A wonderful weekend

I will go ahead and post my "Odd Shots Monday" shot, following with my routine... In order to participate in this, visit Katney's blog. This week, I am sharing a picture I took today while I was in Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park with bf. I definitely found the following sight quite interesting... and odd. Wouldn't you say?I would say that a two-headed turtle is an ODD sight. The turtle-keeper said that it's not all that rare in the wild... sort of like siamese twins... yeah, you see those all the time.... right... Just some more insight on the two-headed turtle, though... It had been there at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park since 1990. Apparently, as the guy said, two-headed turtles are not uncommon. Unfortunately, when they occur in the wild, they have very little hope for survival, but since this one was captured, he/they have lived a long healthy life. I could see why it might be difficult for such a turtle to survive in the wild... while the turtle(s) were being fed, the head on the right was quite dominant, and looking at the eyes of the one on the left, I suspect it might be blind, but the turtle-keeper hand fed the turtle(s) to make sure that both sides were well-fed. Interesting that dominance in that case would be their/its demise in the wild.

Now, let me start at the beginning of the weekend. As I mentioned, bf and I were headed to Tampa for a conference, Acquire the Fire (click here for more information), a Christian Youth Rally/Concert, getting teens excited about Jesus, where we had volunteered our time. We arrived in Tampa around 3:30 on Friday, and reported to training. We worked tirelessly from 5 until 9:30 Friday night, then arrived at 7:15 Saturday morning to do it again until 9:30PM. I worked the main merchandise store, where I was quickly promoted to table manager with a 20% increase in pay. Unfortunately 20% of nothing, is still nothing. At one point, they pulled me aside to count the offering... apparently, I have a large stamp on my forehead that reads, "PLEASE let me count money!" lol. Apparently, it's my calling. What a phenomenal event it was, such powerful worship, they reached SO many teenagers at once. Early ticket sales were about 6,800, their largest event this year. I encourage everyone with teens to check out the website and check for a venue near them. Even if you don't have a teenager, I would encourage that you volunteer your time. It was very rewarding.

Well, we finished that and slept in (slightly) on Sunday. We decided to do a little more Floridian west coast exploration, since we were in the area. We traveled up highway 19 to Homosassa Springs, where we went to the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. Starting on a boat, we were transported to the park, where there were many native birds and animals and the now Floridian resident (as proclaimed by the governor), Lu, the hippopotamus. How about that for a warning...? At least they offered the warning...

Well, onto my pics from the day... (I just completed my huge post when it all resorted back to an earlier save. I am quite frustrated with blogger right now.) I will start with the bald eagle shots, which were among my favorite shots yesterday (Sunday). I think it's important to note that it is unlawful to hold bald eagles in captivity unless they are injured. The two bald eagles at this park are each missing half of one of their wings. Of course, in typical Dew fashion, I took a boatload of photographs... here are my birds shots, of which, the owl shot is my favorite... purple. :O)This area of the Floridian west coast is most known for the native manatees that inhabit the area. They love the constant temperature of the Homosassa Springs and the spring fed Crystal River, which is beautiful, btw. We couldn't stop though, since we were on a narrow bridge over it. These manatees or "gentle giants", despite their enormous size (these were between 3000 and 3500 lbs. each), move with amazing gracefulness and speed in the water. They have no known predators and generally only die from injuries sustained by boats passing by or natural causes. They are very majestic creatures, though quite ugly, imo. Sorry, if you happen to find them attractive... We watched the feeding and got to learn all about them. The volunteer was feeding them carrots and sweet potatoes, but she said they also love romaine lettuce.I also captured some nature shots...

Leaving there, we traveled up highway 121 in FL, and came across this wonderfully artistic garden in the middle of no where. It appeared to be the remnants of an old factory wall or something placed in the middle of a field that was decorated with floral arrangements and water features. There were plenty of sitting areas. It was well kept and beautiful. We, of course, had to stop and enjoy it.All in all, it was a wonderfully rewarding and adventurous weekend. We had a blast!!

Regarding weather, there are a couple of areas of slight risk for severe weather, on the Carolinas and Virginia coast and the Kentucky/Tennessee area. Hopefully, Mikey and Tennessee Mike will get their big shots. They are calling for heavy rain in my neck of the woods. Jason shared with me an article about Wednesday's tornadoes in Texas. Friday saw 9 tornado reports, including one in Washington state, which I am a little suspicious of... we are still tracking well above the average and recent years for reported tornadoes, and the season is far from over.Have a terrific Monday!
~Dewdrop

P.S. I am home with a sick Mini-Dew today. She is doing much better than last night.

Minidew says hi. I've been making good grades in science.
(Typed by the infamous Mini-Dew, herself... )