Tag Archives: veterans memorial park

Memorial Day 2024

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Memorial Day is observed in the US on the last Monday of May. It’s set aside to remember, honor, thank, and mourn men and women who have lost their lives serving our country.

Decorating soldiers’ graves with flowers is an ancient custom. We’ve done this in the US  since at least the Civil War and in 1971 it became an official federal holiday.

There are parades in many places across the country, and we also observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. Some wear a red poppy in remembrance of the fallen, a tradition called out by the by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae in the World War I poem “In Flanders Fields“. Our local veterans group does a very solemn and moving missing man table as well as a Memorial Day Ceremony.

"By the dawn's early light"The US Flag at half mast at Veterans Memorial Park in Titusville Florida.

Please join us tomorrow and take a few moments to remember service members who have perished in the line of duty and those they left behind.  Heroes all.

You can see other Memorial Day related blog posts at this search link: https://edrosack.com/?s=Memorial+Day

Thanks for stopping by the blog. Stay positive, be kind, and take care of yourselves and each other.

©2024, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Merritt Island NWR – July 21, 2021

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Our weather’s been seasonably hot and humid here in Central Florida. We’re very definitely in the dog days of summer. According to Wikipedia, they’re called that because historically they’re associated with the summer-time rise of Sirius (Canis Major – the “Dog Star”) in the night sky.

Anyway, mid-summer isn’t the best time for birds / wildlife but I really wanted to do a bit of photography. So I packed some camera gear and headed out toward Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at zero dark thirty last Wednesday to see what I could see.

There was a nice view near the entrance to the refuge about 25 minutes before sunrise:

Titusville Marina at dawn Titusville Marina at dawn

I drove around Gator Creek Road next although there was little activity and I didn’t make any photos.

Black Point Wildlife Drive was a different story. There were a few of our regular resident birds:

Reddish Egret Reddish Egret

Watching Watching Osprey

And I lucked into a feeding frenzy where Herons and Egrets were “fly fishing” for minows in a small pool of water.

The light was harsh, but it was a great place to practice birds-in-flight photography. They move fast and erratically chasing the fish. Looking through the camera with my right eye while watching the wider scene with my left helped me anticipate the action before I could see it through the lens.

Fly fishing 2 Fly fishing 2

According to the iBird app on my phone, Northern Flickers are here year round, but I don’t spot them very often. When I do they’re usually skittish – this one was no exception. But it decided to fly ahead of me along the road and I followed along slowly at a distance. It finally stopped for a few seconds on the side of a palm tree in some pretty good light and I was able to jump out of the car and make this image.

Northern Flicker Northern Flicker

While I was over there, I went by Veterans Memorial Park to check on the repairs they’ve been doing. The area’s been closed since way back in September 2017 due to damage from Hurricane Irma. It took a while, but now it’s open again and back on my list of favorite sunrise spots!

Sunrise at Veterans Memorial Park Sunrise at Veterans Memorial Park

I like going to MINWR in the dog days of summer when it’s quiet. It may not be the greatest time for wildlife, but there’s still plenty to see and photograph. As a bonus there are usually fewer people there too. I had Black Point all to myself for most of my drive – a very special privilege and well worth getting up early for.

Header image: A Snowy Egret, also “fly fishing”. Larger version here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/51327744874/in/dateposted-public/

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Covid is surging out there again. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved