"A Beautiful Love Story"

 

Most of you have known me for years. So you know if I have a 'love story' to tell, it will be beautiful.

Zebra Longwing

My love story starts over 25 years ago. I made friends with a sweet lady and I stayed in touch with her for all of those years. We didn't live close but we managed to visit a few times over the years and kept up with emails and phone calls. Sadly she passed away a couple of years ago. So now you've guessed that 'My John' was married to my precious friend for many years. And all of you know that over a year ago my husband was diagnosed with cancer and passed away a short 4 months later. John and I shared emails with our sad news and wrote to each other to comfort each other at first. The more we shared the closer we felt until we knew God had put us together for a reason...to begin our beautiful love story.

The more we talked, the more we liked each other. Then he drove down to Florida several times and our friendship blossomed into true love. 

Two weeks ago we stood in a small chapel and said our vows to each other and became man and wife.

We are happily married and look forward to our lives together. He loves hiking already so we have a lot of adventures ahead and I'll be blogging all along the way.

Gulf Fritillary 

But this love story can't be told without including Aunt Helen. She's an adopted Aunt that I've loved for 21 years and she fell in love with John the first time she met him. And then she started worrying. When were we going to get married? Had we set a date? Where was my engagement ring? 

One day we went to see her and she looked at my hand and said, You still don't have an engagement ring. Well, I have picked one out for you and I'm going to buy it.

So this is the special ring that Aunt Helen bought for me and I will cherish it always. And wear it with my wedding band.

This is a photo of her on her 95th birthday celebration in September. Since then she has developed health problems and is now in a rehabilitation center. Please keep her in your prayers. 

Aunt Helen has been an important part of our love story.

Monarch Butterfly

All of you have been so wonderful to go through my hard times with me and now celebrate this happy time.

Thank you John for loving me. Thank you Aunt Helen for caring about me for all these years. And thanks to all of you for your friendship and prayers. I am truly blessed.

We saw the butterflies on our recent hikes here in Florida!

With love, Diane and John 

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE!

Questions and Answers! Inquiring minds want to know!

 

I'm going to answer some questions that have come up in comments recently. 

I haven't done this in awhile, so it's time! 

OK....maybe I've never done this before but I promise I won't go back in time and answer questions from 2008 when I started this blog! hahaha! 

I was near Weeki Wachee at Homosassa Wildlife Park. 

This is a Manatee NOT a Mermaid! 

The first one is from my long time friend, Tom. He asks, Diane, how do you handle the heat? 

Well, usually the heat doesn't bother me that much. I hike on shady trails and drink lots of water. This summer I have had a heat rash so I've had to stay inside and avoid the heat and the sun. I'm better and can't wait to get back on the Greenway!

Beach Gypsy asks, Have you been to Weeki Wachee?

 

I HAVE and I loved it! Lots of real life Mermaids! 

Time to go again, want to come? 

Chrissy T says she would like to hike in Florida but she is afraid of the alligators. Do I have any tips for avoiding them?

Stay out of the swamps! lol I walk on a paved trail through the swamp at Blue Run Park and I stay aware and when I take photos, I ZOOM!

Baby Alligators are kind of cute!  

John from John's Island asked if Athena the Mermaid was part of my group.

I wasn't in a group when I hiked at Blue Run Park. And I think she was just there with her family and friends. 

Carla from the River asks if the PawPaw has a scent?

I've never smelled a strong scent from this flower.

Pamela asked me how I made the magnolia cube photo so I'll share another one here!

I use photoscape to work on my photos and it has a way to put photos into a cube or frame just for fun.

Terri D wrote, Aren't the ordinary things in life usually the most remarkable when we just stop and reflect on them?

Wow Terri, this is one of my favorite questions and I don't really have a hard and fast answer. We each find our way to enjoy nature and how we relate to it. It's important to me as you know! 

Kim at Snug Harbor asked what were the chances of seeing something like the mockingbird mating dance.

Kim and I have been friends for years and know that getting out in nature often is the way to witness the extraordinary. 

And now for the question no one has asked. Who is John? 'My John' in my sidebar. John who celebrated his birthday on July 4th and has taken hikes with me? He is someone who has been a friend for over 25 years who has come back into my life and become very important to me. I know now I'll get more questions! Bring them on! hahahaha! 

This was fun! I'll try to do this from time to time. I expect my comments to be filled with questions this week!

