Well, most of my blog buddies know by now that I LOVE living in Florida. And yes, we chose to live here! But I realize living in Florida is not for everyone. When we were able to close our business and retire, we did our research and traveled to several parts of the country before we decided to make our home here. I think someone should spend time in Florida before they make the big move. It’s hot. It’s humid. The sun is BRIGHT! lol ( I have bright blue eyes and have to wear sunglasses and a cap every time I go out)
But oh the benefits of living here if you love getting out in nature.
I’ll just describe one evening…Monday evening of this week. It was 82 degrees with a breeze. Hubby went outside to light the grill at 5:30pm. We had a rib eye steak to grill, I had new potatoes and fresh asparagus from the Farmer’s mkt. to cook. (I sautee the aspargus, cook the potatoes in the microwave for a couple of minutes, then at the last minute, add butter to the pan of asparagus and add the potatoes to brown them) We had a good bottle of Cabernet to compliment the meal.
Hubby looked up in the sky and saw a large flock of storks overhead.
They appeared to be circling the little pond near our house. (about a block away)
So I put on my Tevas…grabbed my camera…and RAN one block to watch them land and start preening themselves.
UNBELIEVABLE!
Just astonishing!
SO CLOSE!
Back home, we had a wonderful meal.
And for an ‘after dinner walk’…
back to the pond!
They were even closer and I startled them…
and they startled me!
It gave me such a thrill to see these beautiful Wood Storks!
And that’s just ONE of the reasons I love living here.
I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE
and I’d Rather B Birdin’.
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37 comments:
Beautiful!
Have a great week-end!
What a great surprise! This summer I had the chance to see a flock of storks too, but they were flying in the sky and we were in the car on a high speed road so I only managed to see them a couple of minutes, no photos. Still it was lovely to see them!AriadnefromGreece!
Hello, Diane, awesome sighting and photos of the Wood Storks. You have some great closeups. I would enjoy the birding in Florida. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!
oh
I love storks too
so cool
Diane, I love the wild life you show us with your pictures. It's things I never get to see. Florida really does seem to be a bird state. You and your man are a great couple...you like so many of the same things...together. :):) Blessings, xoxo, Susie
The birds that you have are so different from the ones that we have here. I would have dropped everything to take their photo, too.
You have the best of all worlds---living in FL part of the year and in NC the other part.. I could do that (IF we could afford it) ---but I'd probably only want to be there for about a month ---maybe in March. I lived in FL (in two places)--Venice and Jacksonville. SO --I do know about Florida.
I guess --since I despise heat and humidity that IF I had the best of all worlds, I would live here Fall, Winter and Spring ---and then live somewhere high in the mountains where it is cooler during the summer (maybe the Blowing Rock, NC area)..... BUT---at our ages, I think we are best just to stay here year-round...
Glad you are so happy. When do you head back to NC?
Hugs,
Betsy
It seems the perfect place for you! All your walks and nature photos always make me smile!!
hugs!
I think I could get used to living where you do Diane. :) Although I might have to have AC in my home, which we don't have here. We could have used it a few days this summer - one of the most humid in a long time! Today it is clear and sunny with no humidity. You would enjoy it. :) The temperature will go to about 75F. How fun to see the Storks at the pond. Have a lovely weekend and stay cool. Hugs, Pam
Great series of photos Diane.:) No wonder you were excited to see a flock of Wood Storks. How wonderful that you got to photograph them so near your home and it's such, a beautiful area where you live,.. another good reason for your love of Florida. Eating outdoors, as we also do here, is one of the things I enjoy about living in a hot country, and I also enjoy a good bottle of Cabernet!:)
Oh- I loved living in FL. Yes it is hot part of the year but where we are it is cold 7 or 8 months of the year. We stay inside and run our furnace. In FL during the hottest times we stayed inside and ran our AC. It was a trade off in FL for the 9 months of beautiful, balmy weather.
Great photos- I love the stork pics...and your header is AWESOME!!!! xo Diana
I am glad you live there too!
So we can see the lovely photo's you post.
Thank You for sharing
Do you still have your condo in NC? Or do you live in Florida year round now? Florida has some beautiful birds, that's for sure!
What fun!
