4.7.10 Deer, Bald Eagle, Raccoon, Heron

When we were cruising near Blue Springs St Park, Jim spotted these deer on an island. It is thickly wooded and has some high ground….but the deer are feeding among the water plants. It looks like they are standing near a meadow…but she is almost need deep in water.

They look well fed…perhaps close to having a fawn sometime soon.

Yesterday we anchored in Silver Glen Springs. Ron & Karen are here with their houseboat. They have done a beautiful job on the inside, and that foredeck is a great place to spend time. You can see several boats and houseboats behind them. It was fairly busy until late afternoon…by then many had left for home. This is the view this morning, as the sun was coming up behind me.

Once we had our coffee cups full….we loaded Raisin into the dingy and headed for shore….we were not the only ones with “doggy duty”….though ours is much easier to load.

The resident Bald Eagle is standing guard….

This Blue Heron was waiting for breakfast to arrive….

and this little Raccoon looked as if he was washing his….

We stopped and introduced ourselves to John ..aboard Lilly Mae..she’s only 21’ but he has her fixed up for extended living aboard. He was sitting in the white seat  on the stern bracket…steering with the tiller when he came in. There is even a bicycle on board. By having his cooler, water storage etc on that bracket….he has uncluttered his living area. Very interesting person …living a relaxed lifestyle. 

We haven’t seen the Otters yet….but we did spot this gator on our way in…yesterday…..we thought it might be 9 –10 ft.

I was only able to capture part of him….later we spoke to Fred, who has a sailboat anchored just a bit below where we are…and he works on it during the day….he said the gator cruised past his boat and he thought it was bigger than our estimate…..Definitely will not be swimming in that area …nor after dark.

There are supposed to be thunderstorms this afternoon so we’ve decided to head S ..the batteries need charging and we’d rather do it cruising instead of using the generator.

We are anchored in the S end of Kitchner Creek, near marker  G23. There is a pair of Osprey nesting near us. I thought they looked kinda cute sitting together.

There were a couple of Herons nesting in a nearby tree. You can usually spot more than one nest in a tree top.

Well…it’s been a fun day on the water…so far no rain…but the sun is going down…time to head back to the boat.

Good night

4.6.10 Gators

 

I had planned to post a video of a big gator we saw yesterday but it won’t go…oh well…..

today was an even better gator day. There were big ones all over….saw very few small ones. Here are a few.

Look at the powerful body on this one……I was too close to get the head….

and then it turned and looked at us……….

and slowly slid into the water….and still managed to keep an eye on us.

I really enjoyed this little video…another big gator ….

We are anchored near G19, just a little S of Lake George near Hitchner Island. We had stopped and talked to Jim and Gale, aboard “Sailbad the Sinner”. and the southern end of this loop but they said it was too shallow to continue on around…so we headed back to the river and took the N end in. We came upon this old boat…it has quite a history….built in the ‘20’s….I think for picking up Oysters from the small boats so they wouldn’t have to come in….then belonged to a Doctor who took it to the Bahamas and treated people….put in a big generator so he could have the power he needed…..the current owner hasn’t done anything with it for awhile…but she sure is interesting.

Live aboard??????????

4.5.10 St Johns River (Sand Hill Crane)

We launched this morning….less than 2 hours from home to leaving the dock…and we didn’t even rush. We were surprised.

I put in the 2 corner vinyl panels on each side…center rear screen and 2 big side screens.  I wouldn’t have bothered with the vinyl but figured I should have some protection for the bird. It’s still cool at night.

What a great day!!! Several large gators and I’ll post a video of one tomorrow.

We are anchored behind Drigger Island. Near marker G41. We can enter at the N end. Too shallow at the S end. We did it in the dingy and Jim could easily touch bottom with the short oar. 4’ or less.

As we cruised in we spotted a pair of Sand Hill Cranes, and I was able to snap a couple of pictures.

They are very large birds.

I like the big fluffy tail feathers.

We continued on around behind the island and anchored.

Jim dropped the dingy in the water…loaded the motor and we went for a cruise around the island.  We spotted another pair of Sand Hill Cranes.

