Bright afternoon sun kisses beach grasses

This is how we're supposed to spend the end of a busy day. Kicking back and enjoying the delightful salt air, soft breeze and a warm afternoon sun as it grows tired and the shadows grow long. Cypress Point Park is thick with native Florida palms, plants and grasses undergoing restoration along the beach and pond. The park is inviting and relaxing and has windy walkways, sand dunes and covered shelters for outdoor dining with a beach and water view. It’s a quiet place to stroll, get sand in your toes or walk the Peke...that is if he wants to walk. (OK, OK, hound dog, I'll carry you.) Now, what was I saying about a relaxing stroll?

Beach grass soaking in the setting sun

The sun sets over Old Tampa Bay and the beach grass can't get enough of the waning rays. The end to a glorious November day in Florida.

Watery Wednesday #52: Just Skimming Along Old Tampa Bay

It's Watery Wednesday and this seabird is certainly enjoying hanging out on the sand of Old Tampa Bay. The Black Skimmer seabird, Rynchops niger, breeds in North and South America and has become very common in Southern California. Northern populations winter in the warmer waters of the Caribbean and the tropical and subtropical pacific coasts. They like to winter on public beaches, even those with a lot of human activity, or sand bars where they hang out with sea gulls and terns. I found this Skimmer with gulls and smaller seabirds at a busy beach on Picnic Island. They get their name from the way they skim across the top of the waters with their lower beak down at the surface to catch small fish. Unlike a lot of birds, their bright red-orange feet are webbed.


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