The Wandering Disciple

USAF Thunderbirds - 2014 FIAS Punta Gorda, Florida:  The skies above Punta Gorda Airport roar to life this weekend with the return of the annual Florida International Air Show.  For over thirty years, the show has been dazzling crowds with amazing aerial aerobatic displays.  This year's show is sure to not disappoint with acts the whole family will enjoy from the comedy of the Alabama Boys to the adrenaline packed routine of the US Air Force Thunderbirds. The headline act for the 2019 show will be the Thunderbirds.  The return of the Thunderbirds to Punta Gorda marks the first military demonstration team to fly in the air show since the Thunderbirds flew in 2014 before government sequestration pulled the teams from civilian air shows. Dash AeroSports - 2017 FIAS But the Thunderbirds are not the only jet engines to be roaring over Punta Gorda.  Scott Farnsworth will be tearing up the skies in the Dash AeroSports L-39 Albatross and Jerry McKart will be...

During the winter months, its not just the beaches and roads filled with snowbirds. Local park and ponds are filled with migrating birds evading the harsh winter months up north. This collection of ducks was swimming at Ackerman Park in Sarasota. (Photo: January 23, 2015)

An American Alligator attempts to blend in with it surroundings in a waterway at the Amberjack Environmental Park in Cape Haze. Alligators can be very good at hiding in plain sight. That's why extreme care should be taken near any body of water in Florida. Just because you can't see a gator doesn't mean there isn't one camouflaged near the banks or lurking under the surface. (Photo: January 18, 2015)

The Sarasota Sheriff's Office helicopter "Air One" fills up the Bambi Bucket in a nearby lake as it provides water drops over a wildfire to assist the fire department. Air drops are a critical resource for firefighters, allowing water to hit parts of the fire inaccessible to ground units. The helibucket commonly known as a Bambi Bucket, a trademarked name by the manufacture, can drop anywhere from 72 to 2,600 gallons of water depending on size of the bucket and capability of the helicopter. (Photo: March 13, 2015)

A great horned owl sits on top tree as the sun sets over Southwest Florida. The great horned owl is the largest of the US owl species and are known my they ear tufts. These nocturnal animals start getting active as the sun sets and use their stellar night vision to look from prey. (Photo: March 10, 2015)

While at first glance, Florida looks like a land of swamps and beaches. But if you look a little closer, they are plenty of diverse ecosystems each with their own plants and wildlife. Take this pine flatwood ecosystem located at Charlotte Flatwoods Environmental Park, it is home to many species of warblers in the trees and the flooded borrow pit is home to Sandhill Cranes, Blue Herons and Wood Storks. (Photo: January 4, 2015)

The wooden boardwalk passes through the mangroves and out along the bay at Lemon Bay Park. This park located on Lemon Bay is home to a great hiking trail providing beautiful bay views and then further upland a glimpse of nesting bald eagles. (Photo: January 3, 2015)