*Festive Lights*

I love living in Florida…lots of sunshine, lots of light!

But of course now the days are short so bring on the twinkle lights!

We’ve had fun decorating inside and out this year.

I don’t have photos of everything yet but I’ll share what I’ve taken so far!

We even put out the Christmas village on our library table.

It’s been packed away for years.

A few pics of the vintage tablecloth I put down first.

And I keep adding stuff!

Or moving things around! lol

But it sure is nice to turn on right at sunset to enjoy all evening!

I even turn it on during the day when it’s cloudy.

You can never have too many twinkle lights!

Do you use lamps, lights and candles in the winter months to brighten your home too?

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.

When the Red Red Robin come Bob Bob Bobin’ Along….

I had a special request to see what Wendy has been up to from my sweet Aunt Helen! So here she is! Dressed for the holidays!

Hi Aunt Helen!!!

Oh, and hanging out with Cowboy Bear! GO COWBOYS!

I took the time to put her in a little holiday outfit (I think she was dressed for Spring before! lol)

We had such a nice Thanksgiving week! We got in some hiking, ate some yummy meals, watched the parade and a football game.

When we got up on Thanksgiving day, we saw an amazing sight!

HUNDREDS of Robins were in our backyard and on the golf course behind us!

HUNDREDS! We usually see them around Christmas time or even in January but the cold brought them to Florida early this year!

They are hard to see under the palms in back.

So I cropped a photo.

AND while I was standing outside with my camera, 2 Pileated Woodpeckers flew in!

WOW! What a way to start our day of thankfulness!

How is your week going so far?

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE.

Favorites and ‘not so’ Favorites!

When I went to Halpata Tastanaki Preserve and drove into the Pruitt Trailhead, there was a lot of ‘traffic’!

A Great White Egret flew right onto the road in front of me!

I slowed down for the ‘traffic’!

It had rained the day before so there were a few puddles.

But he stood his ground!

Later a Park Ranger came by and I talked with him. (I tried to talk to the Egret but he pretended he didn’t hear me)

I got to tell my ‘horse fly story’! The long version of that story is HERE! And he said they had been terrible this year.

Then when I got back into my car, I saw one on my side mirror.

(not in very good focus but I didn’t want him to fly inside my car!)

I saw a few Swallow-Tailed Kites when I was leaving so I saw more favorite things than the ‘not so favorite’ kind!

Have you had a good week?

Did you get a chance to get outside and enjoy nature?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

*Happy Thanksgiving*

It’s a time to pause and give thanks so I made some Thanksgiving postcards for all of you.

You can stop by for a peek…

and then be on your way!

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

                                                                         Melody Beattie

I’m thankful today and every day for each and every one of you!

I hope your day is blessed and filled with thanksgiving!

Let’s all love one another.

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.

Hiking in Florida!

I know most people don’t plan their vacation to Florida around ‘hiking’! But it’s what I love best right now!

There are so many great hiking trails near my house and right now the weather is perfect!

It’s exactly 3 miles from my driveway to the entrance of one of my favorite trails, the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway.

It goes for miles so I have to make myself turn around and head back to my car at some point! I usually limit these hikes to 1 1/2 hours and now that I am going more often, I’m trying to shorten them just a bit. I don’t want to ‘wear out’! lol

And you just NEVER know what you’ll see! I came across something on a grassy trail and thought I was seeing a tombstone! WHOA!!!

But then I remembered seeing the sign for a bike race in October.

Then I saw even more ‘grave markers’ and moved one with my shoe. They were plastic!

I see something ‘out of the ordinary’ every time I hike!

Makes life interesting!

I’m pretty sure I heard this Pileated Woodpecker say I could pull this pinecone out of his ear and maybe make a craft project out of it! hahahahaha

Have you seen anything ‘out of the ordinary’ this week?

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE.

LaLaLaLaLa….

Want to go hiking with me?

We’ll park at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve, the SR 200 trailhead and take a little walk. Oh, look…no one else is here!

Lalalalala….

that’s what my hubby says about the way I hike!

Oh look….a pretty bird! The Florida Scrubjay!

Do you see the sweet yellow flowers next to the trail!

Oooohhh…look how pretty it makes the trail look!

TURN AROUND!

YIKES….is that a MACK truck behind me?

Ah….the dangers of hiking in the preserve! hahahaha!

But they gave me friendly waves and just stirred up the dust.

No harm done! He was bringing equipment in to clear the fire break road. He opened a locked gate to drive in. It’s RARE to see a vehicle in the Preserve. (it’s CLOSED to traffic)

And what was the most exciting siting of the day?

A deer crossed the trail in front of me.

He slowed down enough for 2 photos! How nice of him.

(no hikers were harmed in the making of this post!)

Lalalalala….

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.