Hike at Lone Elk

Just got back from a hike at Lone Elk State Park. The temperature was great, only a bit muggy.

There were a couple of stags out on there own, and then one that had a harem.



Baby Elk, Ahhh.


There was this very interesting mushroom growth around a dead tree, and this tree looks like it has a face on it.


Some turtles were out sunning.


The downside to today's hike is that I dropped my camera while taking it out of the trunk of the car. The neck strap got caught on the tailgate latch pin and essentially pulled it out of my hand.

The camera and lens still seem to be working, though the UV filter on the lens shattered, and I still haven't figured out how to get the old filter off because its mushed.

Florida Vacation

I just got back from a very relaxing vacation in Pass-a-Grille, which is this little peninsula south of St. Petersburg, FL. During the week we swam in the Gulf and walked the beach every morning. After breakfast, we spent time reading on the porch of the condo.








We ate lunch out at one of the many local restaurants. Our favorite was the Sea Critters Cafe. All the food was good, and their onion rings were excellent!



During the middle of the day (when only mad dogs and englishmen are out), we played games, did some more relaxing reading, and some shopping.


On Monday, we went to a bird sanctuary.














On Tuesday, we visited, played games, and had dinner with my parents.

On Wednesday, we went canoeing with the alligators. Actually the alligators are pretty shy.


On Thursday, we went to the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, FL. On display, they had many works of Salvador Dalí spanning his entire career. Some of the works were familiar, but some I did not know about including statues and jewelry.


One of the main things to take away from his life is don't name your son after his dead sibling, and tell him about it. That kind of thing can mess with your mind :)

Thursday evening, we went out for dinner with my parents to Roaring 20's Pizza and Pipes
. The draw for this place is that it has a fully functional "Mighty Wurlitzer".
Their non-pizza food was just OK, but my parents really liked their pizza. Afterward, we all went and had ice cream at the beach while watching the sunset.


Our flights to and from Tampa were on Southwest and were very good.

More Animal Pics From the Trip:

It's Mr. Jones to you

Tom Jones is such a sweety. He must have been someones kitty before hand. He'll let you pick him up.
Also, he doesn't completely freak when we rap him up in a towel so that we can medicate his ears and eyes.
Oh, while at the vet, they did blood work on him, and discovered he has FIV (Kitty AIDS), so we won't really be able to let him back out into the wild or hang out with our kitties. Bummer.

Tom Jones is in the house

Martha managed to catch Tom Jones yesterday and took him to the vet to get checked out.
Three hundred and eleven dollars later, his wounds were clean, he is now neutered and on three medications. Eye goop, ear drops, and an oral antibiotic.

He's really friendly though, and seems to be coming around to this indoor thing (which is better than single digit weather).

And he uses the cat box. YEA!

A stray cat

Over the last week or two, there has been a cat that has been staring in the backdoor of the house.

From the first, he would not run away when we approached the door.

He's been in a fight recently, and has a wound behind his ear. It also looks like he's favoring his right front paw, so we would like to take him to the Vet to get checked out.


In the last couple of days, he's come inside the backdoor to eat his breakfast (yes, we started feeding him in the mornings, then he's off for his daily round). So, hopefully, we will be able to get him in a cat carrier and take him to the vet for his injuries and shots and stuff.

So far not too concerned about feline AIDS or leukemia, as one is transmitted by snot and the other by blood, so his food and water bowls are kept outside, away from our inside kitties.