Halpata Tastanaki Preserve and the traveling Tortoise

 

I set off to drive to the preserve in search of birds. 

Isn't the back leg kicked out cute? I think he was traveling faster than me! 

I told myself, I would just walk around and look.

But walking around turned into a nice long...hot hike!

And I did see a beautiful Red tailed Hawk.

His tail really glowed in the sun!

But the sighting of the day was this cute and very clean Gopher Tortoise.

This looks like a regular road but the gate is locked so you rarely see a work vehicle on the road.

But on this particular day, I looked up ahead and saw this tortoise on a mission.

You really need to stand still and let them pass so that they can get on their regular trail that leads to their burrow. If they feel threatened, they will get off and go through the weeds but that is not their easy path to their home.

So I stood still in the hot sun and took photos. 

And there he goes!

It's funny how the sun doesn't bother you as much when you are watching something interesting.

Now the road is overgrown with grass and that makes a soft surface to walk on.

The views out on the preserve are stunning.

And the wildflowers are abundant.

I love this morning glory.

And at the trailhead, I was joined by another Jeep!

Jeep parking only! Haha!

Halpata Tastanaki Preserve

Have a beautiful weekend! 

Take a drive even it you can't hike!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE. 

Dotted Horsemint and Horses

 

Dotted Horsemint is in full bloom right now.

It's not only beautiful, it's smells amazing!

You can see why it's called 'dotted' when you look closely.

This is what a big stand of it looks like!

So does that have anything to do with horses? 

I did a search and the only reference I saw was the fact that it has an aromatic beneficial phenol thymol and is used medicinally for horses and humans. 

I went back over some of the photos I've taken of horses at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve.

The preserve shares a common fence with a horse farm so it's a good place to see horses.

There are trails on the preserve for horses too.

Our wildflowers are going crazy right now.

They are everywhere in abundance along with a beautiful variety of butterflies and moths.

Our temps for every day this week...high at right around 90, low 70. The humidity is not as bad and there are nice breezes every day so I won't complain! Typical for this part of Florida in September!

Does it feel more like Fall at your house?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE. 

Sightings close to home!

 I haven't been on the trails as much this week but hopefully I'll get back out more regularly after this week. We've gotten a lot of things done around the house and in the yard so I feel good about how my time has been spent! 

But I'm going to need some trail therapy soon! The weather has improved and I can't wait!

How do you like this Great White Egret that walked through the neighborhood?

And this was a funny sight looking out the window in the back!

Off you go!

They look like they are saying I'm not very nice. They only wanted to scratch in the courtyard and make a mess! 

We have a Dove family that I see every day. 

This looks like a young one!

And the sunsets have been spectacular.

I didn't enhance these colors.

(taken from the courtyard)

It really was this vibrant!

I also ordered a new camping journal. 

The green one is from this past year and I filled it up.

The brown one will be ready when we are....which I hope is soon!

Enjoy your weekend!

I hope you have something fun planned!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE. 

Greenway Sightings this week!

 

You know the saying about getting back on the horse after taking a fall. 

Well, mine was a 'bear scare'!

And I went back out a few days later to face my fears! 

On the very same trail....at the very same spot....I had a wonderful sighting!

This beautiful 8 point Buck.

I'll even share the first two photos before I had a chance to get a better sighting.

White tailed deer will many times run away but not very far.

Then they will turn and see if you are still back there!

And that allowed me to get past some of the weeds and trees to get a better view.

I was so thrilled to see such a magnificent deer.

Earlier I had seen a small deer with his Mama following along behind him.

And on the short distance that I walked on the paved part of the Greenway, I saw these guys.

I think these are electric unicycles! Very cool, don't you think?

My first thought was....where do you hold on?

But they were zooming through, smiling and waving at me!

It was a beautiful day to be on the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway.

The weather has improved. It's still hot but not as bad as the past few months.

And I think 3 deer equals 1 bear in excitement, don't you?

Have you had a chance to enjoy nature this week?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE. 

A Bear encounter on the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway!

 

Finally!!! After over 12 years and hundreds of hikes 

on the Florida Greenway, I have a bear story!

And yes, I've seen bears over the years. I've been fortunate to hike in a lot of forests in the US, including Alaska. I've even seen them in the Ocala National Forest from my vehicle.

But this story takes place on one of my favorite Florida trails close to home.

I parked my Jeep at the trailhead and started off on a hike/bike trail until I got to the paved part of the Greenway. I planned to hike for one hour, which is a short hike for me. It's very hard for me to turn around at the 30 minute mark but I did this particular day.

This is the first photo I took by just lifting my camera and snapping without zooming. So he is in the far distance and you can get an idea of how far away he was.

The bear walked across the trail I was on and was ambling.

I was walking parallel to a firebreak. (a wide path that is dug up by heavy equipment to form a break that would stop a forest fire from spreading) 

So I took a few steps to my right onto the firebreak so that I had a better view when he went across the firebreak.

And there he was. 

He did not turn....and he did not look at me, so I didn't feel threatened.

I was scared of course and saw a spike in my heart rate on my watch! 

But he kept going and I stood perfectly still. I wanted to make sure there weren't any cubs following or another bear. And when a few minutes went by, I called my husband. I told him there was a bear between me and my Jeep and he said loudly 'A WHAT?'!!! I think that was one of the best parts of the story.  He told me to wait awhile longer and give the bear a chance to get farther away before I walked to the Jeep. I was never so glad to get in my Jeep and 'head for the house'! 

To describe how I felt....

I would say I was scared and excited and JAZZED! 

But having said that....I'm happy to have seen a Florida black bear in the wild right on the Greenway. But I'm done now. I don't need to see another one! I'm a happy hiker and a blessed one too. 

So that's my bear story. It was a medium sized bear. I know they get bigger ....and mine may get bigger in the telling. We'll see!

I saw a Downy Woodpecker on the hike.

And lots of beautiful wildflowers.

But I was so fortunate to actually get a few decent photos

 

of the HUMONGOUS bear I saw!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE.