July 1, 2011

Slow Motion on the St Johns River, FL

Finally….we’re back on the water for a few days.

Monday we launched at Monroe Park….took our time and headed to G109, Butcher’s Bend.  One of our favorite gator watching spots. There were a few but they stayed in the water.

We had the place to ourselves for most of the day but by evening 2 houseboats had nudged up to the island for the night. The one closest to us nudged a bit too hard and had trouble getting off in the morning.

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Slow Motion doesn’t look too bad now, but she was really dirty when we came out. Didn’t have the time to scrub her down….so when the thunderstorms came thru late afternoon….we put on our suits…grabbed the mop and hand mitt and went to work…washed the boat down and got a cool shower all at the same time.

It has been hot and muggy. Thanks to the cloud cover and rain it was bearable. I think it’s supposed to be in the 90’s everyday with thunderstorms.

TUESDAY

When we got up this morning the fishing had already started. We jumped in the dingy and looked for a place to take Raisin ashore.

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We were surprised when we spotted these “elusive” Limpkins. They were so pretty walking around on these old Cyprus roots, with the Spanish Moss hanging down.

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They are such pretty birds. Especially when they look right at you.

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Jim spotted these cyprus roots and thought they looked like 3 dolphins. Can you see them?

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After Raisin’s trip ashore we headed N. It turned out to be a great day for wildlife. I spotted 3 more Limpkins and several gators.

As we were going by Lake Beresford I spotted this Doe grazing along the water’s edge.

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Isn’t she beautiful? There was a time when I would have thought “venison stew” or “venison steaks” but that was when I hunted to put food on the table. Now I like seeing them fat … sassy ….and alive. I like hunting with the camera.

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Here’s a short video

 

Our anchorage for the night is Drigger Island. Spotted a few gators on our way in and had one cruise by the boat several times after we dropped the hook.  Once the afternoon thundershower passed it was a bit cooler and we had a pleasant night reading and listening to the frog chorus.