The one on the right kept fussing around…lying down..getting up..I figured she might be sitting on a nest. Then I saw this picture…look just above the green leaf by her beak. Do you see a bit of golden fluff peeking at you?

Guess you know…I was thrilled when I saw this picture!!!

We are anchored about an 1/8 of a mile away. We won’t be going up and bothering them again.  That is all floating plants that she is nesting on. First time I’ve seen one that small.

Enough for today…time for my nightly glass of red wine. It is very warm…a light breeze and it’s is beautiful out.  We listened to at least 3 gators bellowing to each other…should be a fun night.

Wheel redone

Jim had to take the wheel apart so he could put a new seal in the steering box, to stop a hydraulic leak. (I think that’s what he was doing).

This time he did it with a brown rope. I thought it would look more like wooden spokes.

This is actually 2 separate wheels. The inner one is the original. He wanted a larger diameter wheel and picked up a used one at Sailor’s Exchange in St Augustine, FL., last year. …..The larger one wouldn’t fit the hub without some modification and tools that we didn’t have aboard….so he figured out a way to lace them together. The hub of the larger wheel fit inside the hub of the smaller wheel.

When he took them apart he intended to do the modification needed….but when I put the single wheel in place….it looked “booorrrring”….(plain)…like a wheel on a sailboat.  I really like the double wheel and the rope.  It’s unique….no one has a wheel like ours.

3.18.10 last day on the river

We saw several Manatees in the river near Blue Springs but were unable to get any photos. We anchored near by hoping we would see some in the morning…but none appeared.

We did see a few more gators and spotted this Osprey as he landed in a tree with a fish.

Look at this face…. What a beautiful bird.

I forgot to mention one of the exciting things that happened yesterday.  We’re cruising along…eyes peeled for gators or other interesting critters….when all of a sudden a plane dropped out of the sky …and landed on the water right in front of us!!….I had just taken the battery out of the camera and had to scramble to get it in and grab a couple of photos.

We never heard it coming….it touched down….and then took off again.

It looks like one that cruises into the springs once in awhile. Perhaps he recognized us from there…and dropped in to say hello……. I don’t know…It was quite a site.

We had a good day for hauling out. Not too hot or cold. A bit gusty when Jim was loading the boat on the trailer but he was able to get it on without any trouble.

Two weeks just isn’t long enough. Can’t wait till we head out again. Maybe it will be a bit warmer and we won’t need the vinyl side curtains or the heater. It’s so much nicer on the water at night with just the screens to keep the bugs out and all the beautiful night sounds.

3.17.10 Leaving the Springs

We took Raisin to shore for a short walk, had our coffee while we waited for her to get a bit of exercise. Once back at the boat, Jim stowed the dingy on the rear deck, hauled the anchor and off we went.

There didn’t appear to be any wind at all but the lake was starting to build up a little, and a few drops of rain hit the windshield.

As we approached the gates at the S end, George pulled alongside. He was headed to town for supplies. He’s dressed for the weather.

Even though the day started out a bit dreary…it turned off nice and what a day we had for spotting gators. They were everywhere. Here are just a few.

We saw several sunning together. It’s getting to be that time of season.

We were surprised to see this Peacock along the shore.

There were a couple of rowing clubs on the river, training I believe.

And several single kayaks. These two made a pretty picture.

We are anchored just S of Blue Springs.  There is a pretty good sized gator cruising by the boat right now. Guard duty.

3.16.10 Silver Glen Springs

We are going to spend the day at the springs.

I spotted one of the Otters last evening, so at least one is still here.

The Osprey are nesting near the entrance to the anchorage.

We spent a few hours cruising in the dingy looking for fishing line and bobbers that have been left behind. Here is our take for the time we were here. I guess they are so cheap it’s easier to just cut them loose rather than try to retrieve them. It’s just a problem for the birds that get tangled in them.

The Cormorants have a nice feather pattern.

And a beautiful eye color.

Can you spot the Kingfisher? It’s the only photo I have ever been able to get of one. Cant get close to them.

How about this Anhinga? Looks like eye shadow.

This Osprey was watching the fish swim by but I didn’t see him try for any.

We enjoyed the day and all the wildlife. Another great day on the water.