Emerald Coast

Last week I had to visit Destin to help out the office located there. What a beautiful place, but what a long drive. Last time I was there I didn't get a chance to go visit the beach, but I made sure to make time this trip. I was struck by how white the sand was and how green the water was.

UF Campus

Saturday Bill and I traipsed around the University of Florida campus to take some pictures (so many good spots!). However, much to Bill's dismay it was the weekend that everyone was moving into their dorms. But once we traversed our way past the dorms and made it to campus, it was almost empty. How many times to do see campus empty? Not many. Anyway, we had the campus almost to ourselves. But it is Florida, and it was the middle of the afternoon. So... you guessed it. It was about 98 degrees out. We were dripping... again. I'm pretty sure that Bill's not going to go with me on any of these trips anymore, unless they're in December or only involve air-conditioning. I can't say that I blame him.

Library West

The French Fries outside Marston Science Library

Century Tower

I'll let you guess. Do you think you know?

Pawpaw

The O'Leno pics reminded me of this one that I'd taken a while ago with my point and shoot (before I got my DSLR). Not too bad for just pointing the camera at the flower and clicking the shutter hoping that I got something in the shot. Needless to say, I was pretty happy when I looked at the display.

By the way, this is a pawpaw plant if anyone is interested. There are two varieties that grow pretty commonly here in north central Florida, the narrowleaf pawpaw (Asimina angustifolia), and dwarf pawpaw (Asimina parvifolia). This one is the narrowleaf. But probably the easiest way to tell that you have a pawpaw is to crush a leaf (you only need one!) and smell it. Warning! It gives off the most pungent odor.

O'Leno

Yesterday Bill suggested that we go to O'Leno State Park and walk around so that I could take some pictures. I readily agreed.

However, there was one problem. At 7:30 pm it was still over 90 degrees outside. Needless to say, Bill didn't hang around with me for long and was begging for my keys to go sit in the AC. I can't say that I blame him. After about 30 minutes of walking around the pavilions and the bridge I was absolutely dripping with sweat.

And wouldn't you figure, we've had a brief rain tonight and it's about 85 out there right now. And I can hear the frogs singing from my living room. Beautiful.

I'm not sure what it is about fungi, but I just love to take pictures of these little guys. Keep an eye out for some other one's that I found growing in my yard a week or two ago.

Foggy Mornings

This morning as I went outside for a run I noticed that the rain from last night had laid a beautiful blanket of fog over everything. It was so peaceful and calm. And nice and cool, before we reached the high of over 100 degrees (what it's been here lately, so hot!!).

Downtown

This evening I went driving around looking to take some more pictures. Here are a few. As I was walking around downtown High Springs, I looked down at this man hole cover and noticed that it was apparently from Daytona Beach! Wierd.

This tiny flowers sprouted up out of my yard over-night, and I just had to experiment with some macro shots.

Old Buildings

Last weekend Bill indulged me and drove me around to places where I could experiment with my new camera. We stopped by the lovely, but sometimes crowded, Rum Island, then went into High Springs and got some good architecture shots (Plus I threw in a shot of my dog Bee, she's such a patient subject. Right now she's the only one that'll sit still long enough for me to experiment shooting).

First Post

Well, after much blog stalking, I'm creating my own blog. As an employee in the environmental field, I am working my way to breaking into photography. Wish me luck, and keep an eye out for some pictures coming soon!