Florida Softshell

They may night be the most attractive looking turtles, but the Florida Softshell Turtle is interesting to watch. I saw these two hanging out near the edge of Lake Ella looking for a handout.

This will probably be my last post for the year as I am spending some holiday time with my grandkids. I hope everyone enjoys whichever holiday you are celebrating and I will see you in the New Year!

Linking to Saturday's Critters.

Ducks crossing

No words on this sign near Lake Ella, but I think the meaning is clear.

Linking to signs, signs.

Bait and tackle

You can buy just about anything you need to go fishing at this place located at one of the boat landings near Lake Jackson.

Linking to Our World Tuesday.

Bottoms up

A trio of ducks looking for some underwater food in Lake Ella.

SkyWatch Friday

More views from the top floor of one of the FSU parking garages. The first photo shows a partial view of downtown Tallahassee looking east. The tallest building is the 22 story Florida Capitol building, the smaller white building to its right is the Claude Pepper Building which houses state legislative offices, and on the far right is the 17 story Turlington Building which is the state headquarters for the Florida Department of Education. The other building on the far left is a condominium complex. All of those small white buildings in between are state office buildings. After I took the first shot, I decided to zoom in on the moon. That little white speck under it and to the left is a small airplane.

Linking to SkyWatch Friday.

Tree canopy

I was driving my grandkids to the playground at J. Lee Vause Park near Lake Jackson and thought this little one way road looked so pretty that I had to stop my car, step out for just a minute and take this picture.

Unconquered

“Unconquered” is located in front of the south entrance to Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium on the Florida State University campus and was installed in 2003. The massive structure, including its granite-covered pedestal-base, stands approximately 31 feet from ground level to the tip of the spear, about the height of a three-story building. At sunset the night before each home football game, the spear is ignited and burns until sunrise on the morning after the game. The bronze sculpture was created by artist Fritz White and depicts a spear brandishing Seminole astride his rearing horse and was designed to capture the indomitable spirit of the Seminole people. You can read all about Fritz White, who passed away in 2010 and was a member of the Cowboy Artists of America at his website here.

Clock and Seal

Here is another view from one of the lower floors of the same parking garage where I took yesterday's picture. I zoomed in on the clock and the Florida State University seal located directly over one of the entrances to Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. When the FSU football team is playing a home game, this stadium is usually packed with over 80,000 people. It is impossible to get the whole stadium into one picture unless you are flying over it. The second photo shows the same view without zooming in. By the way, I have stood on the inside behind that clock looking out and it is huge. I think I was just a little bit taller than the number VI at the bottom.

Linking to Our World Tuesday.

College Town

In addition to being the state Capital of Florida, Tallahassee is also the home of two state universities and a big community college, so it can most definitely be called a college town. I took this picture from the top floor of one of the parking garages on the Florida State University campus near the football stadium. CollegeTown is a mixed used development of luxury student housing, restaurants and retail stores located in the Gaines Street entertainment district between FSU and Florida A&M University. The area where it is located used to be quite run down and blighted, but has recovered nicely in the last few years.

Geese at school

On weekdays I take my youngest grandson to school in the morning and pick him up in the afternoon. This week he and I enjoyed seeing a small flock of geese that were hanging around his school for a several days. I took the first picture from inside the school grounds while we were watching them from the car. I took the second picture from the street on the other side of the fence as we were leaving to go home. The two in the back on the right are on the other side of the fence.

Linking to Saturday's Critters, Camera Critters, and The Bird D'Pot.

Look up

Looking at the sky through the branches of an oak tree dripping with Spanish moss. I took this picture while I was sitting on a bench in the shade watching my grandkids play on the playground at J. Lee Vause Park near Lake Jackson.

Linking to SkyWatch Friday.

Fancy mailbox

I liked the looks of this mailbox I saw while taking a walk in one of the older neighborhoods near downtown.

Yarn Therapy

I love this sign in front of a local yarn shop near Lake Ella. I may have to go inside after visiting their website.

Linking to signs, signs.

Music by the lake

This guy was spending the afternoon playing a little music while sitting in the park next to Lake Ella. I could hear him from way over on the other side of the lake where I parked my car, which is why I ended up sitting on the bench nearby.

Linking to Our World Tuesday.

Ice Skating in Florida

The ice rink at the Centre of Tallahassee opened the day after Thanksgiving, so I took my two oldest grandkids there while they were visiting me last week. So much fun!

Enjoying the lake

Zooming in on a few Cormorants enjoying an autumn afternoon on another one of the little floating barges in the middle of Lake Ella.

Linking to Saturday's Critters, Camera Critters, and The Bird D'Pot.

Blue Skies

Looking up at the sky through the bare branches of one of the few trees around here that has already lost all of its leaves.

Linking to SkyWatch Friday.

December Theme Day: Transitions

I'm pretty sure this is a Cicada in the process of molting or shedding its exoskeleton. It was perched on the side of a curb in the parking lot of the library and I took these pictures at the end of last summer. It appears to be about halfway out as you can see the old brown exoskeleton at the bottom and the green head emerging at the top. The whole process takes several hours and I think it is fascinating, even though the insect is a bit ugly. Cicadas make a lovely singing sound in the trees at night. Go to this link to watch a video of a cicada molting.

The first day of the month is Theme Day in the City Daily Photo community and this month's theme is Transitions. To see other participants' interpretation of the theme, you can visit the CDP Theme Day gallery here.

