Once upon a time, in Florida
Only spending ages 2 through 5 in Florida, it’s amazing to think about how much I’d retained from that span of my life there. I remember my bike, my house, my cat and many other small things. I’m able to recall many of the people and places we’d visited while living in Florida - which has caused me to go back to Florida many times.
During one visit to family and friends in St. Petersburg, Florida, we were invited to a friends house for a swim in their pool next to an inlet in Tampa Bay. Shortly after swimming, we noticed an Egret or Crane standing on a neighboring dock. I decided I wanted to take a few photos of the bird, and to get as close as I could. I started down towards the bird as slowly as I could, and snapping photos along the way. Since the two yards were not connected in a passible manner, I was forced to try my best to stay quite as I inched closer.
Meanwhile, my wife, brother, and friends were watching me trying to get as close as possible. I distinctly remember my Brother saying that he didn’t think I’d get too close. Boy was he wrong, I ended up getting the exact shots I was looking for. The lighting isn’t that great, my camera isn’t all that good, but I am still very satisfied with the results. I would have liked to have gotten a portrait image with me in the picture, in an attempt to give some perspective as to how close he/she allowed me to get. I do have a shot with my hand visible, and I can tell you that my hand was probably about 3 feet away from the birds beak.
A few select photos:
After taking the photos and at my request, my Brother Derrick caught a local indigenous lizard (gecko?) for me to feed the bird. Again, my Brother was skeptical at best, having lived in Florida for many years at this point, he knew how spooked these birds could get. Before I even got back close to the bird again, I made sure that he saw the lizard in my hand. I could tell that the bird saw it, because immediately his eyes were fixed on my hand and not just me anymore. Slowly, the bird accepted my invitation and snatched the lizard directly from my hand, and flew across the inlet to another dock to enjoy his meal.
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