Can Money buy Happiness?

My 'obsession' with hiking is saving me money! REALLY! 

When given the choice of going shopping or hiking, I ALWAYS choose hiking!

So I've been shopping less. I had already cut back on thrift store shopping because I have a house 'FULL' of stuff. And even though there are treasures to be had, I don't have any place to put them.

But on one cold morning, I had other errands to run so I made a quick stop at the old thrift store and found something I really 'needed'! heehee!

For $3 I got this plastic 11 inch by 14 inch Sterlite container filled with new colored pencils and drawing pencils. There are even cards to color and envelopes to go with them. I got the 2 packs of playing cards for another project. 

So for $3 I found 'Happiness'! 

I got a few more birthday gifts and cards in the mail too and wanted to share. Thanks to friends and family for everything!

 So far, as cute as this tee shirt is....I don't think it works.

 

Not a single person has offered to give me directions!

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.

*Winter Beauty'

We consider ourselves so very blessed to live in Florida during the winter months.

It’s beautiful everywhere you look!

We are hiking at Blue Run Park in Dunnellon at least once a week.

One of our favorite sightings this week was this Green Heron.

I know he looks midnight blue but he has green and dark red colors too. And in the background you can see the Duckweed, which is a beautiful green plant that grows on the surface of the water.

I hope you've had a good week too! 🍁

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE.

  

Plan B...I took a Hike!

I took a hike on my birthday? Shocking I know! lol But we tried to make plans for something else but nothing seemed to work. So even though it was a cool 61 degrees, we took a hike at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve!

 

To make it special, we went on a different trail! HTP is over 8,000 acres of Preserve so it's not hard to go to an area we haven't been before! And it's constantly changing. This watering hole wasn't nearly this full the last time we ventured down this trail!

 

 
And the sky was so clear and blue that it made a beautiful reflection in the water. 

 

 
It was 60 degrees! I had to put on long sleeves and long pants! lol
We saw lots of animal tracks and some pretty little birds.
Hubby took this photo of a Phoebe 

 

  

and some of the watering hole pics! 

 

 

OH the things we do for a good photo!
 I had a good day and appreciate the sweet birthday comments. They made me feel special! 
I also got a couple of gifts from my penpals.

 

 
Danice from Homespun Hannah's sent me all kinds of pretty things and made the poncho and little hat for my doll. (she sent me a pattern to make more too!) Thank you my friend!

 

 

 And Ariadne from Greece sent me a birthday package with 'January' that she had cross stitched, patterns and postcards! Thank you SO much girlfriend!

 

 
I dressed a doll in the poncho and put my gifts and cards around her to enjoy this week.
Hubby gave me a cute card too.

 

 
And inside...

 

 
We don't use the h word very often so it made it even funnier!
Thanks again for being such sweet blog friends and for taking a birthday hike with me!

One more birthday bird!

 

 

The American Kestrel!
Are you ready to go again?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

Keep Calm and Hike On!

I wrote a long post and then it wouldn’t publish. I’m still not sure why. My sweet hubby even looked at it in ‘code’! I write posts in Windows Live Writer and hope…hope…HOPE  it’s not the problem.

I’m writing this in blogger until I can figure it out!

So here goes a modified version that you will like better than the original. Because…the original post was negative and I don’t really like doing those posts anyway. Once it’s out there….you know how it feels! And I’m ‘over it’ now! It was all the details of a bad experience I had at a restaurant. The waitresses were rude to me and it hurt my feelings. There…I’ve said it and now I’m over it!

When I got home, I changed clothes and put on my hiking shoes and cap! And I was OFF!

I looked up some quotes for this post and especially liked this one….

“It is impossible to walk in the woods and be in a bad mood at the same time!”

That is SO true! When you get out in nature, problems and troubles just fall away. You are experiencing nature…with all of your senses! If you haven’t done this lately, unplug and go walk in the woods!

I had something really wonderful happen when I hiked yesterday! I met another man that is hiking the Florida Trails! He was headed to Pensacola when I talked with him. 

He was delightful and a joy to talk with. 

 He’s on the adventure of a lifetime! 

Bird photos are all ‘bluebirds of happiness’ taken on my hikes!

Let’s ALL adventure out there and have some FUN!

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.

Birthday Fun!

It’s my birthday! TODAY!

Let’s do something fun!

And make the day special!

So I declare this day a ‘birthday holiday’!

We can still blog but if it’s more fun to get outside and do something special…you have my permission to skip off and have some fun!

I’ll check in with everyone tomorrow!

It’s a ‘play day’ for me!

But can someone tell me WHY all of these photos look so OLD? That’s a rhetorical question my friends. Don’t you DARE answer it! hahahahahaha!!!!

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE.

The Eastern Meadowlark at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve

I don’t hike HTP from the Pruitt trailhead very often but I took a short hike there the other day and saw this Eastern Meadowlark.

 

I haven’t seen one in years so that was a thrill.

There’s a small airport nearby and small planes were flying overhead and I barely caught one with the Meadowlark.

They were color coordinated! heehee!

A beautiful plane!

I always see fly catchers there…

and Phoebes.

Don’t you love the background in this photo….all the colors and textures!

The Sandhill Crane family was there too.

And happy to pose for photos.

It’s always a great place to view birds! A rough road in, but well worth it!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

Let’s do the ‘bunny hop’!

I would still love to share photos of my hikes but I’m afraid you’re going to start recognizing every trail and every tree! lol I go to some of the same trails…over and over again!

But I do see something unusual on just about every hike!

These were taken on the Florida Trails,

the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway.

I saw a baby bunny a few days ago!

I looked up ahead and wondered what was rolling down the trail. (that’s what it looked like)

But when I got closer I saw that it was a baby bunny.

He didn’t know to be afraid of me so he stayed right on the edge of the trail.

And now he’s ‘hiding’ from me!

I can’t see him now! heehee!

It’s funny because on another hike I had seen a HUGE rabbit track!

So now….

you put your right foot out, put your left foot out, and you shake it all about!

(I was hoping to show how big it was with the comparison!)

I see so many tracks. Look at these teeny tiny tracks!

This is SAND not snow!

And how about this Fence Lizard on a stump!

He looks prehistoric, doesn’t he?

Have you seen anything unusual this week?

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.