Discovering Nature

We completed one out of three discoveries offered at the Florida Botanical Gardens located off Ulmerton Road, Largo this morning: Nature. For Art, presented at the Gulf Coast Museum of Art, and History to be experienced at the Heritage Village, the newest of the three, they will have to await our next trip. We were at hand to watch the gardens grow, to witness the symbiosis that exists, and to marvel at the richness of nature unfolding by "taking a refreshing pause in nature and enjoying a pleasant walk though 150 acres of formal gardens, scenic landscapes, and native habitats", as the brochure beckons invitingly. Admission is free, at least for the nature discovery part, and the exercise in coursing through the garden maze really does the body good.

While you may not have been there, let me help you out by guiding you through a digital display of captured sights that will surely nudge you into seeing them for yourself.

Wify, the chief architect of the visit, by the flower hedge along the bridge railing.

The tree portal fronting one of the three bridges crossing McKay Creek that runs through the heart of the Gardens. And the sky seems to be lending its own fireworks to the occasion.

The Oak wearing a skirt of ferns.

"Mushrooms" on tree. Maybe not.

Bumper harvest.

The leaves look like they have gone through a shredder. Wonder what secrets have been exterminated.

Free falling.

Weighing down.

Random bloom.

Breaking though the phalanx.

Mutual admiration.

Pitstop.

Swagger.

Peaceful coexistence.

Bee at work.

Bee at rest?

Dandy stop.

On solid ground.

Easy does it.


Picture perfect, if you miss it. (we rewarded ourselves at the China Pearl Super Buffet located along Dale Mabry Highway and the painting appears on the wall of the front office.)

A Close Encounter with Park Residents

After the torrential deluge of yesterday evening, this morning was extra crisp and sunny. Just the perfect day to visit a park. and that's where we headed, with Mary and her daughter, Jasmine, in tow.

And it was a good day for photographic pursuit too when many other park visitors (or rather residents?) parking themselves along the river bank of the Hillsborough River at Riverhills Park, just next to the boardwalk that skirts along the river edge for a short stretch. With Jasmine in between being seated in the stroller or in the folds of Mary or Wify, we promenaded on the boardwalk. Armed with my Coolpix L100, I trained my camera on the park residents in turn. The result is a mix of candid camera on the park residents and the rustic environment that surrounds them. Truly a day at the park that is worth a thousand words.

A kind passer-by volunteered to take a picture of us, and the baby girl was seen clamoring to partake of the kind gesture too by raising her little hands.

And her wish was answered, warmly enconced in the soft hold of Wify.

The sky and the land merging into one in the water as framed by the two trees.

Perfect symmetry, almost anyway.

Rolling, and rolling across the water surface, the water reflection doing its trick on the eye.

Taking flight, wings spread and the legs just about to be stowed in under the belly.

Feeling my presence, turning to check out, and staring me in the face, the squirrel way.

The Gators in Bulls country (The Bull is the mascot of USF located in Tampa), making waves or just floating motionless, the bulging eyes scanning and scanning.

Dragonfly is not easy to shoot because of its tendency to scurry away at the slightest disturbance. Thanks to the 15X zoom, I was able to stay sufficiently distant to be invisible.

It's might as well be gecko country too, darting across all surfaces.

Synchronized activity, the way of the birds and the ducks.

Then something is just best done alone: jumping, guarding, and feasting across the top while the duck is trying to shoo away the squirrel to maintain its solitary status.

The Eureka Moment rooted in Purity

We have been planning to have a repeat of the Eureka moment that we felt more than a year ago. So a couple of months ago we came acalling, and was surprised to see the entrance barricaded on a bright sunny Sunday morning. On closer examination, we realized that it was our own folly for not checking ahead of time. The park had been closed for reconstruction and would be out-of-bound for the entire summer.

Two weeks ago, we were hit by the Eureka itch again, but this time we called in first, and was informed that the park has reopened. And we relived the Eureka moment this morning. We spent about an hour walking through the Eurepa Springs Park, following the gravel trail and boardwalk. The results of the reconstruction were not obvious to me; however, the expanse of lily pads was a huge surprise, teeming with water lilies of different hues and pads of different sizes that blanket the water surface with a lush green.

All in we took more than a hundred shots of the botanical galore, with a better camera (Nikon Coolpix L100) than before (Nikon Coolpix L11 at 3X digital zoom), especially with the close-up mode where the wide 15X optical zoom really comes in handy. And the various shots of the Water Lilies, the subject of today, bear testimony to the above claim. Thanks CY and Brian for the wonderful gift.

As always, Wify started the camera rolling by gracing the water lilies patch. Afterall, it's her exquisite taste of beauty and a keen sense of poise that come naturally to one who engages in the creative expression of drawing and painting that have led me up this garden path, to be taken literally and not metaphorically.

The water lilies sprouting haphazardly out of the uniform tapestry of green.

This scene is rather uncanny, being reminiscent of the legendary Grand Duke Jiang (the human form of a stump) fishing for whomever desires to be hooked, aka, a willing victim. Read the link to find out how he fished.

These and the following shots belong to the Water Liliies, in all its pristine milieux that do not detract from this symbol of purity (it seems that water lily is a common phrase that includes the lotus family as well, but there are distinct differences in appearance) enshrined in Buddhism.