Fourth of July and rambling pictures from walks with Uno!

The professional display from John's Pass was nice. And I had a great view from the balcony of the house.

 But the guy setting off fireworks from a platform or barge, his was most spectacular. Probably because his platform caught fire and things started going off rapidly! I captured these shots from the video I took of his display!

 You can see the progression of his display and the orange glow at the waterline marking his platform catching fire. By the end it was a full on blaze. Things got a bit wild. But someone came up with a boat, fishtailed it around and shot a spray of water that put out the fire quickly. Regretfully, I did not get that on the video.

 Mother Nature challenged that man made light show with one of her own last night! Only one set of clouds in the sky, the rest was stars. But that cloud was super active. I got these two shots. I also have about 4 minutes of video. I got these standing on the little bridge going to Crystal Island.

 In between everything else, during our daytime walks I have been catching a grand floral display all over my small neighborhood area. Along with all the great flowers, I am also finding lots of fruit bearing trees & bushes, like Seagrapes, Figs, Mangos, Soursop and more. I can't wait for the seagrapes to ripen so I can finally try some. I never knew they were actually edible. To the right is Grand Royal Poinciana, and the left is a variety of  Ixora Coccinea, also known as Scarlet Jungleflame. Though this is a yellow not flame colored variety.

This little purple beauty grows like a weed in this area. It is the Mexican Petunia. It blooms almost year round.

And to the right is bleeding heart. I think this was one of my mom's favorites.

 How about a Yellow Walking Iris, I think it is named this because of how fast it appears to spread. Very pretty little flowers.
And I forget the name of this pretty little blue flower. But I had to include it.

And I have Plumerias in practically every yard around here. The yellow blooms on this one are so large, they are amazing. Plumeria, also known as Frangipani is the flower used to make Lei's in Hawaii. And a bloom placed behind the ear can indicate single or taken. I think right ear is single, left is taken.

This is a variety of ginger plant. Not sure if it is ornamental or edible. But love the variegated leaves and the almost snap dragon like flower.

 This is one of my favorites, and there are quite a few around here also. This is the Bougainvillea and is very showy. The fuchsia colored part is actually leaves and the small white flower that pops out from the middle of those bright colored leaves is the true flower. What a showy and unique plant.

Next is another variety of Ginger plant. Really showy flower on this one.

 Above are three varieties of Water Lilies. Some of my favorite flowers. These come from a water feature in an amazing garden created by Robin, Jamaican Man. He has fruit trees, palms, flowers, water gardens and a fantastic gazebo and beautiful seating area all artfully laid out by one of the most gorgeous houses around here. I hope HGTV or Southern Living or someone features this house and garden because it is breathtaking!

This amazing flower is a gorgeous giant bloom of the Night Blooming Cereus. This flower, as the name implies blooms after sunset and has withered by sunrise. I got these after midnight while out with Uno. The cactus it grows on is not so impressive, grows like a vine and looks like dreadlocks hanging from that fence and two palm trees. But that flower, well worth the wait for the bloom.

I have not found the name for these pretty red flowers, but had to include them. The tree was loaded with these in small clusters.

 Finally I leave you with "Big Bird", the Great Blue Heron who hangs out around our dock and catches fish. He seems to have a conversation with me sometimes. He is very graceful and stately. I love watching him. He usually comes around during low tide when the little fish are easier to find.

And finally, below is a panorama of my view every day. Love living here on Madeira Beach! Florida is such a pretty state, if you can survive the heat. Living here is worth it!