Destination Downtown Disney - Feb. 6/14

Another cold and dismal day in Orlando, so we went to Downtown Disney for a while, lunch at Earl of Sandwich, then a couple of hours at an outlet mall on the way home.



The entrance to Downtown Disney.  Enjoyed our free samples of Ghirardelli chocolate, and even bought some.  Yummm!

There are some amazing sculptures made out of Lego.  I like the one with the Dalmatian of course. 

Boys do love to build things with Lego.  Here, they were building cars and racing them.

This has always been my favorite Lego sculpture.

I love looking at the fish in the aquariums in a prehistoric restaurant called TREX.

One of the dinosaurs in the restaurant - they all move and make noises.  We don't eat here, just wander through.

Paul's going on a "dig".

This is a "tethered" balloon, but it wasn't going up today because of high winds and t-storms in the area.

A LOT of people have had their pictures taken with this fellow!

.....and with these fellows!

A group from Northside Christian School, the "Cambridge Singers", from St. Petersburg, were entertaining today.





This group of boys was part of the larger group and they were really good!

These were 3 of the "princesses" in the "Princess Parade" today.  I found out that to "create" one of these princesses costs $175.  Seems like a lot of money to THIS grandmother!

A Day in Lakeland with Friends

We had a great day today in Lakeland with Reg and Janice, Dick and Marilyn, and then Jo and Eric joined us.  Lunch at Appleby's, a walk in a park, a visit at Dick and Marilyn's beautiful home.

Jo and Eric were lawn bowling at the same park where we went to walk after lunch out. 

This little guy is one of my favorite birds - a Little Blue Heron. 

This beautiful bird has 2 names.  It is know as a Common Gallinule, and the male and female look basically the same.  It is also known as a Moorhen. 

I love this picture of  an America Coot.  My favorite picture of today. 

Dick and Paul. 

This is a White Ibis, aka Florida Chicken. 

Mama and Papa Mallard Duck. 

An Ibis having a bath. 

Marilyn and Janice. 

There were LOTS of Ibis in this park. 

I'm always surprised to see them roosting in trees. 
 
 
 
 
 
Paul and Reg.

Biking in Celebration

What a glorious day we have had today! Sunny, warm, a great day for biking.  Once again, we went to Celebration, this time doing a longer ride than usual, and enjoyed a picnic lunch, before coming home for a swim.

Biking in Celebration. 

This is called a Great Egret or American Egret. 

This Great Blue Heron entertained us for quite a while when he was watching for tiny fish to come through the pipe. He caught quite a few of them (see picture below), but it would take a LOT to make a meal!

 

We stood watching this otter for about 15 minutes.  What a treat! 

I think he grew tired of us standing there, when he was anxious to come up onto the grass. 

He finally gave up on us and came up onto the grass - about 3 feet from us - and pooped! 

The otter and the little alligator were actually nose to nose until the otter backed off. 

I think this big fellow would have had the otter for lunch!  This is the closest I've been to one this year! 

....and a picnic lunch in the park...... 
.......before going home for a swim to cool down. 

First Day of Biking in Celebration 2014

We finally got to do a nice long bike ride today in Celebration!  They threatened t-storms, but it didn't happen, and just started to rain when we got back home.

This lovely fellow who was "preening" is called a limpkin. 

 

The white bird is an adult white ibis, the dark one is a glossy ibis, and the brownish one is  an immature white ibis.

 

This is the first alligator that we have seen this year.  It was warm, if not sunny, and the gators were out of the water. 

This little fellow thought he was going to be fed. 

 

Riding on one of the board walks through the swamp/woods.  A really nice place to ride! 

A red-shouldered hawk, one of two that we often see in this park. 

One of the pretty waterside flowers - a kind of iris? 

There was some seed scattered on the ground near where we enjoyed a Starbucks Frappuccino, kept these birds occupied.  I guess this is a sparrow of some kind, and the others are male and female Boat-tailed grackles.

 

This heron was watching some fishermen, hoping for a hand-out. 
 
 
 
 
 
This is probably my favorite waterside flower - another iris?