3.22.12 ( part 1) G 69 Blue Springs to R 32

Jim was up early and had coffee going when I got up. After coffee, Jim put the dingy in the water and we went for a ride. I had been watching the Blue Herons build nests in the tree tops. It still amazes me to see birds that big nesting so high.

 

I guess it’s because the branches look so flimsy.

I saw several Herons fly in with sticks.

 

Many of the nests are in the tops of the tallest trees behind the boat.

We got as close to the nesting Herons as we could, and Jim held the dingy in place with the oars while I took pictures and this short video.

After our tour, Jim loaded the dingy and we headed towards Hontoon Island.

There were several large trawlers tied to the docks and the ferry was already bringing people to the island.

A ways down the river, I spotted what I though was just a couple of  Wood Storks landing in a tree…..but it turned out to be several nesting birds…I guess it would be called a “rookery”.

This is another long legged wading bird, high in the tree tops. I was surprised to see how close they nest to each other.

 

Getting it just right.

Looks like 5 or 6 nests in this small area….and the nests don’t look very large.

Jim circled around so I could take this video…taken aboard a moving boat..lots of wind and boats cruising past. Funny, we were the only ones who stopped to take a good look at them.

At R 32 we pulled off the river and anchored. On our way in I spotted a pair of Swallowtailed Kites soaring and diving in the water, but I’ll post that tomorrow.….”Twins”…a nice big trawler was also anchored there….a bit later a sailboat came in. We watched the gators cruise us for awhile, then took a nap….late afternoon it started to get hot….and we decided to go cruising again.

We’ll anchor at G 3 Lungun Island.

 

3/21/12 Launch on St Johns River

Cool this morning. Didn’t really need a fire in the woodstove…but started one anyways. Probably wont have many more this year.

After coffee, we finished loading the boat, went to town to get the mail and a few bottles of butane for our  stove. I do most of my cooking on the alcohol stove, but the coffee maker works best with the little butane camp stove.

Once on the water, I put in 4 of the vinyl curtains. 2 in each stern corner. That leaves one screen panel in the center rear and one big screen panel on each side. That will keep the wind off the birds cage and help if we get a hard rain. We did have a few sprinkles as we were leaving the dock, but they quit almost immediately.

Normally we get launched, then head to G109, Butcher’s Bend and anchor for the night…but it is such a nice day we decided to head on down the river.

I started ribs in the slow cooker last night, so supper was a quick fix.

Over cast and breezy. Didn’t expect to see many gators today….and we were right.

We continued past Blue Springs to G 69 and anchored off the river. This is a good winter anchorage….the sun hits the boat fairly early in the morning.

This is the first time this year that we have been able to leave the screens in at night. I love to hear all the night sounds.

It is so good to be back on the water.