Learn to Ride

Last week I posted a photo of a sign in front of Lively Technical Center. This sign was right next to it. I'm not sure these classes would prepare someone for a career, but they might save a few lives.

Linking to signs, signs.

Ochlockonee River

The Ochlockonee River is located north of Tallahassee. It originates is the state of Georgia and flows south emptying into Ochlockonee Bay and then into the Apalachee Bay in the Gulf of Mexico. I took these pictures from both sides of a bridge over the river. You can see that the water level is very low due to the drought we are currently experiencing. The rich yellows and reds of surrounding red hills clay in the area give the river a yellowish color.

Linking to Weekend Reflections.

Happy Thanksgiving and Good Fences

I didn't want to miss the chance to participate in the final version of Theresa's Good Fences. As you can see in this shot, even though we are in Florida, we do get a bit of fall color. I hope everyone celebrating Thanksgiving today enjoys a wonderful time with family and friends. My grandkids are all here, so I apologize for not being able to do much commenting on your blogs this week. We are having a wonderful time!

Linking to Good Fences.

Yes, you!

I saw this sign when I was driving past Lively Technical Center, a local vocational school that has been in operation since 1937. In addition to welding, the school offers job training programs in a variety of different areas.

Linking to signs, signs.

Lake Jackson

A hazy morning view of Lake Jackson. I took this picture from the picnic area in front of the restaurant I showed yesterday. The water level is very low because we have not had any rain in weeks, in fact there is a fire hazard warning in our area right now because it is so dry.

Linking to Our World Tuesday.

Oyster Bar

Shuckers Half-Shell Oyster Bar is located right next to a boat ramp on Lake Jackson which is just north of town. The boat ramp is out of view in this photo because it is on the other side of the restaurant. If you look just to the right of the building you can see what they do with all the empty shells once those oysters get shucked.

Turtle Barge

These turtles were barely visible in the photo I showed yesterday, so I zoomed in on them. They were out in the middle of Lake Ella enjoying the afternoon sun.

Linking to Saturday's Critters and Camera Critters.

Afternoon at Lake Ella

Beautiful skies over Lake Ella. That is a turtle barge out there in the water and I will show a close-up of it tomorrow.

Linking to SkyWatch Friday.

The beginning and the end of Route 66

I have been meaning to post these two pictures for several months, but it took me awhile to go back through my archives and find the older one. I took the first photo back on December 15, 2011 while I was in Chicago, Illinois. It is the sign that marks the beginning of Route 66 in Illinois. The Willis Tower is partially visible in the background. I took the second picture this past summer on the Santa Monica Pier in California. This sign marks the end of the Route 66, which originally covered 2,451 miles and was one of the most famous roads in America. You can read more about Route 66 here.

Old and new

The land that was acquired to build the new county park near where I live used to be a farm. You can still see part of the old fence and the old gate that was once an entrance to the farm from the road near one of the new walking paths. I showed an old hay barn from this same park in a previous post here.

Linking to Good Fences.

Simple advertising

Seen on the sidewalk next to Gaines Street in the mostly student oriented College Town area between the Florida State University and Florida A&M University campuses near downtown.

Linking to signs, signs.

November Theme Day: Out of Focus

I remember taking this picture and thinking I wish I could use it, but it's out of focus. Who knew it would be perfect for a future Theme Day! This dragon fly was perched on a branch overlooking a pond at Dorothy Oven Park.

The first day of the month is Theme Day in the City Daily Photo community and this month's theme is "Out of Focus". Be sure to visit the CDP Theme Day gallery to see contributions from other members.

Pumpkin Patch

Nothing says fall like a patch full of pumpkins. Happy Halloween!

Critters from my vacation

I am having a hard time identifying these ducks (at least I think they are ducks) that I photographed sitting on Lake Geneva in Lausanne, Switzerland. I would appreciate some help. I think they are beautiful!

Update! I'm pretty sure this can be identified as a Red-crested Pochard thanks to the kind comment below from one of my blogging friends at ifthethunderdontgetya.

A swan with what I think is a Eurasian Coot begging for food from us as we waited to board our boat for a cruise on the lake in Geneva, Switzerland.

One of the bears in the Bear Park in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. I took this picture from the bridge over the Aare River.

A view of three cows huddled together as we were passing over them on our gondola ride down from Mount Pilatus to Lucerne, Switzerland.

Chickens in Yvoire, France. I think that rooster was not pleased with me for taking their picture.

I saw this cat washing its face when we stopped to take pictures in the Brünig Pass on our way to Interlaken, Switzerland.

I think this is a Swiss Black-Brown Mountain Sheep resting in the medieval village of Grùyeres, Switzerland.

I took this picture of a swan parade passing by while we were eating dinner outside next to the Reuss River in Lucerne, Switzerland while the sun was going down.. That is the Chapel Bridge with Mount Pilatus in the background.

Linking to Saturday's Critters, Camera Critters, and The Bird D'pot.

More Paragliders

We stopped in Interlaken, Switzerland one day during our trip for a mid-morning snack and enjoyed watching these paragliders in the park next door.

It is hard to see it because of the way the morning sun was hitting the snow, but that mountain in the middle is The Jungfrau, one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps at 13,642 feet.

My view as I left the restaurant where we had some delicious pastries.

This is where we ate, the Grand Café Restaurant Schuh. We were told by our guide that they have the best pastries in Switzerland and I believe it.

You didn't think I was going to end this post without showing a picture of my pastries did you? A chocolate eclair and vanilla cremeschnitte.

Linking to SkyWatch Friday.