Lou Kellenberger Photography: Recently Added Galleries and Collections

2009 Monarch Butterfly Festival

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:04:16 GMT

The 21st Annual Monarch Butterfly Festival was held at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, October 24, 2009.

It was a great event for kids of all ages. There were monarch tagging demonstrations, a live butterfly tent, people tagging, butterfly plants for sale, exhibits, slide shows, food by the Wakulla Volunteer Fire Department, guided walks, a children's corner, van & wagon tours. There was also a photo club booth where you could get a souvenir picture taken wearing a pair of monarch butterfly wings.

It was a beautiful, warm fall day with over 3500 visitors to St. Marks Wildlife Refuge, enjoying the event and different activities. The butterfly tagging was of special interest to many who had never seen this done before.

Clouds of St. Marks

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:46:33 GMT

Beautiful cumulus clouds often form over the Refuge and create stunning landscape photo opportunities. On this day, the afternoon sky was filled with these magnificent puffy clouds.

Cumulus clouds are a type of cloud with noticeable vertical development and clearly defined edges. Cumulus means "heap" or "pile" in Latin. They are often described as "puffy" or "cotton-like" in appearance. Cumulus clouds may appear alone, in lines, or in clusters. Cumulus clouds are often precursors of other types of clouds, such as cumulonimbus, when influenced by weather factors such as instability, moisture, and temperature gradient. Cumulonimbus clouds may be associated with phenomena such as landspouts, waterspouts and tornadoes.

Clouds of St. Marks

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:26:29 GMT

Scarecrows in the Gardens

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:09:58 GMT

The Friends of Maclay Gardens are sponsoring “Jazz and Scarecrows in the Gardens” during the month of October. Scarecrows will be on display in the Gardens all through October.

A Jazz concert will be presented on Sunday, October 25th. Tickets are available at the ranger station in the Gardens. For more information call (850) 487-4556.

Butterflies

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:34:46 GMT

There are more than 17,000 different species, or types, of butterflies. They come in many colors and live in very different types of climates.

There are about 102 species of butterflies in Florida. These are a few butterfly photos taken in the panhandle of north Florida.

Literacy Day at Maclay Gardens

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:43:34 GMT

Literacy Day was celebrated with "Story Time at the Cottage" at Maclay Gardens State Park.

Children enjoyed stories read by volunteers at the Gardener's Cottage and in the Secret Garden.

The Leon County Public Library bought the Bookmobile so the children could obtain a library care and learn about borrowing books.

The event concluded with cookies and lemonade and the gift of a book for each child.

Audubon Eagle Release

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:54:13 GMT

This eagle was found in November of 2008 with an injured spine in a subdivision in Crawfordville, Florida.

It is thought that it might have been hit by a car. The eagle was nursed back to health by the Florida Wild Mammal Association in Crawfordville and turned over to Audubon of Florida for specialized veterinary care.

It was released back into the wild at the Harvey Young Farm in Crawfordville on September 4, 2009.

Warren Wedding

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:08:15 GMT

Dead Gator

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:50:21 GMT

When visiting the St. Augustine Alligator Farm on the weekend we noticed what appeared to be a dead alligator floating in the water. The Alligator Farm staff was notified and they removed the dead alligator from the lagoon effiently and quickly so as not disturb visitors and other wildlife.

The operation was professionally performed by the staff with health and safety observed at all times.

During the extraction, a large alligator swam into the area and bumped the canone as if to say, "get out of my territory."

Eddy Teachs Third Birthday Bash Memorial Day Weekend 2009

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Tue, 26 May 2009 01:58:33 GMT

Eddy Teachs was the hot spot on the Island for fun and games for their third birthday bash Memorial Day weekend. Giveaways and prizes were provided by Cone Distributing and featured promotions by Miller Lite, Coors, Yuengling and Samuel Adams beers. A good time was had by all and only a few paid attention to the mid afternoon rain showers.

St. Marks NWR Photo Club Picnic 2009

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Sun, 17 May 2009 02:01:35 GMT

The St. Mark NWR Photo Club held it's annual picnic at the Refuge Saturday, May 16, 2009.

Two tram tours were taken to Port Leon where lots of spring wildflowers offered many photo opportunities.

Hamburgers, hotdogs, salads and dessets were cooked and served by club members.

A good time was had by all...

City of Tallahassee 2009 Retirees BBQ

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Tue, 05 May 2009 01:59:07 GMT

The City of Tallahassee has an annual barbecue at the Leon County Fairgrounds for retirees in appreciation for their service to the city. Approximately 300 former employees and spouses attended the event and enjoyed visiting with their colleagues and friends.

