Well, I had intended to depart for Tallahassee tomorrow, but now I’ll be delayed. My sis sent me a mail package a while ago and it hasn’t gotten here yet. It may have my 1095 tax form, and I sort of need that. So, I’ll be hanging around Bradenton a few more days until it … More A Delay……

This story started on a bus. Going back to the van one day I was chatting with the bus driver and mentioned that I was from Pennsylvania. One of the passengers then said he was from Erie, so we got to talking. Turned out he was sort of a snow-birder like me, but his story … More The Mixon Fruit Farm

Jungle Gardens, in Sarasota FL, is typical of the kind of tourist destinations that could be found all over Florida in the 50s and 60s, until the Mouse moved in and killed nearly all of them. Opened in 1936, Jungle Gardens is more of a small zoo than a botanical garden, though it has several walkways … More Sarasota Jungle Gardens

The South Florida Museum, in Bradenton, is best-known as the home of Snooty, the oldest known Manatee (born in an aquarium in 1941). But it also has a nice collection of fossils, Native American artifacts, and objects from Florida’s history. Here are some photos from a visit. Snooty the Manatee Two curious Oscars keep aneye … More The South Florida Museum

Leffis Key is one of the little islands in the Intercoastal, between the Bradenton mainland and the offshore barrier islands. It is undeveloped and is now a park. Some photos from an afternoon walk. Leffis Key park One of the boardwalks that protect the delicate island ecosystems A natural channel through the mangrove swamp This … More Leffis Key

Some photos from a walk at Coquina Beach, in Bradenton FL. Palm trees Beach Dunes Sand castle A pair of Laughing Gulls in the surf The Direct TV Blimp passes by Little girl plays in the sand A group of Black Skimmers. I like how they all always face the same direction. Some Royal Terns … More Coquina Beach

When most people think of “RV camping”, they immediately picture the advertising images of people sitting in lawn chairs next to their camper, by a lake, with the sun shining and everyone gathered around a barbecue grill. In reality, of course, the weather isn’t always so idyllic; it gets hot in the summer, it gets … More Keeping Warm and Cool

The Manatee Village Historical park, in Bradenton FL, contains a number of historical buildings that instead of being demolished were purchased, moved to the park, and reassembled for display. I like these kinds of museums because they show how ordinary people lived their day-to-day lives. Here are some photos from an afternoon at the park. … More Manatee Village Historical Park

Some birdies seen on the grounds of the Ringling Museum. Double-Crested Cormorant take over an anchored boat Mockingbird A flock of non-native Nanday Parakeets goes screeching by. They are the noisiest birds ever. Mergansers and ducks An argument breaks out between two Snowy Egrets An Osprey flies in with a fish… …and has lunch. Anhinga … More Florida Birdies

  The Ringling Museum in Sarasota is built around the home of John Ringling, one of the owners of the Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey Circus. Before there was TV, before there were movies, before there was vaudeville, there was the circus. The site contains a museum of circus history, a collection of art, and a … More The Ringling Museum