Christmas on the St Johns River, FL 2013

12.24.13

Rain early this morning but by the time we had coffee it was looking better, and by the time we’d finished loading the boat the clouds had passed and we had blue sky.

No problem at the launch ramp…this is an easy boat to load and unload.

Almost no one in Monroe Park or on the water.

Our trip thru the canal looked a bit different…what a change a month can make. With most of the leaves off the trees it is really opened up….but still one of our favorite areas.

It turned out to be a good gator watching day late afternoon.

This one is bigger than it looks.

This one wasn’t going back in the water no matter how many times we circled.

We decided to anchor on the Hontoon River. We spotted a couple of Blue Herons nesting in the tree tops. They seem to prefer Cyprus trees.

We were sitting on the rear deck enjoying the sun going down, with a glass of wine and watching the Herons.

Jim noticed these two mating.

In the next half hour he’d made at least 8 or 9 trips to other tree tops and bringing back twigs or Spanish Moss.

Here he is handing her a twig…she places it in the nest where she needs it. It was pretty neat watching the whole ritual.

Once the sun dipped below the tree tops the temperature started to drop so we went inside and read for awhile…then went to bed.

What a great way to spend Christmas Eve.