Holiday Decor....come on in!

 Welcome to my Florida home!

I'll just lead you through the house and we'll find a few holiday touches here and there.

You'll need your sunglasses INSIDE if the brightness bothers you. 

Hard to get good photos with the curtains open but we don't want it to be dark inside either!

Living Room

And yes, I've played the piano some lately. I'm out of practice! lol

The bookcases....

more bookcases....

the kitchen....

and the lanai.

We'll finish with the baker's rack in the lanai.

I didn't do as much this year. We need time to hike!

I almost forgot Wendy and Sophie!

And my favorite photo....

the jewelry tree in my bedroom.

I'm going to take a couple of weeks off to enjoy more time outdoors. The weather is fabulous at this time of year. So I'm wishing you all Happy Holidays! 

Enjoy this special time and let's all be thankful for our blessings. 

See you on the Florida Trails!

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

Winter in the 'real Florida'

 I know everyone is busy with their holiday fun but it's the perfect time for us to get out on the trails.

So here are a few of our favs from our hikes this week!

Blue Run Park 

White-eyed Vireo

We were SO excited to identify this bird...don't remember ever seeing one before. We have so many Warblers here right now that we thought it was a Warbler but then it didn't have a Warbler beak! lol

This Red-shouldered Hawk had just taken a 'dip' in the river!

Shake shake shake!!!

AAahhhh....that's better!

Little Blue Heron

And some turtles!

Use your imagination! (it's a leaf! lol)

I'm planning to do a post on Monday with some holiday decorations around my house and then I'll take a couple of weeks off. I'm wishing all of my critter and birding friends a very happy holiday! God bless you during this special time! Please try to get out in nature to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. Get some exercise...Breathe...Feel the stress drain away...and HAVE FUN!!!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’. 

Calming Colors

 

Here in Florida, it's the time of year for the woods to calm down. 

The colors are muted (only a few colorful leaves left) and there are fewer wildflowers. It's still beautiful, just calmer. 

Photos taken on the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway from CR 484 trailhead.

Rock formations in the canal diggings and a table in honor of Joseph in what I call 'gnome village'. 

 Fence Lizard

A more colorful sight were these clusters of mushrooms at the base of this tree!

It really was eye catching!

I'm not sure what they are, do you know?

And I met a sweet lady at Blue Run Park this week too.

I rushed over to give her a Jeep ducky and she pulled out a zip lock bag and gave me a colorful ducky! Thanks Missy!

What a fun surprise! This is HER cool red Jeep!

It's very hard to see so many sad things in the world right now. But getting out in nature helps. And something I don't stress as often is the exercise you get. It makes so much difference when you go to bed at night and want to calm your mind to fall asleep. It's what I call 'good tired'. Get some exercise, take a relaxing bath, read a good book and then go to bed. It will help you sleep good and be able to tackle whatever you face the next morning. I am thankful that my family members that were in the path of this terrible tornado outbreak are safe. And I am praying for everyone that is suffering, including family members that have lost a dear loved one this past week.

 Take care of yourself and God bless you.

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays and

I like Thursdays HERE too! 

Playing favorites?

 

There are a lot of birds and critters that we hope to see when we hike.

But some are more fun than others.

We haven't seen a Sherman's Fox Squirrel in several months and this one was good enough to climb a tree near the trail.

And he stayed there and looked down on us. Maybe we were a funny sighting for him...we didn't think to ask. We do go tsk tsk tsk to let him know he's safe around us.

You can see his 'foxy' tail in this one!

We spotted him on a hike from the 49 Ave Trailhead, walking West.

And then there are the Florida Scrub Jays!

We saw a small flock of these at the Halpata Tastanaki Preserve this week.

As a matter of fact, we hiked for over 2 hours and saw them when we were in sight of the Jeep at the end of our hike. They are so special to see. They are only found in Florida and very rare.

It's also fun to spot deer out in the woods.

And how about this Juvenile Eagle? He was soaring right over our heads at HTP.

It's been such a good week of special sightings and beautiful weather.

But did someone say 'favs'?

What's new in your part of the world?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’. 

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

 “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”  Dr. Seuss

I had no idea where I would go and what I would see when we hiked at Ross Prairie State Forest, Nov 10th 2013! But here we are 8 years later with (as of this Monday morning) 760 hikes to our credit! (these are hikes into the forest, I don't count neighborhood walks or community park strolls)

I don't usually pick these up when I see them, I leave them for someone else. But today I couldn't resist!

We've seen some amazing things over the years. 

I still marvel at the fact that we can see something 'we've never seen before'! But we do!

This was a funny sighting. We hiked Ross Prairie this week and when we finished we climbed in the Jeep to have a little snack of apple slices before we drove home. I looked in my side mirror and saw this...

I told my hubby, there's someone behind our vehicle juggling. He said, that's ok honey, we'll get you home and get your medication adjusted. (a little joke, meaning, you might be seeing things...I don't even TAKE any medication! hahahaha)

But I hopped back out and took photos so here's the proof! 

I was also pleased to see the hiking lady I met about a year ago. 

It's always fun to talk and catch up with someone who loves the woods as much as we do.

Have you had a chance to get out in the great outdoors this week?

Reindeer Moss (looks a little like snow, doesn't it?)

We took these photos on our very first Florida hike. We haven't changed a bit, have we? (that's a rhetorical question...don't you DARE answer it!)

A link to our first Florida hike 8 years ago is HERE!

 

Here's to another year of hiking adventures!

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays and

I like Thursdays HERE too!