Come meet the Herd of Deer!

I drove out to Pruitt Trailhead two days in a row and saw a herd of deer BOTH DAYS!

I went at about the same time of day, right after lunch. The first day, I walked down the trail and saw them through the trees. 

The second day, they walked through the woods parallel to the trail. I kept hoping they would come into an open area to give me a better view, but they did something even better!

The video below shows them crossing the trail in front of me!

What a thrill to see them all...twice!

 I saw this pretty little Blue-gray Gnatcatcher back at the parking area.

 There are so many pretty birds at this preserve! 

I even saw a Juvenile Little Blue Heron. 

He's in his white stage, with just a little blue showing on his neck and tail feathers!

As Hurricane Dorian barrels towards Florida, please keep us in your prayers! Thank you!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE  

  and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

    

Most of you know that I raised 4 boys! And during that time I learned to love football! I watched football and during half time, I went outside and caught passes and kicked field goals. Well, that last part may be a bit of an exaggeration! But I HAVE watched and ROOTED for the Dallas Cowboys since the '70s! So I'm looking forward to the Fall football season! I have a new bag of thin and crispy Tostitoes, sharp cheddar cheese and salsa to make nachos! (and low carb beer in the fridge)

 

And yes, I've dressed some of my dolls for football season! 

My husband even ran in Dollar Tree and bought a little nerf football.

I wonder if I can make a field goal with that?

 Wendy has an Arkansas Razorback outfit on! Thanks Aunt Cindy!

 And Mellie has the Carolina Panthers dress on (thanks to a clearance rack)! 

The little Cowboys pjs are from the Etsy shop HERE!

And completely off the subject of football....I have a new favorite blog that I think some of you would love.  The Homemaking Daily...lots of great ideas and insights on happy homemaking!

What's new in your corner of the world? What team to you root for (if the Cowboys aren't playing! heehee)?

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays .

 

 

Sholom Park Beauty

You can always expect to see some beautiful sights when you stop at Sholom Park.

I didn't stay long but I enjoyed being there!

It's a place of beauty and peace.

We're had so many butterflies in our flowers this summer. They are loving the heat I guess!

Have you found any nice parks in your area to spend time in? It's worth driving around! I love knowing there are places I can go to have some quiet moments and enjoy nature!

It's important for healthy living!

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE .

The Tortoise and the Hiker

I could not be compared to the 'hare' though! I would have trouble keeping up with the tortoise!

But it was a beautiful summer day and I just HAD to get out on the Florida Trails. (it was around 90)

We had some rain earlier in the month but it's been dry here in North Central Florida and I've been itching to get out! Imagine my surprise when I saw this little guy on the side of the trail

A Gopher Tortoise

He was on the small side....about the size of a basketball. It's been a long time since we've seen one but those we've seen in the past were much bigger. So he's a young one!

I hope you'll look at the videos and see him munching on the new blades of grass....

and walking down the trail with me. I'm trying to keep up! heehee!

This was my very first photo...I didn't know WHAT was in the grass! lol

 It's been a week of rare sightings!

 Yes, that's a Wild Turkey walking on the golf course behind our house! 

 And I saw a Bob White family at Pruitt! It walked right in front of my car on the back road. I pulled over and took 2 photos...neither very good. But I did walk around the trees for a better look and got to see them take off  in every direction. A mama, papa and 4 or 5 babies! So precious!

So take it slow! You might see something neat!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE  

  and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

Decorating!

When you can't go outside and play and you're tired of cleaning...

 DECORATE!

Because when the weather gets nice, I'll be on the trails!

I even drove over to Pruitt yesterday but it was too hot and too wet to do much. I saw some birds and butterflies and got a little nature fix. I took my afternoon snack and enjoyed a little commune with nature. 

But back to decorating. We had rain over the weekend so I enjoyed puttering around the house.

The big "W" store has so many pretty Fall things this year but I already have lots of pretty things, so I just bought some new silk flowers.

I made 2 new arrangements. One for the display cabinet behind the sofa...

and one for the coffee table in the lanai.

My sweet friend, Danice sent me a card this week and it matched my flowers.

Another little wagon with pumpkins....

and a moth on the front glass door. (the real thing! lol)

Have you changed things up for the 'end of summer'?

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays .

Healthy Living Habits

I wanted to share ideas for healthy lunches and encourage everyone to make an effort to stay healthy. It takes some planning to eat right and exercise and it's a lifetime commitment. But believe me when I say...as you get older, you'll be glad you made it a priority. And you can begin at any time. I always tell people not to focus on their weight. When you eat right and exercise enough, your body will find it's perfect weight. I weigh once a year....well, I weigh more often than that but I write down my weight in my journal on the same day in August. And this year I am 2 pounds less than I was 9 years ago. I maintain my weight. I am at my ideal weight and I stay the same all the time. 

So here's some ideas for lunch. When I tell someone I usually eat a salad for lunch, they imagine a lettuce and tomato salad with dressing.  But I place a nice big bed of lettuce on a plate and then put my goodies on top of that. Really anything you can put on a sandwich can go on a salad....well except maybe peanut butter and jelly! heehee! And that's what rice cakes are for!

