had been observing them, approached them and asked them if they were looking for their car. They acknowledged that they were searching for their car.  The lady told them she would help them.  So she took them in her car and drove up and down the rows of "zillions" of parked cars. Finally after another hour they found their car.  This Brazilian couple were so thankful that this lady, a stranger, had helped them and wanted to thank her.  They didn't have much money on them, but then the Brazilian lady thought of something she could do to thank this lady for helping them. So she told the lady to just wait a few minutes, as she was going to do something special to thank her. Then the Brazilian lady started to sing and sang a beautiful song to this young lady who was a stranger to them but had given of her time to help them !!  The lady that helped them was thrilled with the song. They hugged each other good-by and went on their way. Isn't it amazing how perfect strangers can make your day!

 

I love Burrowing Owls. I think they are very unique.   I first saw them in PGI, (Punta Gorda Isles). On one of the roads, there was a golf course,  and on the edge of the golf course a pair of burrowing owls had a nest.  The nest was surrounded by the usual orange tape.  I knew better than to get too close...so I kept my distance. All of a sudden a baby popped out of the nest in the ground...then another and another until 10 babies had actually surfaced !!  By then I was flat on the ground at quite a distance from them. I was simply amazed as I watched them.  They drove their parents crazy.  The babies scattered all over the place. The poor parents just couldn't keep up with them. The babies were trying out their wings by jumping up in the air and fluttering down. It was enchanting to watch them.  One baby spied me and hurried on over.  Of course I was thrilled! Here I am flat on my stomach taking picture after picture.  I could hardly breathe as the baby approached me. He stood right in front of my camera and stared at my camera. I know the baby must have been wondering what this object was.  He tilted his head as if trying to figure it all out.

 

 

 

Thus I fell in love with Burrowing Owls!! 

 

This past Spring I was in Cape Coral to see the Burrowing Owls there.   This one particular nest had 6 babies.  One baby was quite smaller then the other. The mother brought out of the nest a dead frog that she had hidden in the sand in the nest.  She found the runt and began to feed him first.

 

 

Then she brought out a dead frog for each baby.  I really enjoyed watching her feed them.

 

 

 

 

Have a good week. Look for someone that you can help this week!

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast on Siesta Key Beach

The first part of June, early one morning I headed to Siesta Key Beach. I stopped at a bagel place, picked up a toasted bagel and OJ, then head to the beach to eat my breakfast.  I love doing this. 

Then I spent a couple of hours walking the beach looking to take pictures of shore birds.
The first thing on the beach that greeted me was a CRAB !

 

 

I walked way down the beach and found to my delight this HUGE tidal pool. There must have been at least 8 different species of birds. There were quite a few Spoonbills.  The sky was a brilliant blue that reflected quite nicely in the tidal pool. I watched and took pictures.  I thought I'd share these.

 

 

 

 

Spoonbills are one of my favorite birds.  Here are a couple of images I took of Spoonbills in different places. 

 

This image I took at Merritt Island. The wind was blowing and all of sudden this Spoonbill's feathers flipped over!

 

Often in the Spring I visit the Alligator Farm up in St. Augustine.  This Spoonbill was standing practically in front of me and allowed me the privilege of taking his pictures.  I love the colors on Spoonbills. See how the colors just blend into each other!

 

 

Have a wonderful Saturday.  

"Keep close to nature's heart."  (John Muir)

 

 

 

 

Bird Talk

Hello !

 

 A few years ago I was up at the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, Florida.

In March, some of the wild birds fly into the swamp at the Alligator Farm. They

 build their nests, mate, have babies and raise them there.  By the end of June the babies have fledged and both the babies and parents have left until the next year! 

 

In this nest of Great Egrets the babies were squabbling among themselves. As I stood there and watched them I realized that the 2 older babies were trying to shove the runt out of the nest. The runt steadfastly refused.  The mother did not want any part of this...so she turned her back.  I came back 3 weeks later and all 3 of the babies (which were nearly full grown) were still in the nest. I was happy to see this!

 

I had observed another nest and actually saw the mother shove the runt out of the nest. The baby just happened to fall on another limb of the tree. It was weaving back and forth. I was standing so close I could have reached out and put the baby back into the nest. I knew what was happening was just a part of nature. There were alligators in the swamp at the base of the tree just waiting for a good meal.  There was also a ranger standing next to me. I had to hold my hands behind my back and the tears just streamed down my face. The ranger looked at me and said, "Don't even think about it." I had to leave. I realize that there are some sorry parts of nature.

Introduction

Hello !

This is my first time starting a blog!   I love nature and spending time with animals, especially with birds!   I will be organizing some of the pictures of birds I have taken in the past years and telling you some of the experiences that I have had when I took these pictures.  Plus I will be adding new pictures and adventures!