Sandra Friend
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sandrafriend.com
Sandra Friend
@sandrafriend.com
1.1K followers 710 following 660 posts
Author. Science geek. History wonk. Nature nut. Space Hipster. Recovering guidebook writer now making things up. SandraFriend.com
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sandrafriend.com
It's a wild ride so far!
Book cover of Everything Will Swallow You by Tom Cox, with a small house in a folded landscape of seaside cliffs
January 24, 2026 at 1:41 PM
sandrafriend.com
I'm highly allergic to cats, sadly, so you'll rarely see a #caturday from me. However, I did get up close to this Jacksonville Zoo jaguar on a bitter cold day last week. Closest I've ever seen one.
@cityofjax.bsky.social

#photography #jacksonville #jaguars #naturephotos #eastcoastkin
January 24, 2026 at 10:35 AM
sandrafriend.com
Yum. Flavors of farm fresh St. Augustine made my vegan palette happy last week at The Feed Mill.

#januarty2026 #foodonfriday #farmtotable #vegan #alphagalfriendly #staugustine
Fresh beets, tomatoes, and cauliflower A fresh made veggie pizza with pesto Roasted root veggies and a chunk of mushroom A vegan lemon coconut cream with strawberry sauce served in a scooped out half lemon
January 24, 2026 at 3:41 AM
sandrafriend.com
Because hell yes, Minnesota rocks.

The Cascade River does exactly what it says as it drops to Lake Superior through Cascade River State Park.

#waterfallwednesday #photography #nature #photosky #minnesota #geology #rocks
A river drops between boulders in a gurgling, rushing torrent of cascades within a lush northern arboreal forest along the Superior Hiking Trail in Minnesota.
January 22, 2026 at 12:55 AM
sandrafriend.com
A late entrant for #thicktrunktuesday: one of Florida's largest live oaks, well hidden within an old motor court complex in St. Augustine but not missed by the tourist trains and trolley trams.

#bigtrees #liveoak #theoldsenator #historiccoast
Plaque that says The Old Senator in front of a thick trunked live oak surrounded by a low fence.
January 21, 2026 at 2:32 AM
sandrafriend.com
A bright bloom to bring a speck of cheer to a day of existential drear. Hibiscus, happy to be itself.

#photography #red #flower #hibscus #naturecalling #photosky
Brilliant red hibiscus in a garden
January 21, 2026 at 1:12 AM
sandrafriend.com
From Star Struck. I have no troll (noun) in any of my WIPs so I'm going with a vibe with mock, which does come up a handful of times.
“Was that necessary?” Bea boomed. She dropped her robe and dug her toes into the sand. As expected, the Greek’s smug gaze settled below her neckline. “I’m not just a pretty face, Miss Miller.” Gil stepped onto the beach, inches from the hissing alligator. “It’s my job to keep these ladies—and you—safe.” Bea glanced at Ermaline, who nodded. Damn it, Chester! Bea stared Gil down. “And your definition of safe, Mr. Galani?” Gil’s assistant handed him a spear gun. One foot on the alligator, the frogman assumed a big game hunter stance. “Keeping this river shark and alligator free, Miss Miller, so you ladies can perform in peace.” Gil mock-curtsied to Bea. Her mermaids applauded
January 20, 2026 at 11:12 AM
sandrafriend.com
Feeling blue.
#blueskymonday #photography #vibes #noticingart
Close-up of blue glass vase A tiled wall in shades of blue A classic Tiffany window largely in blue glass The Bluebird of Happiness on a fishing pier. Roadside art from the 1950s.
January 19, 2026 at 11:26 AM
sandrafriend.com
#stunday sunrise along the Atlantic Ocean on a chilly morning in Vilano Beach.

#sunrise #oceanfront #beach #saintaugustine
A lone silhouette of a person walking along waves glowing from ribbons of pinkish orange sunrise in the clouds
January 18, 2026 at 11:49 PM
sandrafriend.com
Joining today's #BlueSkyArtShow
The theme is #One

Art with a focus on the singular.
While in #StAugustine this week I focused on hidden, historic art. These were created by Gilded Age artisans for the Ponce De Leon Hotel, now @flaglercollege.bsky.social

#art #artists #supportartists #photgraphy
Original carved cherub on the back of a wooden chair in the dining hall One of the dozen frogs around the main fountain in the front courtyard. Together with the fount itself, they serve as a sundial. A golden cherub in the Ladies' Lounge A single black scallop is the focal point of a mosaic of hand cut tiles on a portion of an exterior wall
January 17, 2026 at 5:41 PM
sandrafriend.com
For #BirdoftheDay, today's theme is raptor and alternative #Anatidae (geese, swans and ducks). I don't visit zoos often but this Australian blue-billed duck at the Jacksonville Zoo proved a compelling composition on a very dreary day.

