Christmas in Nashville

 Most of these are taken during our daily walks around the  neighborhood where my daughter and granddaughter live. Much needed after the great food.

German tourist, Jax Beach

This young man was taking a selfie when I came along. He saw my camera and asked if I would take his picture with the beach and the ship in the background. I did and then took this one with my camera. He is from Hamburg and we spoke about Berlin, where my son lives. A very nice man.

Nashville, Christmas day

We went to Nashville to spend Christmas with our daughter and granddaughter. I love the road they live on. Neat little houses spaced close together.

Santa's little dolphins.

Christmas is different here in Florida.

The last of the "sweeties" until March.

These little fellers were planted in September and have been producing fruit for the last two months. Cherry tomatoes, and Romas, do better here than slicers or heirlooms. Too many insects, too much humidity and disease for the big boys. But these little sugar bombs love it. Every bite is like candy. I'' miss 'em.

The last and the first, garden, Roscoe

This is a little area that I planted to tomatoes, peppers and herbs this summer. With winter approaching and the light fading the tomatoes and peppers are ending their stay. The herbs are exploding in the cool weather and those little white dots are the petals from the loquat tree above them. It has just flowered and will produce fruit very shortly. There is always something getting ripe around here which is nice.

The end of the drive store, Roscoe.

This is a perfectly good little riding toy at the end on my neighbor's driveway. When you have something like this, that a child has outgrown or that you can't use anymore, you put it at the end of the driveway. Within an hour it will be gone, hopefully to someone who needs it.

Nocatee palms

 The money and planning that went into Nocatee is staggering.

Afternoon light, Nocatee bike path

Fire ant nest, Nocatee

For non-residents here is something to avoid. Fire ants are a non-native species here in Florida. They came up from South America and have spread all over Florida. They eat everything they can find, insects, meat, fruit, vegetables, fat, meat etc. They are very aggressive around their nests. This was a small new nest. If disturbed hundreds of ants would pour out in a very short time and look for the cause and then sting it over and over. They are called fire ants because the bite burns like crazy and develops a blister just like a burn. You learn to avoid them. I have had a few small encounters over the years and don't want any repeats.

Vines, bikepath, Nocatee

A new walk for me. It goes from the Public parking lot back towards the ocean. It is wide and often empty. These vines looked like a duck peeking out of the bushes to me.

Leaves, sidewalk, Nocatee

New Shell station, Nocatee.

I have been photographing in Nocatee for about 5 years. When I started, we were in the middle of the recession and building had screeched to a halt. Now the place is exploding. This is a very large gas station that has just opened across from the huge Public supermarket that used to sit all alone in the middle of vast fields and an empty parking lot. I loved going there as it was usually not crowded at all and had a great selection of ethnic ingredients. One of the bonuses of the Mexican labor presence up here is that we get access to all those wonderful flavors and spices from Mexican food companies.

Now the parking lot is often very full and the store is crowded. Good deal for everyone.

Citrus, driveway, Roscoe

All of the citrus is ripening now, in early December. Oranges, kumquats and Meyer lemons are all ready to go but stay fresh on the tree.

Front yard, Jax Beach

Eclectic comes to mind.

Original SUV....or close to it

This wasn't even called a Jeep, I don't believe. I think it was a Willys station wagon. But it really is an SUV from the 50s. My guess is that the windshield is a new part as cars back then almost always had a split windshield.

WHERETO, Jax Beach

 Looks like they have the West covered. A friend who used to travel by car a lot, collected these stickers too, but he put them in his garage windows. Thus, when his car got used up and traded he still had his memories.

Earthwork, Nocatee, across from Public

This is a huge tract of land that has been dense woods for the twenty one years we have lived here. They managed to clear it in two weeks. I don't know what is going in, commercial or residential, but, in a year, it should look like it's been there for years.

Cypress seen, Nocatee

Every now and then I attempt to channel my hero, Lee Friedlander. This would be one of his discards but has the feel of some of his work. The Desert Seen comes to mind. He makes order out of chaos better than any photographer, for me.

Roscoe driveway

A rare run of overcast, grey, flat light. A quick walk down Roscoe produced this. I used the Tri-X filter in MacPhun's Tonality app.

Shadows, MSD, PVB

I sort of liked the composition and tried to time the shadow of the flag. Didn't notice until now that I look like the Grim Reaper.

Agave and window, Jax Beach

I am very clumsy at this selective color business but it is fun to try when it feels right.