FLORIDA - PLANTS AND WILDLIFE - MARCH 2008

[ranunculus]

Well gentle folk, we are back from sunny Florida and, by opening a separate thread for some images of our ten day trip, we give you the option to follow or avoid images of our journey as you see fit.
Admittedly not an ‘alpine’ area (the largest hills have been constructed on the numerous, and very beautiful, golf courses), this lovely state does possess many natural, and created, wonders that may be of interest to members of this splendid forum.
Our first visit to this particular state coincided with our first long-distance flight with our eighteen-month-old grandson Ollie and travel will never seem the same again.  He was marvelously behaved (for a toddler) but, unable to occupy his own seat, his ample proportions (he WILL play rugby for England) proved a handicap at meal-times, a lovable burden during transit across Orlando airport and a weighty encouragement for deep-veined thrombosis during the long cramped flights.  …But it was worth every effort just to see him walk (gleefully) straight off the side of the pool into his mother’s arms without a thought for any consequences…. And to see him chattering to the brown pelicans on Sanibel Island as if they had known each other all their lives…and to watch his unbelieving stare as he saw his first manitee, his first turkey vulture and his first dolphin jumping up beside the boat in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Because of his young age (and his granddad’s TOTAL indifference) we avoided all the ‘attractions’ of Orlando and Mr. Disney and headed straight for the beautiful coastline to the south of Sarasota (in a splendid villa in Rotonda) and resolved to explore the islands, swamps and shell-strewn beaches of this sun-drenched part of Florida.
The weather did not let us down (it rained…HARD… on one day out of the ten) and neither did the wildlife (though the drought conditions that Florida has endured for many months did restrict sightings of alligators and other residents of the swamps).  The birds were truly beautiful and the beaches drew us back time and again with their diversity and riches.
We let Ollie and his parents visit a local mall as we explored the utterly gorgeous Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, a garden that had not crossed my radar prior to this trip, and we were not disappointed.
Opened in July 1975, this magnificent garden of thirteen acres maintains a plant collection numbering more than 20,000 greenhouse specimens and many more in the outdoor gardens.  Specializing in epiphytic plants makes the Marie Selby unique among the two hundred or so botanical gardens in the USA.
We had approximately two hours in this floral wonderland and the sixty plus images that accompany this text were all captured in that time using a Nikon D80 digital camera.
More from Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and the rest of our Florida trip when time and tide allow

[ranunculus]

Set two of images from Marie Selby Botanical Gardens....

[Lesley Cox]

Welcome (to your) home Cliff. We missed you of course.

This intro is excellent and we wait with baited breath for more to come. I'd also like a picture of the delicious Ollie please. I'll pin it on my wall and watch and wait for some years to come before welcoming him onto the field at Carisbrook or Eden Park.

[ranunculus]

Many thanks Lesley....every day is an Ollieday in our family now!
Images of the 'little' fellow will arrive with you soon....

Batch three from the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.....

[ranunculus]

Batch four from our Florida trip....still at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens....

[ranunculus]

Batch five from Florida....and still at Marie Selby B.G.......

[Paddy Tobin]

Hello Cliff,

Good to have you back. I had missed you and when I saw your face again it struck me that I hadn't seen it in ages but quickly remembered your telling us you were off to the USA. It seems you have enjoyed yourself, good weather and good company apparently. Fabulous photographs, what colour.

Keep posting, Paddy

[ranunculus]

Many thanks Paddy....I suppose I should say; "It's good to be back..." ...but it WAS incredibly sunny over there!   


Batch six....and STILL at the Marie Selby B.G. .....

[ranunculus]

Next batch at you know where?

[Paddy Tobin]

Clear blue skies - yes, Cliff, I think I might have been tempted to extend  my stay also.

Paddy

[Lesley Cox]

No 8 in batch 3 - Now that really IS Old Man's Beard! I also love the stunning foliage of many of the tropical plants, and those long and willowy bird necks. Wish I had one.

[Paddy Tobin]

Lesley,

You wish you have a long bird's neck? Or a long-necked bird?

Paddy

[Lesley Cox]

I really meant a (personal) neck as long as a bird's. It would give so many more options for the kind of jewellery I could wear.  But then I began to think of the washing it would need to keep clean, so perhaps not. Besides, I'm put off by the (lack of) size of the brain above it. I think I really do win there.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

M a r v e l o u s pictures Cliff !
An amazing plant world ! 
Thanks for sharing it and I'm eagerly awaiting more ....

[ranunculus]

Thanks Luc....glad you are enjoying the images.

Some more.....