#ducks #bluebilledduck #jacksonville #florida
Duck with a brown body, black stripe on head, and blue bill, floating on a pond reflecting gray skies, as seen from above
January 15, 2026 at 11:13 AM
sandrafriend.com
Two #longbeak birds I spotted today while walking along coastal marshes at low tide, great candidates for #birdoftheday
Little blue heron among oysters in marsh mud White ibis poking its long beak into marsh mud surrounding oyster bars
January 15, 2026 at 2:22 AM
sandrafriend.com
Visual delight, technical disaster: an early Edison electric clock that couldn't be repaired when it failed because it was set into an immovable block of onyx. I feel an essay coming on about time and technology. Simmering now.

#clock #artistry #technology #thomasedison #staugustine #flaglercollege
January 14, 2026 at 1:13 PM
sandrafriend.com
Target acquired
Trajectory plotted
Computer chirps: "unmissable!"
And yet
The flutter of wings
A variable uncompensated
Deflects the danger
Downs the aggressor
"Success!" the crows crow

#unmissable #vss365 #poetry
Two crows with heads up in the air, making a fuss
January 10, 2026 at 9:45 AM
sandrafriend.com
The writer surfaces
From intense communion with the page
To staccato phrases
Parsed between sips of coffee
Macchiato, cappucino, Americano
Enlighten the customers
Waiting on #delivery of caffeine
Theirs is nigh

#vss365 #poetry
A cup of cappuccino in a coffeeshop
January 10, 2026 at 12:14 AM
sandrafriend.com
The blessing of being flora
No need to preen nor strut
Like the birds in the marsh
Simply reach for the sun
As blossoms adorn your crown

#vss365 #adorn #poetry
Spiky pink blossoms topping a shrubby plant stretching towards the sky on the edge of a marsh basin
January 9, 2026 at 12:45 AM
sandrafriend.com
This one!
An advertising sign with astronaut and capsule that says "Try Fisher Moon Cheeze" as photographed at the Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta, OH
January 8, 2026 at 10:58 AM
sandrafriend.com
A #symphony of color and light
Infuses the horizon
drawing us across a reflective expanse
to receive nature's chaotic embrace.

#vss365 #poetry #sunset
Vibrant sunset reflected in a waterway edged by a swamp.
January 7, 2026 at 11:33 AM
sandrafriend.com
Intriguing sculpture at the entrance to Wellfield Botanic Gardens in Elkhart, Indiana.

#travel #indiana #crystalball #fountain #gardens
January 6, 2026 at 9:39 PM
sandrafriend.com
When nature says turn back: a hike devolves, burrowing towards deadly poisonous plants, vine-choked trees, and a gathering of vultures on a dead-end #footpath built atop the bones of an abandoned phosphate mine. Spooked, much?

- Saddle Creek Park, Lakeland, Florida

#spooked #hiking #vss365
Broad footpath edged by arching oaks Footpath narrows into a tunnel of branches with gravel underfoot. Rosary pea, an invasive plant in Florida with deadly seeds. Dangerous to even touch. Masses of vultures circling above trees
January 6, 2026 at 11:51 AM
sandrafriend.com
Another #oddball moment:
Time stops
Heartbeat drums an unfamiliar rhythm
I take a deep breath
And step into the stars.

#vss365
A colorful heart sculpture with streaks of stars, backdrop of forest
January 6, 2026 at 12:04 AM
sandrafriend.com
Uncluttering my overstuffed photo library on my phone one album at a time, so I thought I'd start sharing a photo from each as I banish them to hard drive storage.

Summer blooms at Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan

#photography #travelphotos #michigan #garden #greenfieldvillage
A stone home in the style of an English country cottage fronted by a garden with an array of colorful flowers in bloom.
January 5, 2026 at 6:38 PM
sandrafriend.com
#Clueless, I remain
As to why the hustle-bustle of consumerism
Why do they want so much?
Why take more than you need?
Time in nature
Time around art
Refreshes spirit.
Not shiny things, discarded later
Bloated baubles, conspicuous
in their electro-whiz plasticity
Cheap commercial crap.

#vss365
Smiley face dish set in an antique store
January 4, 2026 at 9:30 PM
sandrafriend.com
Marshy cove in Little Lake Harris at the end of the boardwalk at Sarah Maude Mason Nature Preserve, Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida

#stunday #lakeviews #waterlilies #marsh #floridahikes #centralflorida #hiking #naturephotos #nature #photography
Marshy cove with water lilies on a lake with cypress trees clad in browning needles in early winter
January 4, 2026 at 9:05 PM
sandrafriend.com
#Balderdash and fiddlesticks
Whoop-de-doos and radar blips
Reality melts like Dali's visions
Assaulted by false revisions
The doublespeak of official mouthpieces
The twisted nonsense of oligarchs' media
Thinks us fools.
Who do you trust?

#vss365
A painted hardwood floor and corner of a wall at an indistinguishable angle
January 3, 2026 at 2:30 PM