And I got my wish. It was very fresh - the first day of daylight saving time started of in the 40’s and end up in the mid sixties. A bit windy still - reminiscence from the nasty storm two days earlier - but overall pure delight - with air so clear and sky a deep azure blue, that you don’t encounter all that often - even in Florida. And I was greeted by a Swallowtail Kite - just returned from South America’s Winter Quarters. And things are starting to get active, though not overly so. The lower than usual temps sure played their role in that. First I went over to my little pier, but that was dead in the water. (Pun intended). No Gators, large or small insight. Spotted an Osprey in a new Nest - that alone was worth the walk. Next off to my main hunting grounds - and as always in the last weeks - the Zebra Swallowtails were plentiful in their usual area - but I also encountered a larger number of Dragonflies - the Carolina Saddlebag, to be precise. And I had a go with them - as you will see in the album. Great light and winds calming down got me some good moments. Curious if I would get lucky I ventured to the area where I encountered a swallowtail kite last year - and I did. Get lucky that is. Not only one but a whole bunch of this extremely elegant birds were chasing each other exactly where I hoped them to be. Now - getting pictures was a whole different ballgame. My beloved D 50 is slowly dying - refusing to render any other services but shoot a picture. Metering , Autofocus and all the useful little helpers are out of commission, leaving me the pleasure to shoot images exactly the way I started out in the 70’s. Completely manual. Challenging for most pictures, Frustrating however when trying to track a fast moving object - like a kite. And fast they are - you can take my word for it. But after all - I managed to get some decent images - that I compiled in a collage. On my way back I ran into these wild Orange trees again and couldn’t help doing a couple of shots. While the wind picked up again, I wasn’t able to get a lot butterfly shots , though. But their time will come! Before I show the teaser - here’s my today’s view count: Zebra Swallowtail 30+, Carolina Saddlebag 10+, Common Buckeye 5+, Fiery Skipper 10+, Palamedes Swallowtail 10+, Gulf Fritillary 3, Swallowtail Kite 7, Bald Eagle 1 Mature, 1 immature, Osprey 2, Spicebush Swallowtail 2, Giant Swallowtail 1 (Uhhh - what I don’t count: Vultures, Mockingbirds, Grackles, lil critters, Spiders….not that they are not worth being counted - but they are so plentiful year round, that I scrub counting them for that very reason.) And now for the teaser: And as always - the link to the ALBUM!

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