A Snowbird in Paradise

On my (mental) list of ambitions was "To take a photo of an armadillo." Sunday we drove around the Fellsmere area (Florida) and back along a sand road through some marsh park. Now I have seen Armadillos along the I-95 as we drove back and forth from the airport in Orlando, but you just don't ask a driver in that traffic to stop so you can get a photo. This time we could.
I didn't get my new Canon Rebel XTi until the next day but I didn't think this photo was too shabby for a little Canon PowerShot ELPH.
FROM WIKIPEDIA:
Armadillos are small placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. The Dasypodidae are the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one".
There are approximately 10 extant genera and around 20 extant species of armadillo, some of which are distinguished by the number of bands on their armor. Their average length is about 75 centimeters (30 in), including tail; the Giant Armadillo grows up to 1.5 m (5 ft) and weighs 59 kg (130 lbs), while the Pink Fairy Armadillos are diminutive species with an overall length of 12–15 cm (4–5 in). All species are native to the Americas, where they inhabit a variety of environments.
In the United States, the sole resident armadillo is the Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), which is most common in the central southernmost states, particularly Texas. Their range is as far east as South Carolina and Florida and as far north as Nebraska; they have been consistently expanding their range over the last century due to a lack of natural predators and have been found as far north as Illinois and Indiana.

Habitat and anatomy
Armadillos are prolific diggers. Many species use their sharp claws to dig for food, such as grubs, and to dig dens. The Nine-banded Armadillo prefers to build burrows in moist soil near the creeks, streams, and arroyos around which it lives and feeds. The diet of different armadillo species varies, but consists mainly of insects, grubs, and other invertebrates. Some species, however, are almost entirely formicivorous (feeding mainly on ants).[citation needed]
Armadillos have poor vision. The armor is formed by plates of dermal bone covered in relatively small, overlapping epidermal scales called "scutes", composed of bone with a covering of horn. In most species, there are rigid shields over the shoulders and hips, with a number of bands separated by flexible skin covering the back and flanks. Additional armor covers the top of the head, the upper parts of the limbs, and the tail. The underside of the animal is never armored, and is simply covered with soft skin and fur.[1]
This armor-like skin appears to be the main defense of many armadillos, although most escape predators by fleeing (often into thorny patches, from which their armor protects them) or digging to safety. Only the South American three-banded armadillos (Tolypeutes) rely heavily on their armor for protection. When threatened by a predator, Tolypeutes species frequently roll up into a ball. Other armadillo species cannot roll up because they have too many plates. The North American Nine-banded Armadillo tends to jump straight in the air when surprised, and consequently often collides with the undercarriage or fenders of passing vehicles.[2]
Armadillos have short legs but can move quite quickly, and have the ability to remain underwater for as long as six minutes. Because of the density of its armor, an armadillo will sink in water unless it inflates its stomach and intestines with air, which often doubles its size and allows it to swim across narrow bodies of water.[3]
Armadillos use their claws for digging and finding food, as well as for making their homes in burrows. They dig their burrows with their claws, only making a single corridor where they fit themselves. They have five clawed toes on the hindfeet, and three to five toes with heavy digging claws on the forefeet. Armadillos have a large number of cheek teeth, which are not divided into premolars and molars, but usually have incisors or canines.
Gestation lasts anywhere from 60 to 120 days, depending on species, although the nine-banded armadillo also exhibits delayed implantation, so that the young are not typically born for eight months after mating. Most members of the genus Dasypus give birth to four homozygous young (that is, identical quadruplets), but other species may have typical litter sizes that range from one to eight. The young are born with soft leathery skin, which hardens within a few weeks, and reach sexual maturity in 3-12 months, depending on the species. Armadillos are solitary animals, that do not share their burrows with other adults.[1]

Bad News #1 - Southern Camera in Melbourne called that they had received the package from Canon and a note that they could NOT repair it. The parts and labor would cost more than a new camera. I asked the price of a new camera and, of course, the one like mine (2 years old) isn't being made any more so I would have to upgrade to one out of my price range.

Good News - An internet search turned up exactly my camera NEW through Amazon.com and to Cameta Camera in New York. I sucked it up and paid. It will have a basic lens, but I will have to wait 3 more weeks for my daughter to bring my other lenses down here to me so...bought it.

Bad News #2 - I checked the mailing confirmation when it arrived in my email inbox and discovered that the camera was being mailed to the Michigan address. MY MISTAKE, probably. I called UPS and found the package hadn't been picked up yet. Promptly at 9 the next morning I called Cameta Camera. The lady checked for me and said the parcel had been picked up at 4 AM. They could call UPS, have it brought back, and ship it to the right address. BUT they would have to charge me two more shipping fees.

I decided to let the camera go on to the house in Michigan. My son will grab it as soon as it is delivered, take it across the street to my Step-son who will give it to his buddy's wife who works for UPS and she will reship it to me. I might have it by next Friday.

We have had some young Sand Hill Cranes hanging about last winter and this. We wondered where they went when they matured because adults were just not here. The young ones are loud LOUD! They keep up their squaking even at night, making sleep with the windows open iffy.

