On any given morning I would find several photographers lined up along the edge of the pond,  watching Luna peek over the edge of the nest waiting for her daddy to bring breakfast. Soon she ventured onto the edge of the nest and finally was brave and strong enough to fly from the nest to the branches.

One Sunday morning she fell from the nest to a lower branch. She hung there for 23 or so hours until her daddy coaxed her back into the nest by flying overhead with food.  

Luna was a rock star among photographers and bird watchers near and far.

Sadly, on April 18^th she died. One of her faithful saw her fly over the highway and land on a pole. A few seconds later she appeared to loose her balance and fell to the roadway below.

She was the second eaglet born in Pinellas County this season to die. It’s a hard life for these young fledgling eaglets, trying to test their strength without over doing it.

She is fondly remembered. So many of us felt as though she was our own, instead of a wild bird of prey. The evening she died I found her parents sitting together on the nearby Cell Tower looking south towards the nest. They would sit here daily and keep an eye on her as she learned to fend for herself.

If it’s any consolation, the adults were first time parents. I’m sure nature has its way of educating.  Maybe next year they will try again and this time, the eaglet whoever he or she may be, will survive and thrive. I know we’ll all be back next Fall, looking for the couple, watching them repair the nest and waiting for the signs a new baby is on the way.

A Sunrise from the Pier at Fort DeSoto park. 

And the next day from the East Beach at the Park:

That is the Sunshine Skyway you can see in both photos.  It leads from Tampa Bay to Bradenton, FL.

A few Park residents I saw on my way through the other day:

   Double Crested Cormorant

  Red Shouldered Hawk

Yellow Rat Snake.

  Reddish Egret after a very windy landing.

Pelicans on the rocks.

Finally, a sunset from the Gulf Pier.

Riverboat docked at Haddad Riverfront Park. 

Cruising past the State Capitol building.

The University of Charleston sits on the riverbank directly across from the Capitol.

City of Charleston skyline as we approach Haddad Riverfront Park to dock.

Taking pictures of the Capitol.

Can’t get tired of this view!

  Four bright red tomatoes ready to harvest!

    This Sunflower plant did not grow to 6 feet as I had hoped, but it is a very nice accent for my first container garden.

and here is the entire garden, as it is today.

   The strawberry plant is producing, but the berries are not getting real big.  I probably should have picked all the blooms this season, but I wanted to see what it would do.  Another issue could be too much hot sun.  It’s been unusually hot this summer in WV.  Strawberries are cooler weather plants.  This is an everbearing plant, so it would produce all season, but next time, I’ll have it in a container that can be moved, or a spot where it shades over mid day.

I also have basil, parsley and oregano in the small container in the front.  I haven’t done much cooking lately, I trimmed the herbs over the weekend.  Perhaps this week I’ll try some tomato sauce!  

These empty spaces will very soon be filled with the early season local harvest.

I made my first trip for edibles this morning.

Lunch was green beans cooked with herbs from my garden, cucumber and sliced tomato.  I’ll save the corn for dinner with more beans!!

BTW, I’m originally a City Girl (Washington DC Suburbs) when my neighbor asked me to pick up some cukes for her, I assumed she had not run the spell checker on her e-mail,  how was I suppose to know cukes are cucumbers?  I just laughed when I saw the sign above the cucumbers that said “Cukes”!

   The tomato plant came with several small green tomatoes on it, and finally they have begun to grow and the plant looks pretty happy.

Since our soil is mainly clay and rock, I have to do my gardening in containers.  In this barrel I have a strawberry plant, radishes and the very small, hardly visible, sprouts are carrots.

I also planted what I hope is a tall sunflower.  It’s grown very nicely over the last few weeks, I’m still watching for blooms.

I have two Mum’s from last fall, they have loose blooms and I think they will be quite nice in late July and into the Fall. 

Yesterday-

Summer produce arrives in mid-July.  

When the temperatures drop, the fall colors show up.

Let’s Go!