And mine to you....How are you doing this week? What's new in your life? What's fun and exciting? What do we need to pray about? You are each and every one important to me!

Love, Diane 💜

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE!

Creepy Crawly Cringy

 

No I didn't do a Halloween post this year.

This is all about the Loggerhead Shrike.

I was so excited to be at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve and spot this bird on the fence.

And he was happy to have me watch him eat.

His nickname is butcherbird.

They eat rodents, lizards, insects and even other birds.

They are famous for impaling larger items on barbed wire to be eaten later.

I'm pretty sure this is a dragonfly and I was able to watch the whole process of the catching, impaling AND eating.

I was sitting inside the Jeep taking photo after photo and watching in awe.

I have never seen this bird in this part of the preserve so I was thrilled to spot it on my way out.

And happy to sit for a few more minutes in the Jeep before heading home.

Have you ever watched the Loggerhead Shrike?

Love, Diane 💜

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE!

The Gopher Tortoise Trail at Reed Bingham State Park

 

Thanks every one for traveling back in time to last summer.

Photos are such a great way for us to remember our trips and good times.

I spent most of my time at the lake but I just had to walk on this trail.

And it was delightful with several birdhouses right next to the trail.

I left a gnome on one of them to delight the next hiker that came along.

Warblers

Birds on the trail

They really did NOT want to yield! haha!

Brown Thrashers...I think!

Always something to see!

The beauty that surrounds! 

Do you ever leave something on the trail when you hike? 

I see quite a lot of things but I rarely take them. Sometimes I'll pick something up and leave it somewhere else. That's a lot of fun!

Love, Diane

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE!

The Last Evening at Reed Bingham State Park

 

That sounds harsh....the last evening! But in my memory, it was just the last time I could stand at the lake to take photos before packing up to go home the next morning. 

And I still plan to drive up to Adel, Georgia and go to this lake again some day. 

But the trips we took last summer were the last camping trips we would take.

I don't miss camping as much as I thought I would. I still want to visit State Parks but I'll look at what accommodations are nearby and plan accordingly. 

Green Heron

Standing at the lake and watching the sun go down reminds me of camping in Arkansas when I was a girl. I always loved to walk to the lake at sundown and sit on the bank until it became pitch dark. I'm glad my parents gave me the freedom to do that when I was growing up. Memories like that stay with you for a lifetime. Just like these camping trips will stay in my memory forever.

Great Blue Heron

White Ibis

Little Blue Heron (juvenile)

Wood Stork and Great White Egret

Did you enjoy camping out when you were growing up? One of our regular summer trips was out to Little Fir on Lake Ouachita  in Mount Ida, Arkansas. Maybe I should add this spot to my list of places to visit again!

Love, Diane

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE!

Back in time, Reed Bingham Lake

 I'm going to spend October of this year, sharing photos from camping trips that were taken in 2025.

I had photos I never shared and they are just too good to ignore! HA!

So WHAT in the WORLD is this?

A Great Blue Heron of course!

But isn't it one of the wildest Blue Herons you've ever seen?

I think he was proud of himself....

showing off for the camera.

I stood there in awe!!!

And that day, I saw so many beautiful butterflies too.

So let's enjoy memory lane 

and photos from last year!

Do you like to look back at your old photos?

Sometimes I do....

sometimes not so much!

Love, Diane 💜

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE!

Life goes on.....'Reed Bingham State Park'

 I wrote 'Life goes on'....but somehow that seems wrong. My life has gone on but like so many of you this past year, we've lost people that we loved and our lives are forever changed. 

So even though life goes on in one sense, my life is forever changed.

I'm thankful God continues to bless me in this life so I plan to write posts in October featuring camping trips I took last year and never shared.

Reed Bingham State Park

Adel, Georgia

An early morning hike to the lake features the Wood Storks.

 

Wood Storks

I took a 'few' photos!

I'll go in order of taking them.

I can't pick a fav!!

Hanging out with a Little Blue Heron

All of these were taken in June, 2025

Good memories

I don't have any plans to camp again but I hope to visit some of my favorite State Parks in months to come. I have a list that I would love to 'revisit'. But as we all know there are new paths to explore and new trails to follow.

We need strength to step out and follow our dreams.

Do you have a list of places you would like to visit in months to come? I need to add to my list!

Love, Diane 💜

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE!