Some hot summer walks

On December 27, 2025December 27, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I started my early walk in September at Philippe Park. I was still climbing the stairs to the Indian Mound, trying to get in shape for my trip to Italy. The flaming torch bromeliads were blooming along the stairs.

I have been seeing this crab trapper out in the upper Tampa bay for at least 10 years. He must have just started out this morning because when he starts pulling up the crab traps and dumping them in his storage bin the pelicans start to follow him.

I stopped by the Oldsmar pier before heading home and it was high tide. My timing was perfect because a dolphin came right up to the pier as I walked out. He circled around the area for a short time and then headed out to the deeper area of the bay.

The next morning I walked at the Dunedin causeway and stopped to enjoy the sunrise before it got too hot.

I could see a blue crab along the sea wall. He better watch out for those traps because this is what the crab trapper pulls up during the crab season.

A laughing gull takes a break in front of my car.

Christmas on Main Street

On December 24, 2025December 21, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights5 Comments

The side of a realtor office on Main Street in Dunedin changes murals with the seasons. Whoever the artist is does a really good job capturing the spirit of the town.

The businesses in the area decorate the light posts along Main Street each year. Some are the same every year but many change it up. These are a few of my favorites although I think the flamingo is my favorite.

On the other side of Pinellas county, Safety Harbor also decorates along their Main Street. The last 2 are in front of the Bassano Cheesecake Cafe. During the holidays you may catch the owner walking around in a Grinch costume and they do have the best cheesecake in the Tampa Bay area.

Well said, Grinch!

Above are some shots of a few of my favorite houses in a nearby neighborhood that really goes all out. They have long lines to get into the neighborhood on the weekends before Christmas. Brett and I drove through early this year on a weekday.

Me sitting with Santa on a recent trip to Atlanta to spend some time with family. Brett and I found 4 new parks to hike around this trip so more to come on those.

I want to thank everyone who stopped by this past year and hope you stop by again in the next year. I’ve got more pictures to come. Have a great Christmas!

Small town Christmas

On December 22, 2025December 23, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights2 Comments

These are some shots of last year’s Safety Harbor morning Christmas parade. I was out for a walk on the waterfront and stumbled upon the parade that was just starting. It was a fun cold morning.

After dinner one night Brett and I stopped at one of the famously decorated houses near our house. The above is from one house. They draw huge crowds on the weekends and you are welcome to walk around the yard to look.

A few other fun houses we saw that night.

Nothing says “Florida Christmas” like a pelican with a present in his beak.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.

Another “this never gets old” treat.

On December 20, 2025December 3, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals4 Comments

A sliver of sunrise was peeking through the clouds at the end of August on my walk at the Safety Harbor waterfront. After a short walk I headed to nearby Philippe Park to walk the stone stairs on the back side of the Indian mound (I was prepping for all of that walking and stairs on the Italy trip coming up).

Right as I walked out on the walkway on the waterfront this dolphin popped up in front of me. There were 2 feeding along the seawall and I spent half an hour watching them swim back and forth in front of me.

It was high tide this morning so they were herding the fish into the sea wall.

I took so many short videos with my phone and these were the best ones. At this point there was a small crowd also watching.

This was one of those “it never gets old” treats that we see here in the area.

The dolphins finally moved down the sea wall and towards the open bay so I started my stair climbing while it was still cloudy.

Rain everywhere but over my head

On December 17, 2025December 17, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights6 Comments

Another stormy walk in late August on the Dunedin causeway. The air was heavy with humidity and it felt like I was walking in the shower but luckily I didn’t get rained on. It didn’t start to drizzle on the causeway until I got back to my car. I was hoping for a rainbow but the sun didn’t come out and I kept my eye out for lightning but didn’t see any nor hear any thunder.

Spending the day in Florence

On December 15, 2025December 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation5 Comments

Our first view of Florence was one of the 5 David statues that are in Florence. All but one are copies. This copy was made of bronze and was located in the Piazzale Michelangelo where we were dropped off for our day in Florence.

Turning around from the statue and you see all of Florence below. It was a breathtaking way to start the day.

We made our way down the hill and passed through part of the old wall that still stands.

The Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) is the only bridge still standing from World War 2. We did not walk through it since it’s full of tourist stalls and was quite crowded.

Artwork along the water.

Newer artwork, the sundial in front of the Museo Galileo was built in 2007.

Heading into the main area of Florence.

We spent some time in the Piazza della Signoria were we saw another copy of David as well as the Nettuno fountain built in 1575. The open air gallery of statues in the last shot had a long line to get up close to the statues. Yes, the crowds here were as bad as they were in Rome.

The Florence baptistery was next to the Duomo and was said to have been built in the 11th century.

Front and back of the Duomo di Firenze that was completed in 1436. It’s amazing to see the different colors of marble and stone that was used so long ago.

We saw many of the famous “wine windows” all around the area. They were started in the 1500’s as a way for wineries to sell from their city homes in Florence without being taxed. During the plague of the 1600’s the windows were popular to sell wine and food through. Then covid brought another resurgence. There are still many in use throughout Florence.

The oldest gelato shop in Florence is the Vivoli shop. There was a long line here so we got ours elsewhere but I did have gelato at the Vivoli in Rome and it was the best I had during my two weeks. They also used their wine window to sell gelato out of during covid.

Taking some time to rest in the Piazza Santa Croce before leaving Florence. Brett and I had an amazing lunch near here and was able to meander through shops and stop for gelato.

Leaving Florence through the Porta Romana which is the best preserved gate of the ancient wall and built in the 13th century.

Linking to Image-In-Ing.

Visitors to the yard in early August

On December 13, 2025December 13, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

The summer storms in early August brought out the tiny baby frogs. After a shower they showed up on the windows and cactus plant.

Bigger ones show up also but they come all the time. One afternoon I found one on the side of the house and one was in the bird house hanging on the wall outside.

The squirrels were getting frisky. I took the above through the window. I didn’t want to go out and interrupt their fun on our patio.

Bluebirds in the backyard.

The ibis missing a foot came back to visit. He walked up on the patio when he saw me through the window. I threw out some bird seed for him. He seems to be doing okay though.

My first 5-lined skink in the backyard. He was resting on Brett’s flip flop that was right outside the back door. He eventually ran under some leaves and was gone.

I think this blue jay was letting me know they needed more seed in the feeder.

Dark skies in the backyard.

🎵 “Don’t let the sun go down on me” 🎵

On December 10, 2025December 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights5 Comments

I usually like to get my walks out of the way in the morning but every once in a while I have something else going on so I walk later in the day and try to catch sunset. In late August I started my walk at the Dunedin marina and walked for about an hour around the area before coming back to my car before the sun set.

I walked down a neighborhood street that runs along the water before getting back to the marina.

The sun was going down on the “still damaged” dock. They are currently repairing the damaged areas in the marina and are supposed to start on the dock early next year.

Going down along the jetti in front of the marina.

🎵 “Sittin on the dock of the bay” 🎵

The End.

A visit to Lucca and Pisa

On December 8, 2025December 9, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation3 Comments

It was nice to visit another quiet town while we were in Tuscany. We spent a morning in Lucca. We got there fairly early and the streets were quiet. We could walk down the street without bumping into people and look into the windows of the shops.

We stopped for a while in the Piazza della Cittadella. Giacomo Piccini, the opera composer (notable works include La Boheme and Madame Butterfly), was born in a home in the far right corner. There’s a statue of him on the other side of the piazza.

Our 8th church to see was the San Michele in Foro.

Built in the 8th century and renovated in 1070. St. Davino Armeno is buried under the cross from the 11th century.

The Torre Guinigi (the red tower in the back) was built in the 14th century and is famous for the trees that grow on top. Since we were having a big dinner that night Brett and I opted for a quick snack for lunch and spend the free time wandering the streets instead of sitting in a restaurant. We stopped in a local market to get some fruit and they had a case with home made pasta salads and those great arancini rice balls so we got that instead and ate on a bench while watching the locals go about their day.

We spent the afternoon in Pisa. We entered through the Lion’s Gate wall, built in the 12th century.

The Battistero di San Giovanni is the largest baptistery in Italy and was completed in 1363. There is a statue of St. John the Baptist in the center. There was a lot of scaffolding around the sides so I didn’t take a lot of pictures in here. Since it’s built on the same land as the Tower it also leans but only slightly.

Our 9th church to visit was the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, completed in 1092. We spent quite a bit of time in here looking at all of the details. It was jaw dropping. There were several alters besides the main one and each one was amazing. The ceiling in front of the main alter (last shot) had stairs up high that led to a secret door. St. Rainerius is buried here (in the glass coffin in the 2nd to last shot) in 1689. Also buried here is Pope Gregory VIII and Holy Emperor Henry VII in 1315.

An obligatory shot of the Leaning Tower.

Caper plants were growing wild all along the outer wall.

We passed by the village of Collodi, birthplace of the author of Pinocchio on the way to dinner.

We had a cooking class and dinner at a Tuscan winery and farm in Montecarlo, near Lucca. After learning to make ragu and pasta, we toured the vineyard and then had a wonderful long dinner with many courses and wine.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.

Reflections

On December 6, 2025November 19, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

At the end of August I went to Honeymoon Island to look for a fairly rare bird. A Wilson’s Phalarope had been sighted there two days before. There have been sightings of them a few times before in the area and I keep missing them. Their range is west of Mississippi but occasionally one ends up here for a short time. The above are not it, although they are the same shape and size. These are dowitchers and are common here. They were posing nicely for me in a puddle in the parking lot.

Roseate spoonbills were napping in another pond near the bushes and created a pretty reflection.

Another bird that looks like the one I was hoping for but also not it is the lesser yellowlegs. He was feeding along the sand and also created a nice reflection.

There were several kildeer nearby.

After waiting about an hour with several other people looking for the rare bird I took a walk down the beach to get some exercise in.

It was a hot day and soon the beach would be filled with people.

I did not get the rare bird and it wasn’t seen again so it stays on my list of “birds I still haven’t gotten”. I stopped by the nature center before leaving the park and stood out on the elevated deck enjoying the slight breeze up high.