When the temps drop, the manatees move out of the river and into Blue Spring to stay warm. There is a large population of calves from this past year—always nice to see. Hope you enjoy…
Calf nursing
The water is crystal clear—these are true colors.
I was standing on a dock that is used for the cave divers. This youngster came up and decided to chew on the railing. It is difficult to see, but it is holding on with its little flippers:
Did I mention that I was freezing my butt off? This is steam coming off the water!
With each cold day, more manatees move into the Spring. The highest count at one time has been over 200. This is just one pile from today. There were a few piles like this.
Wow these are amazing pictures. So beautiful!
Now about this cold comment …It does not look cold, not at all. In fact it looks quite temperate… Carole if it were cold there would be snow and ice, or frost at the very least.
Not cold??? Tell that to that pile of manatees! These pictures were taken over 4-5 days. Most of the mornings were at 29-34 degrees—the wind was blowing which made it even worse. The colder it becomes, the longer the manatees stay under water. My fingers were numb—I was colder than when I’m in MI.
Now about your little comment about snow and ice – we are expected to get snow flurries tomorrow!!! And yes, we have had frost on the ground, but very light.
Thank you to infinity and beyond, Carole! Photos are wonderful!
Carole, do you get tired of me saying how wonderful your photos are? The Florida Power and Light plant, were our West Coast manatees take refuge, is great for viewing but nothing like these crytal clear spring waters. And yes, I can see the little flippers too…how lucky is that?
It’s really cold…we won’t get snow (so they say) and just got a call that SAR training is cancelled tomorrow. I was wondering just how my thin, look like…Florida gloves were going to keep me warm. Layering was my plan of action. I think Rudi is secretly doing special GSD dances in the backyard hoping for 3 ft. of snow. He loved the frost…noticed straightaway and just keep sniffing and sniffing. He woke up before 8 and just didn’t understand why I wouldn’t go outside and play with him in the 41 degree rain. Took him on errands this morning and then we went shopping for a new Orca Jack (he loves it and it lasts for more than a day). He was an angel and only met other doggie angels. Got home and he still wanted to do more. The cold has only energized him more I think. That’s A LOT of energy. He will miss SAR tomorrow but I’ll be happy to stay warm and not deal with the wind chill in the teens at 8 a.m. Stay warm everyone!!! JH 🙂
Awesome photos as usual Carole! You are really a gifted photographer! I’d still take your cold over our cold any day! Today we got up to 21 degrees which is the highest its been in over a week and a half. Felix was finally able to be outside for more than a couple of minutes at a time. It was still too cold for Happy though and he ended up on two paws this morning when we tried to go for a walk. Its been pretty trying having a 7 month guy who can’t get any excercise other than wrestling and playing catch in the living room and chasing Happy around the house! Stay warm – I just heard it is going to be another cold one there.
How lucky you are to have such varied and interesting wildlife to photograph. I have only ever seen manatees in a zoo, so to see such wonderful photographs of them in their natural habitat and so many at that, was quite a treat. Thank you.
Come down for a visit—I’ll promise you something much better than Disney World!