Osprey; Octavius

This is Octavius, the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) who sometimes hangs out atop the trees on our land in Deltona. I have no idea where his nest might be. He lets me get pretty close with the camera. Here, he's atop a 40-foot (12 meters) tall pine tree.



He moves so fast as he exits that the photos are almost always blurry. These are unusually good.



The length of his wings amazes me. It is a real joy to watch him fly. I'm always captivated when I walk down and see him atop his favorite tree.



Below: Octavius takes off toward a flock of black birds and disappears into a blur.



In other news of the day:

I started planting all the heirloom seeds I've collected for this year's gardens. We had a morning low of 34 F. (1 C.) but it looks like that is our last really cold night for a while. . . so I decided to go ahead and get started.

I'm using 3" square fiber pots that can be planted with the seedlings. Today I got several hundred together and planted all the exotic gourds and heirloom tomatoes, pumpkins, and watermelon.

BELOW: The planting project. I used Burpee's fiber pots and JUNGLE GROWTH soil. I believe the jungle growth original formula is the best for starting seeds. None of it is very "green," however. All (including the fiber pots) are ensconced in hermetically sealed plastics. Plastics are not green.

The day turned out pretty nice. The temperature rose into the low 70s F. (22 C.).