Mark of the gecko

By day, he's a mild-mannered Cuban anole, sunning himself on a rock, pooching his dewlap, trying not to get squished or eaten by an osprey. But, like the alligator in yesterday's blog, he has dreams. A little fisheye, some radial blur, and some vignetting, reveals this alter ego: Z-Gecko, the avenger. Perhaps not. But that's how I saw it.





The good stuff:
xydeco

Day of the Dead dioramas

flight dreams

watermelon

concertinas

windmills

waterfalls

triple word scores

finding a dollar in the wash

Dinosaur dreams

OK my northern neighbors. Go out in your backyard and bring me the biggest lizard you've got. I'll wait here . . . Got it? Good. Now, as they say in Australia: "That's not a lizard. THIS is a lizard." Alligators rank right up there with Spanish moss and airboats as things I love about living in Florida. This 8-footer was lying in wait next to a retention pond within fifty yards of a house on the West Orange Trail. A fence kept me from getting too close (although I probably wouldn't have gotten too close).  A few weeks earlier, I had to brake on my way home from the trail to wait for an alligator that had crawled up out of a roadside lake to see what was on the other side. Although alligators are certainly common in Florida, it's not all that common to be able to pull the bike over and snap a picture of one. This was a treat. So now we've had: spiders, and snakes, and now alligators. Tomorrow I think I'll wrap up the creature feature with a nice little lizard and then move on to flowers.

The good stuff:

hurdy gurdy

claymation

903 Mills Market

holiday weekends

thunderstorms

dancing in public

blues guitar

The Sugar Mill at Deleon Springs

airboats

stained glass

Um, Darlyn . . . Step away from the shrubbery

Hadn't intended to start a trend, but after yesterday's success at spiderweb photography I managed to get another elusive shot - extreme close-up of a snake sticking its tongue out. This black racer isn't poisonous -- good snakes make good neighbors -- but it gave Darlyn a bit of a shock as I was taking her picture under an arbor in the U.K. pavillion at Epcot and broke all paparazzi on this little guy sunning himself on the boxwood behind. Now that I've done spiders and snakes, I think I may cycle through a few criters over the next few days. I got a shot of an 8-foot alligator last week I've been itching to share. 

The good stuff:

whistlestops

zithers

terra cotta warriors

lotus flowers

hot air balloons

sky writers

coy

mariachis

popcorn

secret entrances

Spider man(ga)

I've always been fascinated by spiderwebs, particularly the ones that appear at dawn, dew-drenched and crystalline, engineering marvels silhouetted in the morning sun, proud artist in the center taking all due props. I feel the same way about good tag art, although the artist would probably be arrested if he or she didn't bolt upon completion. Tag art is colorful and easy to photograph - look for photos of that stuff in the future. Spiderwebs have been more problematic. For one thing, those backlit webs require shooting directly into the sun, which washes everything out. And then, I don't have any special lenses, so I have to get really close to get anything interesting. The photo above was shot at 4 p.m., in a shady corner of my backyard pool enclosure. I had to get within a foot of the spider, so you can bet I looked at those orange triangles pretty carefully to make sure I wasn't baiting a black widow. I think it turned out okay, especially the lace fan effect that appeared out of nowhere as I messed with the contrast, backlight, and sharpness. The spider itself was none to happy to see me. Those of you who know something about spiders might recognize this attack posture as it went all Karate Kid on me. Anyway, here's my first spider pic, for what it's worth. It probably won't be my last.

The good stuff:

Coconut Curry wraps at Ethos vegan kitchen
funny-looking dogs
arts strolls
organic beer
Batter Blaster sprayable pancake batter
anticipation
birthday surprises
laughter
haiku
lightning bugs

Forget me not

This blog is, for the most part, a happy place. Recent hostilities in New York surrounding the Muslim worship center near ground zero made me think of this Holocaust memorial at the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Fear is a powerful thing. Here in our country it has led to the imprisonment of Japanese citizens. In other parts of the world it has resulted in the extermination of Jews, and others, because of their ethnicity and religion. We should never forget that zealotry and hatred have no religion or ethnicity. They are universal human frailties. The REAL American Way, as expressed in yesterday's blog, is to rise above fear and celebrate diversity. We are a nation of many colors. We embrace freedom of religion and speech. And we need to always remember what happens when a people let their fears get the better of them.

The good stuff:

college tours

bicycle commuting

butterflies

crickets

trumpet solos

roux

Diet Coke at breakfast

Dictionary.com

activism

prayer

Papers please

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.

From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

-- "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus

The good stuff:

civil rights

free speech

hope

liberty

fraternity

equality

understanding

compassion

love

justice

Les folles au morte

Hey, fellas. Mind if I use the phone? Oh, nevermind. Darlyn and I stumbled upon this couple as I was walking her back from class one day in Paris. Skulls and interesting people, how could I NOT take their picture. They were kind enough to let me and my camera intrude, although, truly, one does not dress like that to be inconspicuous. This pic almost made up for missing the vampire who ducked into the underground before I had fully grasped what I was seeing. I think what I like best is the way they perfectly match the phone in the background. This photo is virtually as I saw it, except that I have dropped the background into black and white.

The good stuff:

Starting a business

finding a soul mate

frog splash

egrets roosting

mowing the lawn

fresh paint

wet concrete

prospects

cul-de-sacs

grapefruit spoons