You do live in a wonderful part of the world with so much of nature's beauty literally on your doorstep!
Gret photos of the birds!
Yes, indeed!! We here in the Coastal Region of Texas have nearly the same summer temps and humidity. And tho, I am allowed to complain and enjoy the air conditioner a bit too much probably, I wouldn't go back from where we retired.........Colorado, where it is cold and wintry 6-8 months out of the year [in the foothills/rockies]
Besides, moments like you two had with the steak, wine and entertaining beautiful storks can't be seen much anywhere else!! Lovin' your post today Diane.
I will thank you again for participating in our birdin' experiences at I'd Rather B Birdin'.
I love the way you describe your magical evening. Never have seen one of these birds for myself.
it sounds like the perfect night. i have not been to florida in some time now because i am not able to tolerate the heat. i have MS and it really reeks havoc on my body. with that said, i think otherwise, i would love it. it's nice to see blue skies and green grass, year round. and the wildlife isn't too shabby either. nice captures!!!
...but where are the gaters?
I enjoyed your post...those wood storks are awe-some!
Hello ~
I think that sounds like a PERFECT evening. I love nature too.
Carla
Congrats on your retirement storks!
I was born in Florida, but we moved north when I was still tiny.
~
I can certainly relate to you about your blue eyes - I deal with that too...but after growing up in Southern California with sunshine all the time...I moved to beautiful Oregon where we have been for the last 22 years. The storks are amazing!
UNBELIEVABLE is a good word to describe youe experience with the storks.And that they landed right next to someone's house and started feeding is amazing.
I do envy your sunny evenings when you can barbeque and then watch the sun go down with a glass of wine. Heaven.
I don't hear many people so enthusiastically endorse living in Florida, but I enjoyed reading about Monday evening and how much you love living there. My dad always called those storks Buster!
Now I am curious...Diane, where did you live before you retired? And like you, I have to have sunglasses and at hat at all times. Fair skin and blue green eyes require it.
I've been to Florida like many people from Ontario to visit Disneyworld. Twice we drove down, which we all preferred since you get to see SO much along the way. But I have to admit Diane, you have opened my eyes to the hidden beauty of Florida through this blog. You search out some wonderful nature reserves and hiking trails that I would never have guessed were there. These storks are amazing! I love that you ran down to take photos even though supper was waiting ;) Hugs!
Wendy
I adore seeing things like that! Thanks for getting those photos and for sharing!
Diane, I love to see the birds and flowers in Florida cause they are a bit different than ours here in Calif. Wow, what a sight it must have been to see all those Storks! This sounds like a nice evening meal with your husband, steak and asparagus, Yummy! I hope to someday visit your sweet homeland.
love, ~Sheri
Those are beautiful storks - I certainly would have grabbed the opportunity to photograph them as well. Your meal sounds great, too! Florida would be too hot for me, but I would certainly love to visit there in the winter! I did so once, as a child, in 1977. I have great memories of roseate spoonbills.
Those are some amazing critters. I enjoyed this opportunity to see a little bit of daily life in Florida. I love to visit, but I can't imagine I could live there. I struggle with the humidity here in NC. By the way, do you still live in NC part of the year? I don't think I've heard you talk about it for awhile.
Woweeeeeee - what a great chance for some photos. I am so jealous of all the wonderful wild life you see there - and those Wood Storks are just amazing. We just now got back from Lopez Island - I had a great time and hope the photos of the birds are as good as they seemed when I took them - have to fix Don some cheese and crackers and apples - then I can look at the 7,892,985 photos I took - hee hee.
I have seen woodstorks but not this close. Lovely to be able to see wildlife up close. :)
Love love love this post! Life IS Good!! I'm really glad to see the woodstorks doing so well -- hope it extends to our part of our beautiful state (which we claim even if we're only part-timers).
What a charming post, dear Diane, with such beautiful sights and such a wonderful Nature, thank you for sharing your stunning shots with us !
Hope your week is off to a good start I'm sending hugs and more hugs to you
Xx Dany
Sounds like a wonderful night. Such an amazing sight that you captured on film!
I love nature too and you do have lots of it where you live! Gorgeous birds...thank you so much for sharing it with us.
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