Friends of Maclay 2009 Tour of Gardens

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:50:33 GMT

The Tour of Gardens is an annual fundraising event that benefits the Friends of Maclay Gardens in their mission to support and promote Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park. It is hoped that our tour this year will yield good profits that will allow us to fulfill our mission by meeting the needs of the park that are not included in state budgets. We are building an overlook on Lake Overstreet that will be a place to enjoy the quiet natural surroundings of that area of the park. Part of the tour revenue will go towards that project.

The gardens selected this year offer an interesting variety of styles. They include a courtyard garden, a two-level garden with lanai, a patio garden with fabulous waterfall, two side-by-side neighbors who garden together and a large lot home with formal landscaping in front and fun gardening in back. We have selected gardens this year that reduced the driving distances.

Wakulla Springs State Park

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Fri, 01 May 2009 04:42:38 GMT

St. Augustine

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Fri, 01 May 2009 04:03:59 GMT

Maclay Gardens Springtime 2009

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:21:45 GMT

Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park is officially designated as part of Florida’s Statewide System of Greenways and Trails. This beautiful park, located between urban Tallahassee and suburban Leon County, offers a nice blend of southern charm and recreational activities.

The park has formal gardens, two lakes and a series of trails, all on former plantation lands at the foot of the Red Hills district. The highlights for trail-enthusiasts include the unpaved trails in the Lake Overstreet portion of the park. Hikers, bikers and equestrians will enjoy the beauty of this area, which serves as an integral link in the Maclay/Phipps Cultural Heritage Greenway.

Florida State Parks Volunteer Appreciation Day at Torreya State Park

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:00:25 GMT

District 1 Volunteer Appreciation Day is a one-day event to celebrate and appreciate volunteers and their assistance in offering quality service to all park visitors while providing low cost enjoyment of the "Real Florida". Florida Park Service District 1 is committed to honoring the volunteers who continuously help preserve Florida's natural and cultural heritage.

This year's event held on Saturday, February 28, 2009, hightlighted the diverse natural inhabitants of Florida's State Parks. The flora was enjoyed during guided nature walks; the fauna, from birds to reptiles was presented by trained ornithologists and biologists.

Battle of Natural Bridge

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:24:15 GMT

The Battle of Natural Bridge was a battle during the American Civil War, fought in what is now Woodville, Florida, near Tallahassee, on March 6, 1865. A small band of Confederate troops and volunteers, mostly composed of teenagers from the nearby Florida Military and Collegiate Institute that would later become Florida State University, and the elderly, protected by breastworks, prevented Union forces (consisting of African-American soldiers of the United States Colored Troops) from crossing the Natural Bridge on the St. Marks River. This action prevented the Union from capturing the Florida capital and made Tallahassee the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi River not to be captured by Union forces during the war.

The Union's Maj. Gen. John Newton had undertaken a joint force expedition to engage and destroy Confederate troops that had attacked at Cedar Keys, Florida and Fort Myers and were allegedly encamped somewhere around St. Marks. The Union Navy had trouble getting its ships up the St. Marks River. The Army force, however, had advanced and, after finding one bridge destroyed, started before dawn on March 6 to attempt to cross the river at Natural Bridge. The troops initially pushed Rebel forces back, but not away from the bridge.

Confederate forces under Brig. Gen. William Miller, protected by breastworks, guarded all of the approaches and the bridge itself. The action at Natural Bridge lasted most of the day, but, unable to take the bridge in three separate charges, the Union troops retreated to the protection of the fleet.

To this day the cadets of the Florida State University are the only ROTC program permitted to wear the National Defense ribbon, and wear it in honor of the battle of Natural Bridge

Recognition Awards

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 22:43:17 GMT

These are a few of my photos that have recently received awards and recognition.

Click on an individual photo for more information.

St. Marks Refuge Association Annual Meeting & Volunteer Recognition Luncheon

loukellenberger@comcast.net (Lou Kellenberger Photography) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:53:53 GMT

The Annual Meeting of the St. Marks Refuge Association, Inc., was held March 14, 2009 at the Refuge. It is held to recognize individual volunteers and groups that help support the refuge throughout the year.

Activites included a tour of Shepherd Springs with Joe White, Updates from the Association, Refuge and Whooping Crane Researchers, and a special memorial tribute to Culver "Red" Gidden, former wildlife biologist from St. Marks NWR.