Hanging on to Summer!

Our summers last a lot longer here in Florida and we love it!

Lots of beautiful wildflowers blooming right now!

And a little mosaic with 'what doesn't belong'! Any guesses?

I finally saw a Monarch butterfly on a hike too. 

I've seen LOTS of butterflies this summer, more than I can ever remember seeing. But this one looked special! Maybe I'll see more now!

And look at these little forest fairies.

Doesn't this one look like it has a dress on.

And because of something in the background, this one looks like it has a big head.

Forest fairies!

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE .

 

 

Hoppin' Down the bunny trail!

I've had some wonderful sightings this week on my hikes! 

I couldn't stop taking photos of this beautiful Sharp-shinned Hawk that I saw on the Florida Trails.

He posed for the longest time in a tree near the trail.

I wasn't sure at first what it was but when I studied my photos AND my ID books I was able to make the ID.

 He flew and that gave me a good view.

 He soared!

We've seen this hawk in the same area before too.

  Oh, and one of the cutest sightings was this rabbit at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve.

 He stayed in the trail for the longest time. I got closer and closer to get better pics.

But hubby was behind me taking a video. So if you want to see me hoppin' down the bunny trail and smiling my happy smile at the end, view the video. 

You'll be smiling too! I promise!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE 

     and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

That's what friends are for!

I'm very blessed to have some precious friendships. My hubby is my soul mate and very best friend and it's always more fun to hike with him. Well, unless he is taking photos of me from the back! lol

And my sweet cousin Cindy has been a life long best friend. She calls to talk...and listen! And she inherited my Grandmother's talent for making the most beautiful quilts.

Today I am going to a luncheon with my friends in the neighborhood. That's always fun!

This is a photo taken a few months ago. (we have a luncheon once a month) You can probably pick me out! lol

I've even started walking in the evenings with a sweet group of ladies. We walk and talk as fast as we can and the time just flies by! 

I hope you are blessed with good friends! That's something to be thankful for today!

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays  and

Katherine's Thursday Favorite things HERE.

 

"Reading to Find Out"

I love old children's books and have a nice collection.

My favorite books are the old school book 'readers' from the '50s and '60s, when I was a girl.

I have the perfect spot for a small bookcase near my kitchen so I have most of the readers in this bookcase. And one of my favorite chores is working in my books. So when I dusted the shelves, I spent some time looking through some of them. (or was it that I was looking through old books and decided to dust....I forget! hahaha) But it seemed like a good time to take a few photos!

I guess a lot of us learned to read with the Dick and Jane books.

I have children's books that are a lot older than I am....just saying!

I love them all! 

Do you have a favorite that meant a lot to you?

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE .

"Happiness"

I talked about good mental health in my last post. And I appreciate the positive comments so many of you left! I consider myself a very happy person. I know I'm blessed and I have a positive outlook on life. That of course does not mean I am immune to problems. But I'll focus on 'happiness' today!

Let's walk up the hill and see what we see on Bluebird of Happiness Hill on the Florida trails.

A juvenile on the same hike. 

 I've been seeing so many juveniles this summer and this Eastern Bluebird acts like a juvenile but look at his color!

And I didn't even notice the female when I took this photo. The bright blue stood out so much.

 I am still seeing lots of Red-headed Woodpeckers in this same area.

They sure are beautiful to see.

But if you want something to worry about! 

Maybe we should be concerned about swallowing this big seed WHOLE! heehee!

And then around the bend, this other bird was perched overhead.

Always something to worry about! 

Hope your weekend is filled with happiness!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE 

     and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

Are you afraid of the dark?

I take a lot of photos in the forest of scary things. No, they are not real dangers! They are just twisty limbs,

 blackened stumps 

or dark shadows. 

And I have people ask me all the time if I'm afraid of walking in the forest. I always reply, I'm afraid of a lot of things but walking in the woods is not one of them! And yes, when I lived in the mountains of NC I even walked at midnight quite often. I loved seeing things 'by the light of the moon'.

But of course I am afraid of things that shouldn't bother me. 

So I did an online search for 'good mental health' and found some really great information.

The website HERE has some of the best points....

1. Get plenty of sleep.

2. Eat well.

3. Avoid alcohol, smoking and drugs.

4. Get plenty of sunshine.

5. Manage stress.

6. Activity and exercise.

7. Do something you enjoy.

8. Connect with others and be sociable.

9. Do things for others.

10. Ask for help.

I won't play a guessing game on what my problem is but I'll just say, I have more anxiety in specific areas than is healthy. So I'm working on it....gathering information right now.

I've included some of my scary forest photos in this post! 

Creative people always love to use their imagination!

 "An important part of keeping fit and healthy is to take care of your own mental health."  Hiking helps me!

 

What are you afraid of?

 I’m joining Thankful Thursdays  and

Katherine's Thursday Favorite things HERE.

Anticipating Fall

We don't have much of a Fall season here in Florida. But when the humidity drops some and the winds pick up, it feels more like Fall is in the air.

I managed 3 hikes this past week which brings me up to 102 for the year! These photos were all taken on the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway!

And the forest has never looked more beautiful. 

We have so many wildflowers blooming and grasses turning colors. 

And something else we look forward to at this time of year is migrating birds. We never know what unique bird will appear on a hike. The year has been great for butterflies and dragonflies too.

 Have you seen signs of Fall where you live?

 

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE .