Dr. Filomena

I took this bird’s photo in our host’s backyard that overlooks a small lake… so beautiful! Can you identify this one?

How about this guy?

EDIT: Adding another photo of the same guy:

Next one up. Who will be the first to guess this bird’s identity? Perhaps I should make this a prize game. Again, click to enlarge.

Shiver me timbers! Me harties, this is no time for a parley! Let’s see some chain shots from them six pounders!

OK guys I’ll be frank. I was unsure about the identity of the lizard myself. The bluff failed, but I will figure out his exact name. I do know who in this picture is, however. Any guesses? This bird was building its nest above the alligators at the farm. Apparently, the gators keep away pesky animals that are otherwise a threat to the nests, which makes the alligator farm a popular place for birds to build their family homes. The guy in the picture possibly does not qualify as your average perp, but the birds do tend to steal construction material from other nests.

Lisa instantly identified the albino alligator in the previous post. How about this guy from the alligator farm? Should be even easier?

Again, click to enlarge.

(photos © dr. filomena)

Anyone care to venture a a guess as to what is in this picture? Winner guaranteed a spot in a witness protection programme.
(Click to enlarge.)

(photo taken by dr. fil in the USA)

EDIT: Lisa correctly identified this guy as an (albino) alligator at. Here is another photo of the same animal staying at the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, Florida:

Valdosta, Georgia is as pretty as I remember it. And the people are still the same. Just the way I like them. This time around, we visited the local museum and learned fascinating facts from the Lowndes county’s past. Did you know that

• Doc Holliday was raised in Valdosta;
• the trench gun that gave US troops the winning edge in WWI was invented by a Valdostan;
• a man from Valdosta figured out a way to use sextants on airplanes.

Though small in size, the museum is very nice and one can easily spend quite a bit of time in there without getting bored for a second. Incidentally, we found plenty of WWI and WWII material related to Slovenia.

Valdosta, we will be back and I am sure we will discover something new each time we visit. Hopefully, it will not just be another shoppong mall or fast food place.

above: an excerpt from 3 May 1945 Stars and Stripes

Ernest Hemingway, a.k.a. Papa, kept a large number of cats, many of them polydactyls (Mother Nature gave them extra toes). When asked why, he replied that one cat just leads to another. No objections there from dr. fil. Photo above: Archibald Leach, a descentandt of Hemingway’s cats, taking it easy on the bed in Hemingway’s house master bedroom and apparently agreeding with the T-shirt message.  

Key West may be a tiny community, but there is still much to see and do. It has changed since I was here with my sister some eight years ago, but then again, what I truly loved about the place is still exactly the same. The people still have a great sense of humour and true to the nation of the Conch Republic that declared independence, declared war on the US, surrendered immediately and requested 1 million dollars in foreign aid. Simultaneously.

Photo of shark above by Pengovsky

Snorkling on the coral reefs is something else. With beautiful weather the visibility was perfect. Though perhaps super visibility was less desirable once we found ourselves at a few feet distance of sharks or when we were suddenly passed by a school of a dozen huge barracudas. Those things look mean!

One of the recommended attractions in Key West is definitely the Pirate Soul museum. We spent two hours in there, absorbing the plentiful information presented in a very attractive manner, supported by tastefully displayed original artefacts.

Next stop? Marathon.

Watching the sunset on Mallory Square in Key West is the perfect way to start a night in the Conch Repubic. Let the parties begin! Papa probably would have wanted it that way.

(this guy is a self-taught genius on the guitar!)