The roadsides have been mowed in recent weeks and the flowering growth is just now again emerging. The thistles are here in full purple bloom though waning, some with their fluffy white heads containing the seeds about to burst open to let the wind spread them hither. I believe that domestic cotton, the commercial crop, is a hybrid cousin to the thistles.

          Dandelions, dormant through the hot sun are now, with the rain and cooler weather, preparing to burst forth. Did you know that the seeding heads of the dandelion blossoms and also those of the thistles were collected in World War II to be used as insulation in clothing and elsewhere, and that the milkweed silk was also collected for that purpose?

          A few minutes with Cindy and we were off again on up the road. Ahead was a large bird feeding on a recent road kill, an armadillo. We slowed to watch as this large bird pulled and tugged on that carcass knowing we were approaching yet bent on a piece of that tidbit. And as the bird reluctantly lifted off slowly flying down the road, we knew it was as we had thought, a great American bald eagle with her white head and distinctively white tail fanned out in display.

          The eagle flew very slowly, hoping we'd speed on up and go by. Instead we slowed even more and followed until the eagle veered to the right over a stand of plantation pines. I watched in the mirror for several more seconds and soon that eagle re-emerged to resume her feasting on that armadillo.

          A few hours later while strolling on Dock Street, I noticed movement in the sky to the northwest. In two very long, loose V-formations flew somewhere near three hundred white pelicans, the sun glinting off their wings as they banked and circled. I called Jennifer out onto the deck to be my witness and to share in the experience. These cold days can bring deep blue skies, and the white of the pelicans enhanced it well.

          It's amazing what you can see and will notice if you only lift your head just a bit more, or let your gaze wander a bit farther into the distance. Usually, the first inkling comes from some motion seen from the corner of your eye. Fascinating.

          Well, it's time, as the weather again warms some, to get back out there on that search, that journey looking for Trouble in Cedar Key. Won't you join me for a little while? 

Origianlly published 2000 October 11