Today while I was wandering around lookng at plants, there was an unfamiliar call coming from the sky. As I looked up I recognized the softer sound of an adult Sand Hill. It was circling and calling in circles that came closer and closer to the lake. Finally there was an answering call from the lake and the flying bird widened its circle and landed somewhere in the vacinity of the lake.

I heard no more. An hour or more later, I was searching for turtles on the little beaches across the bay. Woa! Suddenly I was staring at two adult Sand Hills. I grabbed my little Canon Powershot ELPH and went all the way down to the seawall without upsetting the pair. My favorite shot is above.

Now I can only hope they decide to nest near us.

Yesterday we noticed a very large and very dead fish in the lake near the seawall. It took a bit but finally today one of our friends positively identified it as a Gar Pike. This is a fish we do NOT want in the lake. It will take take food of the game fish and worse if left to breed. Where did it come from? Most of the fish were killed 2 summers ago with an algae bloom. If the DNR restocked the lake they certainly would NOT have introduced Gar Pike! My son-in-law, who teaches Aqua-Science /Agri-science suggested that the fish might have been dropped by one of the Osprey or Eagles as it flew over the lake. Maybe.

While I was still climbing into my sweats in the bedroom I could hear the "laugh" of the Pileated Woodpecker out the window. This is the longest one has stuck around. For the last couple of days I have heard him here and there but haven't seen him again. I hope he is still around when I get my DSLR camera back (maybe Monday).

Then I opened a can of sardines for the gorgeous big white Egret in his mating plumage. I can see why they were almost extinct for those long tail feathers (for m'lady's hat, I read). Someone asked me if the Egret and Stork will eat out of my hand. I have no idea! I am more afraid of those long sharp beaks than they are of me. I am perfectly happy to set the sardines on a paper plate on the seawall and just watch from a safe distance...about 10 feet.

As I sat down on the patio with my bowl of Cheerios, I noticed a pair of grey squirrels playing about. They certainly are not unusual. In fact they can become quite the pest like they are in the city park. Several companies advertise that they wil rid you of these "pests". However, they are new in this neighborhood and I like them so I put out a bowl of cherrios for them. They are smaller than the FOx squirrels up North. Their fur looks softer, grey with a white belly and throat and white around the eyes. Makes them look SO sweet, but I know better.

Then I had to dip an enormous spider out of the pool and "encourage" her to take up residence elsewhere.

Well, the wildlife can't be ALL cute!

I shouldn't feel badly about usingmy second camera. It is a NICE Canon PowerShot ELPH and has a lot of nice features. I am reading through the users guide and learning. It just doesn't seem right not putting it up to my eye.

I received a phone call from Sigma, the manufacturer of my 27mm-300mm lens. It would cost more in parts and labor to repair it than to buy a new one.

The camera shop in Melbourne (Southern Camera) has not heard from Canon yet but should by tomorrow. It has been more than 10 days since they sent it in to the factory.

We went bumming around yesterday, including a visit to a pawn / gun shop. I asked to see the lenses in the showcase (3) and discovered one was a Canon. It was the basic lens that usually comes on the DSL but, the cheapest I could find was $89 on sale. They wanted $20 for this one and I couldn't find a mark on it. ...and I got them to throw in the Canon battery sitting there. The battery appears to be fully charged and functional.

Now, at least I will be able to use the camera IF I get it back repaired. There are 3 more lenses back in Michigan with my daughter's camera. We both have Canon Rebel film SLRs, but they will probably never be used again. So...I will have lenses although not like the one that took a swim. Meanwhile, I will be saving up for a similar lens to the drowned one...WITH the stabilization technology.

Yesterday late morning I strolled out onto the patio to check the greenery, the weather, and the lake. There, on the North side of the pool was a curvy streak of BLACK. A SNAKE.

When I was teaching I tried to be the FIRST to bring a snake into the classroom each spring. That usually stopped the jokesters from trying to scare me. If I am in control, snakes don't bother me, but I don't like being surprised. I would never show shock or fear in front of the children so I overcame a natural aversion to snakes.

I came in and told the Old Dear, hoping he would be the hero. I also grabbed the Audubon book on Florida. One black snake was all black and the "better" one has white or cream under the chin. WHAT? I am going to look???
Ok...I grabbed the binoculars just in time to see the snake slither through a crack and into the curbing around the pool. I know there are a couple of Anoles that hide there...or were.

Bu the time the Old Dear appeared with a 5-gallon covered (empty) bucket and the Delux Gopher Pick-up and Reacher tool the snake's head was coming out from the crack. AHA! Cream under the chin. A Racer (coluber constrictor) CONSTRICTOR???

Once the snake was completely out the OD stepped between it and the pool. As he worked to pick it up with the "Gopher" that snake got MAD! He was vibrating his tail like a rattler (but no rattles).

Finally the snake was IN the bucket and the lid firmly on. My OD took it WAYYYY down the road and let it go into the brush.

I am not crazy about snakes, especially on the patio or in the house (like that first week we were here this year) but I wil not allow them to be killed.