Heron & Fox

A macro view of the partially-opened Red Bottlebrush flower. Non-native to the Americas (from Australia, in fact), they thrive in Central and Southern Florida, but are not considered invasive. This macro view is of the flower opening. The buds start out as small, green pods directly on the woody stem. The pods then erupt with red, filament-like flowers.

The flower of a camellia bush. This flower is red and not multiplied, leaving the pollen-covered center exposed. The camellia is related to the bush from which tea leaves are taken, but has been bred for ornamental flowering.

A ULA Atlas V 401 rocket with a 4 meter fairing, no solid rocket boosters, and a single engine on its Centaur upper stage launches with the OA-7 mission to resupply the ISS via an Orbital ATK, now Northrup Grumman, Cygnus spacecraft. The Antares rocket which Orbital Sciences launched with 2 refurbished NK-33 engines produced in the Soviet Union in the 60's and 70's failed dramatically when one engine exploded seconds after liftoff and the rocket crashed back onto its pad at the Wallops Island launch facility. This required Orbital, soon merged with ATK, to find another rocket to launch their Cygnus spacecraft while they found new engines and modified their rocket to accommodate them. They chose the ULA Atlas V rocket. The first mission to launch, OA-7, this one, suffered an in-flight anomaly when the first stage shut down early. The Centaur was able to make up the difference however, and Cygnus, named S.S. John Glenn, was injected into the correct orbit and resupplied the space station. This image was taken from Playalinda Beach in Cape Canaveral National Seashore. The

A Tricolored Heron engaged in the practice of canopy feeding, wherein the bird extends its wings in a circular manner, shading the water and attracting fish for the heron to eat.