Long Key

Long Key Nature Center....I didn't know about this place until one of my BP friend told me, it's very close to Flamingo Gardens where I often go.......A small place with one lake with an island. On that island, there were one huge broken tree (maybe by the hurricane..) and bushes, and amazing number of bird's nests.....Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Tricolored Heron, Anhinga......
Kathy and I went there on 4/24, some families has their babies already grown like this photo,
but lots of Mothers were still sitting patiently on their Eggs. I have to check this place again in another week or so......on this day, I didn't have my 300mm lens, so I couldn't take good photos anyway....

BP Friends

My fellow photographers....one went home early. Guy, I had a great time! Thank you!

I've been a member of Betterphoto.com, a photographer's community and contest site. BetterPhoto(BP) is the one who made me a photofreak....because I found an opportunity and people to show my photos everyday, I really got into photography and everything changed since then, Photography became the center of my life........and I'd made a lots of friends all over the world there.

4/17/09 Friday.....5 of BP members met at Mounts Botanical Garden for shooting together.

One from Canada, other one from Texas, and three live here in South Florida. Did we really meet for the first time? We'd never met before for sure??? We have one common interest and have been talking online, but amazingly comfortable to each other and it was so fun together doing the same thing!! Three hours just went so fast, I couldn't believe it!!

One thing though....while I was there chasing my favorite butterfly - Black Swallowtail - my 300mm lens just died. Something was wrong with the focus ring, and whole camera suddenly started to vibrate and made a terrible sound, I was so scared!!

I had to wait until Monday to contact some repair shop, found out that the warranty was valid, and I sent my lens to NYC office, would be back maybe in 2 weeks!

Snyder Park is gone

Looked up the sky under the big spring tree(below) and saw the swarm of birds? flying around.

4/11/09 Saturday My daughter was on Spring Break (4/4 ~ 4/12) so we decided to go to our favorite Snyder Park in Ft. Lauderdale. We haven't been there for long long time, and it was a big surprise or disappointment...The reasons why we loved that park 1)there was a lake, made of spring water, and one corner was made like Beach 2)there was a very nice Board Walk around that lake, we could see turtles and fish while walking 3) There were a lot of friendly Racoons, come out of bush and take our picnic food 4)Nice playground and 5)Cheerful amount of people all the time, wedding parties and birthday parties at the pavillions. It was almost 8 years ago, and today, NONE of above were there! NONE!

Beach area was closed, Board walk was damaged and broken, no Racoon, some of the playground was gone, and no people there, it was Saturday!!

Chicks season

The season again for the cute chicks.....Moscovy Ducks adults are (ugly) but the chicks are so cute!! I wonder why, the adults have no yellow colors but the babies come out like this....all yellow....but most of them are brown and part yellow.

This family has 18 kids, only 3 yellow ones. The big bird like Heron are going to eat them, usually only 3 or 4 chicks will survive out of 18. They look so happy with mom, swimming and walking, but what a short life....most of them.....