Get a wax job here

Can't imagine why this is called the South Beach Waxing Studio...it's at least 300 miles from South Beach! In fact, it's near downtown Ocala.

"Christian" outlet store

Ocala is inundated with churches - the majority of which are Baptist of one stripe or another. There are many fundamentalist independent churches, too. All of which gives rise to the "need" for "Christian" outlets where more conservative Christians can purchase books, plaques, jewelry, pictures, Sunday School materials, and hymnals, etc., that are consistent with their theology. So far as I know, we have at least three Christian outlets or book stores in Ocala.



This is a view from the rear. And there's the website if you are interested in learning more about this enterprise.

Trimming our palm tree

We have three large palm trees that border our pool. They grow pods which grow little black berries. At certain times of the year these black berries drop to the ground and before long there is terrible profusion of them. If you step on them, they squish and stain the concrete. If they fall in the pool, they stain the pool. They are a godawful mess.

So, we call on Matt of Tight Knot Tree Service to come trim off these pods. That's Matt way up on the palm tree in front of our deck.

We need to call Matt back because it is once again raining little black berries!

St. George Anglican Cathedral & Best Blog Award

St. George Anglican Cathedral, an independent Anglican institution, is located on Ocala's east side. The cathedral has been in existence for 13 years and is led by the very charming Rt. Rev. Fr. Arthur C. Rushlow.

Father Rushlow graciously allowed us to take photos of this beautiful structure, and we thank him for that opportunity.

If you wish to know more about St. George Anglican Cathedral, click here.






Best Blog Award


This is the second such award Ocala Daily Photo has received, and we are grateful to Mary at Detroit photoblog for the honor. Thank you, Mary, very much! Please check out Mary's wonderful blog and her great photography here.

Haley

We'd like you to meet Haley, our Golden Retriever. Haley is 10 1/2 years old, with a bit of hip dysplasia which is very common in Goldens. Nevertheless, she gets around quite well. She is a "golden" dog, who just does nothing wrong. She doesn't even bark. Her parents were both champion show dogs and she looks very much like them. We call her "Pookie."

Horse farm - East Ocala

When we moved to Ocala from Fort Lauderdale almost five years ago, we were delighted to find ourselves in a slower-paced environment, essentially living in a forest, and close to small horse farms. This farm is about three quarters of a mile to the east of our home. The photo was taken in the spring when our water oaks tend to lose their leaves.

Please note we have added a "Search" box in the sidebar. Just type in a key word and click.

Best Blog Award

Our thanks to James at Newtown Daily Photo for giving us this impressive award. It is much appreciated. James has an excellent blog and would highly recommend you give it a look if you haven't already done so!

Dee Dee's Dog House

Dee Dee's sells hot dogs and their accouterments. Dee Dee's is located near Ocala's railroad station just north of the downtown area. Dee Dee's claims to be "world famous". Could that be true? Have you ever heard of it?

People watching at the mall

While Lois Anne was shopping at the Paddock Mall, I relaxed in one of the comfy chairs provided by the mall proprietors, and did some people watching. These three young ladies came out of Macy's together, and then stood chatting in the middle of this large, open area for 10 to 15 minutes.

Finally, there was some shuffling of feet and glancing at watches and two of the ladies went down the mall corridor to the right. The young lady in the yellow blouse went down the mall corridor the left.

I went back to watching other people.

Our Publix Supermarket

We have posted several photos of flowers we found at our supermarket. We will undoubtedly post more floral photos in the future. Thus, we thought it appropriate to show you the supermarket itself. Publix is the largest supermarket chain in Florida and, we believe the best supermarket chain in Florida.

The gateway to Ocala and The Pixel Perfect Award

We lived in Ocala for a couple of years before we noticed these posts. They are an enigma, located in a nondescript area far from the city's borders (they stand in front of the church I posted a couple days ago) on what is now a minor side street.

The only thing I can think of is that at one time, many years ago, they marked the city limits. But Ocala and Silver Springs are two separate entities, and Silver Springs is not a city, but a park.

I kind of like them, but they make no sense at all.


The Pixel Perfect Award



It is with great pleasure that Lois Anne and I award the Pixel Perfect Award to Vogon Poet and Trillian at Livorno Daily Photo!

We have long been impressed with the photography presented on Livorno Daily Photo and feel they are most deserving of this award.

This prestigious award is given to a photo blogger who exhibits exceptional photographic skills in terms of artistic creativity, composition, sharpness and exposure.

Vogon Poet has another excellent blog, Daily Photo Stream, where he posts photos taken on his various travels around the world.

You are invited to visit these blogs to share in their photographic excellence and please offer your congratulations to these fine photographers.

Birds in a tree

I can't remember the name of these things, but they usually fly in flocks, or whatever you call a group of birds, and you'll find them in cow pastures and other strange places. Lois Anne called me outside yesterday and pointed to a point way up in one of our pine trees where she said four of the critters flew to take up temporary residence.

They stayed for awhile and then departed with a flapping of wings to a neighbor's front yard where they were joined by another dozen or so and the group meandered about the neighborhood picking at stuff in the grass. Then they left.

Why they chose to perch in our tree I do not know. Such a thing has never happened before.

Ocala Worship Center

I have no idea what kind of church this is. Appears to be an independent body and looks to have been around for some time. It is located in an older section of town, surrounded by medical office buildings, fast food joints and gas stations.

