Ron Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace.
I'm thinking Daily Kos should change the name of the site to META WORLD WAR!! ;)
For me, I'll stick with Meta Bird... or two. Plus a few other things... it's all under the orange cloud.
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a staunch Democrat. I'll work hard on getting more good Dems in office, but especially MORE so that we have enough of a majority for the GOOD ones to move good legislation forward.
Okay, enough of that - on to the birds and other stuff.
Years ago, I visited Gatorland with my mother. She was an amazing woman, but she passed away January 1st of this year. She was never afraid to try anything new, and was even willing to sit with a snake around her neck and a baby gator on her lap, even though she had never touched either before. But look at that grin... :) That's my mom. I miss her very much. She taught me to enjoy life as much as possible, and to share it when I could, so... this is for her.
At the time my mother and I visited, I didn't know that Gatorland had a rookery out back, with wild birds of all varieties mating and nesting back there.
Visiting the other day with a friend, I snapped these photos, and thought I would share them with you as a break from the meta that all too often envelops this place.
This is what I do when the news makes me tired... or when the world just seems hopeless. I go outside and take photos. Wherever and whenever I can find them... beauty is everywhere. Walking is good for the soul, and so is taking a little time to enjoy life whenever you can.
So here's a little piece of the beauty I have been lucky enough to experience in the last few weeks. Some of these photos are from Disney World, some are from Lake Eola in downtown Orlando, and some are from my backyard. :) (All photos taken by me, and all but the one of my mother were taken in the last two months. No post editing except for cropping and lightening on a few.)
Enjoy!
This is a Greater Egret, in the middle of a mating display in the rookery behind Gatorland.
A Night Heron. My first time seeing one. It was tucked away in the woods next to the rookery, and I almost missed it.
Greater Egret, in flight
Tricolor Herons. Beautiful birds, and in mating plumage.
Greater Egret on a nest, checking on an egg that was in the middle of hatching. Couldn't get close enough to get a photo of the hatching egg, sorry.
Same Greater Egret, from another angle.
Snowy Egret, in mating plumage. Gatorland is wonderful in springtime if you like birds.
Gatorland also has a boardwalk that takes you through a swampy forest. Much prettier than it sounds.
In that forest swamp is this tree - it's about 500 years old. Gave me some interesting perspective, and I don't mean just the angle....
Lovely Peacock, showing off his plumage. He wasn't in the rookery. He was out front, but who cares??
A Peacock and a Peahen, checking each other out. This peahen didn't have the "usual" colors, but was quite pretty.
Peacock, in another setting. Just liked how it looked, even though it's not one of my best photos
.
Same for this one - liked the setting, even though the peacock didn't show to best effect.
This is the White Peahen. Likely just a variation in color, or a specific morph (or something like that).
If I'm going to visit Gatorland and share photos, I guess I should do the obligatory gator photo. How about some baby alligators?
This is a view of Epcot, during Flower and Garden Festival. I'm lucky enough to have friends that work at Disney World.
Water Lily at Epcot
One of Epcot's fountains, at night
Jellyfish, in a tank at Epcot - hard to photograph, but quite lovely.
From another part of Disney - a Nicobar Pigeon at Animal Kingdom.
From Animal Kingdom - A Java Green Peahen (yes, I said Peahen - the females are as colorful as the males.)
Swan at Lake Eola. Sometimes the best things in life ARE free. This lovely lake in downtown Orlando has a fountain, five kinds of swans, and a lot of other wildlife, plus art and restaurants nearby. Love visiting Eola, and you'll probably see why...
Lake Eola Fountain - if you catch it on a sunny day, at just the right spot, you can get this rainbow effect. This was my first time catching it.
Two of the five swan varieties that live at Lake Eola...
Swan, Near Sunset at Lake Eola
Sunset at Lake Eola
At nighttime, the Lake Eola Fountain lights up, and they change the colors in time to music. This was the first time I'd seen it.
Lake Eola Bird Sculpture
Another view of the Lake Eola Fountain at Sunset, with downtown Orlando behind.
Flowers next to Eola
This is sunrise, peeking through some bushes covered in dew, in an abandoned park next to where I live. The park has been closed to the public for eight years, and has become extremely overgrown. I petitioned the county to get access so I could clean it up (and keep it clean). Been working on it for almost a year now... since three sides of it are on the lake, garbage floats up to the park, and I clean that out. Plus, I've gotten nearly all three acres cleaned except for the most overgrown parts. Still working on those. :) It's a lot of work, but it relaxes me.
Fiery Sunset near my home.
Some iridescent clouds - maybe part of a sundog, I don't know, but... I keep an eye on the sky because there's so much to see. Not every day, but often enough.
Same day, slightly later...
Sunset over the lake behind me. The best part about sunsets is that they're free, and different every time.
Clover - as you rarely see it. Up close and personal. Taken in the grass in a field near my home.
Another peek at the clover, up close
These are the reclusive Duck Sharks, so named because they look like the hind end of a duck. This pod of Duck Sharks is peeking out of the water, "spy hopping" if you will, in search of prey. Be warned - they look just like duck butts. :) Okay, it's really duck butts.
And now, you have reached the end(s). :) Thank you for reading.