A Florida Blizzard

Lately I've considered limiting my visits to the Wetlands.  There are so many tourists, so many people on the unpaved one lane road who don't know proper Wetlands etiquette that I have become thoroughly stressed out trying to avoid hitting people or cars with my car.

I've begun praying every morning, "Lord, I know I am Rita's granddaughter and there was no traffic law that could stop her when she caught scent of a garage sale, but please Lord keep me safe when I am looking for the perfect wildlife photo-op.  Keep me from driving into the water, into a sign, into another person or car. Amen."

I almost didn't go to the Wetlands this morning.  The forecast called for a cloudy day and I am tired of trying to get good pictures on cloudy days.  But when I left to run some errands this morning, I noticed the sun was out, though clouds were building to the southeast.  I figured I had a small window of opportunity to get to the Wetlands while it was still sunny.

I saw them as soon as I pulled in ... or at least, some of them, about twenty white pelicans.  I smiled immediately and started to pull over and that was when I noticed something even more amazing.  There weren't just twenty white pelicans.  To my left were easily sixty or seventy more.  There were nearly a hundred white pelicans swimming and fishing at the Wetlands this morning.


And oh my, weren't they a sight?

They were perfectly synchronized, swimming through the water as if part of a parade, and when one took off flying, another soon followed and then another and another until they were all airborne, skimming the surface with the tips of their wings.


I was so anxious to get the perfect picture, I threw the car in reverse, barely missed several signs, and then gave up on the car all together, getting out and walking, chasing after the pelicans.

At one point, I just put the camera down.

Hundreds of pelicans flew in front of me.

It was a take-your-breath-away moment.  You don't want to waste these moments looking through a tiny camera lens.

"That's it," I said to myself.  It was nine o'clock in the morning.  "That's all I need for today.  My cup runneth over."

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