Door at the Seven Sisters Inn

Many of you will recall our series on the Seven Sisters Inn located near downtown Ocala. You will also recall that it was a bed-and-breakfast consisting of several houses, and that it was HAUNTED, most people believe, by the spirits of the seven sisters who lived there originally!

Well, there were financial problems and the inn has been closed down and the property is being liquidated. Very sad.

But, I think it is still haunted. In fact, I took this photo because of the ghostly figure watching me from inside. Can you see it in the right hand panel...it's moving -- bobbing and weaving! If I wasn't so brave I would have been afraid!

Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce

The Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce building is located across from Ocala's downtown square. These are the folks that promote commerce and construction throughout Marion County in north central Florida.

The photo has been treated with a colored sketch effect.

Floral arrangement courtesy of Publix Supermarket

Lots of buds to go!

A fruit & veggie stand

Just north of the city, on Highway 441, there stands this fruit and veggie stand. We bought a few tomatoes. They were quite good. We've seen customers at this fruit and veggie stand every time we've driven by. We'll go back again.

First Baptist Church of Ocala

One of the oldest churches in town, the First Baptist Church complex, consisting of several buildings and a ball field on 15-20 acres, is doubtless the largest of the 200 plus Baptist churches we have in Ocala.

To learn more about this massive organization affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, click here.

Checkmate & Pixel Perfect Award

We found this particular setting in a furniture store and thought the colors, patterns, lines, angles and shadows would make for an interesting photograph.




As you know, the Pixel Perfect award is given occasionally by Jacob and Lois Anne of Ocala Daily Photo to one of our outstanding photo bloggers.

We have been watching Mary Stebbins Taitt of Mary's Detroit Photoblog for some months and have been very impressed with her work.

Thus, we give the Pixel Perfect Award to Mary, "a photo blogger who exhibits exceptional photographic skills in terms of artistic creativity, composition, sharpness and exposure."

Please check out her blog and enjoy her beautiful photographs!

Congratulations, Mary!

Yellow moon in July

Afternoon delight

While photographing a local church a couple of days ago, we were fortunate to meet these young ladies taking their charges for a ride around the campus. We thought they were a very handsome group and thank them for graciously consenting to having their picture taken.

Photo by Lois Anne.

Fort King Presbyterian Church

Fort King Presbyterian Church presents another unusual architectural design, but is quite attractive. It is located on 36th Avenue, just north of Fort King Street. Fort King Street is named for an important 19th century military post which was located nearby. A replica of this post has been constructed on an island at Silver Springs Park.

Aloha!

No, Ocala is not a suburb of Honolulu. I found these delightful characters in a Pier 1 store and thought they might brighten the beginning of your weekend.

You are always welcome, of course, in Ocala!

Crows in tree

Yesterday, while pumping gas into our car, I looked up and beheld this scene. Naturally, I grabbed a camera and clicked away.

Believe it or not, this is a color photo. The elements combined however, to make it appear as a black and white picture. On the left side you'll see two crows in the branches. I think it might make a good cover for a mystery novel.

Rue 21 - etc! ???

I often complain that no matter where you go in the United States you find the same old collection of chain stores. Well, Rue 21 is also part of a chain, but I'd never heard of it. Rue 21 (Avenue 21?) is a new store that sells clothing for youthful men and women, I think - "cool guys and gals" is the way they put it - in the new outdoor mall, Market Square at Heathbrook.

French is in! French is cool!

Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church

Mt. Zion AME Church is located at 623 S. Magnolia Avenue near downtown Ocala. Established in 1871, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Hacienda Los Angeles

The Hacienda Los Angeles is one of Ocala's beautiful horse farms, located off Highway 441, just north of the city. I think the gate is locked to keep out strange looking people carrying little black boxes.

* * * *

Jacob and Lois Anne of Ocala Daily Photo are pleased to announce that the Perfect Pixel Award has been awarded to Juergen Kuehn of Marburg Photo Blog.


This prestigious award is given to a photo blogger who exhibits exceptional photographic skills in terms of artistic creativity, composition, sharpness and exposure.

Juergen meets all of these specifications and more. Please check out Marburg Photo Blog (and his other excellent blogs) to see Juergen's most excellent work.

Little Dove Baptist Church

Located on the southeastern edge of Ocala, Little Dove Baptist Church sits on a corner near an increasingly busy highway from where it strives to send a message to those driving by.

An early morning walk in the woods

Notice the jackets. This shot was taken in the spring when it was still cool in the mornings. The setting is the Marjorie Carr Harris Cross Florida Greenway about 4 miles from our home.

Floral arrangement courtesty of Publix

Here is another floral arrangement from Publix Supermarket, our local grocery store.

Five acres and a house for sale

The five acres and this house are located about a mile from our home, back in a woodsy area. We had not driven by here recently, so were surprised to see how the place had become overgrown. Just a year ago, people lived in this house. Now, it is abandoned, although I have a feeling certain folks use it for parties in the middle of the night.

Note the open window with the curtain drifting out.

The Live Oak Animal Clinic

Dr. Douglas Shearer is the vet in charge of this very busy clinic. They handle small and large animals. Our Haley is a Golden Retriever and we chose Dr. Shearer because he is a Golden owner, loves Goldens and is part of the Golden Rescue service.

A few years ago, he was instrumental in saving Haley's life.

He also has a great sense of humor. Notice he has conveniently located a doggie restroom in front of the clinic.



The clinic recently remodeled the building. Evidently, they were having some problems with unruly children. Thus the sign, posted prominently in the waiting area.