When we grill for our dinner meal, we grill extra meat. 

Then we take the chicken or steak and add lots of extras. For my chicken salad, I like a few grapes, broken pecans, avocado and a lemon mayo dressing. (mayo, lemon juice and Truvia)

Sometimes I add Havarti or apple chunks to the chicken.

For steak, add cheddar cheese or blue cheese, walnuts with a dressing of mayo and mustard.

A leftover grilled hamburger can be crumbled up with cheddar cheese and Salsa....oh my! 

The key is to have protein with your salad. Skip the crackers and croutons. And only use pepper on top not salt.

It's nice when we can encourage each other. When we share our struggles and our success, it helps!

Anybody else have good lunch ideas? 

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE .

Flying Birds

I'm still driving around to see what I can see. I can park my car in the shade at the Pruitt Trailhead and hope there's a bird that loves the shade as much as I do.

The horse farm is to the left of my car in this photo and to the right is the marshland of the Florida Trails.

We've had enough rain to keep the marsh lands extra marshy!

There are tiny white flowers growing in the shallow water. 

While I was at my car another day 2 Egrets flew by.

These are the same 2 but because of the angle of the sun, they look different.

 Beautiful on land or in the sky!

 They are so graceful! 

 It sure is a challenge to ID birds in flight. I appreciate so much all the help everyone gave me last week when I showed birds that were 'high in the sky'. 

 I still don't think we have a positive ID and probably won't unless they fly back over at a lower elevation! But thanks so much to all my birding blog buddies!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE  

 

  and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

 

 

 

Giving and Receiving..updated!

I have been so blessed by the volunteer work I do visiting the patients at Legacy Hospice House.

I've met some wonderful people, both patients and their families and friends. And I admire the professionals that take care of the patients. The nurses and aids are all amazing! Rock Star Amazing!

And I've enjoyed doing a few extra things when I visit, like take handmade cards to give to the patients. I know there are stores that sell all kinds of card making supplies and embellishments but since I make so many cards, I try to use what I have. 

I was so surprised to have my blog buddy Ann from Ann's Snap, Edit, Scrap write to tell me she had cut out some butterflies for me to use on my cards. That's my favorite embellishment. Butterflies are used in decoration throughout the Legacy House so these are perfect. Thank you SO much Ann!

So I got busy and made some new cards. I tried to change up my design just a bit by rounding the corners at the top. 

I'm blessed in giving AND receiving this week!

I decided to come back and talk about what I do in a Hospice house as a patient visitor. I know a lot of you have had experience with hospice in your home and in hospitals. The Legacy House has rooms that don't really look like a hospital room, with nice furniture and personal touches. The patients all have a handmade quilt on their bed and handmade pillowcases (made by volunteers). Everything is beautiful. 
I had extensive training to become a volunteer. So when I enter the room I introduce myself (and if the family wants privacy, they close the door and I do not knock or enter). I don't disturb someone if they are sleeping either.

The first thing I do is ask the patient or visitor if they need anything. I bring water, cups of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, juice or snacks if that's what they want. I help them with the tv stations (there are music stations that many prefer), adjust the blinds, lights, pillows....all of the things that can make a person more comfortable. And then if they want to talk, I stand there and listen. I hold their hand, pray with them...whatever they want to do. I'm in no hurry. I have time. I pull up a chair and sit with people that don't want to talk but just want company. I take young people (visitors) to the family room. I even colored a page in a coloring book with a little girl one time. I've taken one child outside to walk around. I've stood in the hall after someone has passed and had someone cry on my shoulder....more than once. I've sat in the lobby with a lady that was wondering if Hospice was right for her situation. I've read to people, looked through their photo albums, come back when it wasn't my day to visit because someone asked me to...many times. It's really a comfort to have a volunteer at a Hospice house. Not everyone has family close by here in Florida where they've retired. 

I hope this explains a little better what I do when I spend an afternoon once a week at Hospice. And I hope it will encourage others to seek out hospice treatment if it's needed or volunteer if you have time. It makes a difference. It's a blessing to everyone. 

Thanks for all the wonderful comments.

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays .

Horse, Horse, Donkey

We live in the Horse Capital of the World so wherever we go, we pass horse farms.

 I like this quote....

"It is hard to come to Marion County without becoming almost immediately aware that it is the “Horse Capital of the World.” Only 5 cities in the world are permitted under Chamber of Commerce guidelines to be called “Horse Capital of the world.” The city of Ocala just so happens to be 1 out of 4 that are located in America. Ocala has more than 70,000 acres of thoroughbred breeding and training farms, which makes Ocala/Marion County capital to all things equine." whatsupocala.com 

 We couldn't hike over the weekend because of the heat. The temps aren't so terrible but the humidity is as high as the temps so we've had a heat advisory for the past few days. So we took a drive!

 This horse farm is really close to us and this summer it has been amazing to see the horses in the pasture. It looks like every big horse has a small horse by it's side! Lots of babies born recently.

 And of course we love seeing the donkeys that are there guarding the herd!

 This would be a game of 'what doesn't belong'? 

(the fire station is across the street)

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE .