July 3, 2011

Wednesday on the St Johns river

After coffee this morning, we decided to take the dingy for a ride around Drigger Island and see if there were any gators sunning or interesting birds.
This Limpkin was poking around in a sand bar looking for tiny clams (mussels?).  Once it found one it pecked at it until it was open. Jim did a great job of “stealth” rowing to keep us close enough to video. Very hard to do quietly when weeds grab the oars with every stoke.
This is my friend Diane’s favorite bird. When they are in FL cruising with us we hunt for them everywhere we go. So far, I’ve seen at least 6 this trip…..and I think of Diane each time I see one. She is such a beautiful person….inside and out…and so much fun to cruise with.
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Listen to the birds in the background. What a beautiful morning it was.
Limpkin feeding
Our anchorage behind Drigger Island.
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We had planned on going to Palatka to watch the fireworks. We spent last 4th of July there and they put on a great show, but decided to call Jim’s brother and see if he wanted to meet us in Sanford and spend the evening with us watching the show they put on over Lake Monroe. He thought it sounded like a good idea …so we are going to make a change of plans. We’ll go as far N as Welaka and then work our way back S.

 We will anchor behind Lungen Island (Shell Island to the locals) at marker G3. Another boat was anchored where we normally do so we moved down a bit N of the island. Lots of breeze, thunderstorms and rain. Much cooler tonight. I think we like this spot better. It's a little farther to dingy to the island to walk Raisin but the view is better and there is lots of water vegetation between us and the river to keep the boat wakes down.

All in all...we had a very pleasant evening.