Dinner for Two

One unlucky snake became the center of attention of two hungry American White Ibis as it is caught in the beak of one and wrapped around the beak of the other. 

The two long-curve-beaked birds were captured struggling over their prize on the golf course of the Sara Bay Country Club during a recent tournament. 

So while golfers lined up their putts and swung their clubs, these two birds were going beak-to-beak in a literal tug of war to claim their tasty prize. 

So which bird walked away with the slithering winnings? Well, the bird on the right had to go find another bug to devour, and the ibis on the left went away with a smile on its beak and a snake for a snack.

Grant Jefferies/Bradenton Herald

Butterflies and Baseball

A western gulf fritillary butterfly rests on a bare branch of a crape myrtle. Its wings carefully outlined and colored to match its small fuzzy body.

Could it be a hint of spring in the middle of winter? With daily temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s, old man winter may be losing his grip. This is good news for butterflies, surviving the winter. Butterfly expert Art Shapiro, professor of evolution and ecology at the University of California, notes that the butterfly can be killed by hard freezes.

So far so good!

But a word of warning, in several weeks baseballs will be flying and bats will be swinging as Spring Training kicks into gear. So to all those fritillary butterflies out there flying around McKechnie Field and Pirate City, keep your head down, it's spring!

My heart bleats for you...

 


   Sunday night, the lights over the midway at the Manatee County Fairgrounds in Palmetto blinked off. The fair was over, the food trucks shut down, the tents packed up. Until next year.
   After a decade or so of munching on fried dough and wandering mindlessly through all the displays, Iíve cultivated my own list of personal favorites.
   Way up at the top are the goats.
   Those crazy kids are always fun to watch, and their curiosity and seeming affection has made for some great photos.
   Ladies and gentleman, may I present my annual favorite fair outtake, presented in a haiku. Oh, and Valentine's Day is right around the corner, so it's high time to dust off those writing chops for that special someone -- even if they have more than just two legs....

My heart bleats for you
as two heads are far better than one.
Mere fences cannot keep us apart!

Fresh Catch

An osprey holds a fresh-caught fish tightly in its talons as it flies over the north end of Anna Maria Island.

The large raptors are commonly seen soaring high overhead, sometimes up to 100 feet, scanning the water for their next target, then diving, hitting the surface feet first to snag its prey.

Fish make up 99 percent of the ospreys diet.  According to the National Geographic, an osprey will use their feet to direct its catch headfirst into the wind, which causes less resistance as it flies.

Light it up!

With the click of a slow-speed camera shutter and the turn of the zoom lens, a colorful explosion of Christmas lights illuminate from the darkness during the recent Holiday Boat Parade at the Bradenton Yacht Club. 

From the glowing Menorah candles of Hanukkah, Judaism’s Festival of Lights, to the various colored Christmas bulbs illuminating trees, houses, golf carts, or a boat in this case, it is a season of light. 

A season of celebration, family, giving and rededication, all lights in their own right that overcome the darkness. 

Have a blessed holiday and new year.

-Grant Jefferies

Kids Shop for Christmas with Cops

Bradenton's annual Honoring the Badge Christmas-time gift event pairs Bradenton Police Department officers with families in the community as they shop together for toys at the local Toys R Us.  Funded in cooperation with Kingdom Life Christian Church, this will be the event's fifth year.  It was great to see uniformed officers and clean-cut detectives helping bring smiles to the faces of needy children Tuesday as they teamed up to find gifts.  Each child had a $25 gift card to spend and the officers, many with families themselves, helped them keep track of the tally as they perused the aisles.  Here, Officer C. Ward lends a little extra hand to a family as she holds their baby, 5 month-old Roshyia, while checking out a gift with Roshyia's brother , 7 year-old Robert.  It's multitasking at its best, and apart from the obvious good will effort, I'm willing to bet there's a good chance that this brief but positive encounter between officers and children will make a lasting impression on many young minds and hearts.  Best wishes to the BPD and look forward to seeing you next year!
-pvidela@bradenton.com

Remembering Christmases Past

There's only one shopping week left until Christmas!  If you're feeling a little burned out from navigating the endless aisles of big-box stores while holiday shopping for everyone on your gift list, it might be time to take a little breather!
At the Manatee County Agricultural Museum in Palmetto's Historical Park, there's a whole host of vintage Christmas toys and decorations arranged into thoughtful displays that are sure to bring back even the most sleepy childhood memories of years past.    But be prepared! Any children in tow will be sure to fire off lots of questions, most of which will relate to how you ever survived childhood with such, "boring," toys.
Ah, here's to those simpler times, when whiz-bang didn't have a screen, run on batteries, or require a credit card and email address.  And if you dropped it, it probably wouldn't break, because it was made of wood and metal, and in the grand old U.S. of A.
- pvidela@bradenton.com