Christmas Day 12.25.13

Last evening we watched all the Ibis, Egrets and Herons fly to their nesting sites. This morning they were coming back.

This Heron looks chilly.

Naturally…we had anchored in the shadow of the trees. We could hear several Sand Hill Cranes calling so we hauled up the anchor and headed closer to them and the sunshine.

We had coffee on the deck in the sun….

This little Blue Heron looks like he and I  had the same hair dresser this morning.

Another good gator watching day. With so few boats on the water they are more likely to be sunning themselves.

A pair of Wood Storks.

Caught this guy just as he was headed back into the water.

The best one of the day…..this is one of the biggest ones we’ve seen on the river. Look at the width between the skates on the tail behind the hind legs.

We circled 4 times for pictures before he got nervous and went in the water. You can see he has his eye on us.

Not only is it a big one….but look at the setting. Could you ask for a prettier picture?

We made a stop at Hontoon Island and visited with a few boaters…walked Raisin…picked up batteries for the camera, snacks and tooth paste (had to forget something) then headed N.

Our anchorage for the night will be behind Shell Island (Lungren Island) at marker G3. Should have sunshine first thing in the morning.

What a great Christmas Day. That big gator was the perfect gift…..besides being on the water.

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.