A 'half a hike'? Is that proper English? Or just Southern slang?
I drove out to the Pruitt Trailhead but instead of going down to Halpata Tastanaki Preserve, I parked in the regular parking lot and hiked the Florida Trail.
It was a glorious morning with temps in the 70s and a light breeze.
Out into the sunshine!
And when I got there, I was the only one there! (when I left there were 2 other vehicles with bike racks)
Since the two hurricanes blew through Florida, the birds have flown in!
All summer, I thought there were fewer birds but now they are everywhere in great numbers!
Not sure what this small bird is but I loved it's little feetsies!
I walked behind some wild turkeys gobbling all the way....I mean THEY were gobbling, not me. I didn't even get a photo! But there were birds in every tree and the Swamp Sunflowers were in full bloom.
One of my best sightings was this female Blue Grosbeak.
She posed....
and posed
and I was thrilled to get so close to her.
Another beautiful bird was this Northern Harrier.
I'm not sure what this wildflower is but it looks like a bouquet waiting to be placed in a vase!
But of course I'll leave it for the butterflies and bees!
Gulf Fritillary
Dragonfly
Time to turn around at the FT sign!
We'll save the second half for next time!
I'm going to take a couple of weeks off to enjoy the season!
Are you seeing more birds where you live now too?
41 comments:
...half is better than none!
No damage there from the hurricanes I see. What a lot of birds. They know how to evacuate I guess.
What a beautiful series of photos.
The Blue Cardinal is a beautiful bird.
I also love the Gulf Fritillary and the dragonfly.
I wish you a good weekend.
Greetings Irma
Enjoy your time away!
Beautiful photos
I am not always comfortable being the only one walking by myself in a secluded area. Your photos as usual are beautiful. You really got some great shots of the female Blue Grosbeak. I'm on my way to Florida on Sunday for the winter!!
That is perfect weather for being outside. Love all the things you saw while you were out there.
Lovely photos and this weather is amazing!!
Your nature photos never fail to amaze me
"Half a hike" sounds perfect for those chill, unplanned adventures. 😊
The bird sightings are amazing—especially that Blue Grosbeak posing for you!
Love the gorgeous photos.
Great "half a hike"! Love the photos!
Hello,
Nice hike, I always love seeing the wildflowers.
The pretty butterfly and the female Blue Grosbeak is lovely.
Beautiful collection of photos. Enjoy your time off! Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend!
Wonderful sights all around you! Yes, I am loving this cooler weather and it makes me want to go hiking. We haven't been very far, it's been a busy week, but we are going to the mountains in GA. next week, so hopefully we will do some nice walks/hikes there. That female grosbeak sure looks a lot like a female cardinal, but up close I can see the differences better. Thank you for sharing her with us. Now I will know what to look for if I eve have the privilege to see one! Enjoy your time off.
Beautiful photos ~ glad the birds are there and you are enjoying your 'half hike' ~ hugs,
Thanks also for letting us know about the sad loss of fellow blogger, Ken of Rosyfinch Ramblings ~ who did wonderful nature photography ~
Wishing you good heatlh, laughter and love in your days,
clm ~ A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Dear Diane,
The Lady Blue Grosbeak posed soo beautifully for you, a real model! I'm glad that you saw lots of other birds after the hurricane. And not just birds, but natural bouquets, pretty butterflies and dragonflies. So it doesn't seem to me as if it was only 'half a hike' - the output was certainly a whole one.
Now I'll rush to your previous post - but first I would like to wish you a good blog break from the bottom of my heart! (When I'm finished with my travel report, I'll do one too...)
All the best, Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2024/10/weltreise-2024-sw-usa-roadtrip-teil-3.html
Another fine hike with lots of beautiful photos. Enjoy your break!
Beautiful photos, Diane! I especially loved your close up of the dragonfly!
I guess the birds evacuated to that area. I wondered what they would do but they must have a sense of weather changes and know when to leave.
Enjoy your time off.
Fewer birds were here in spring migration, too. Don’t know what’s happening.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Enjoy your break. I'm glad the birds are back.
I don't agree with the name, "Grosbeak". I think it is a pretty beak :) Just kidding!
I am the farthest on the right, with the neon jacket :)
You will get a honorary mention just for trying.
Enjoy your break as the seasons change.
Half a hike is better than no hike!
I enjoyed your photographs.
I hope you enjoy your break ...'see you' soon.
All the best Jan
Hi Diane, Saturday greetings to you. While looking at your post today I happened to notice you have 1,567 followers. Holy smokes! 😊 Actually, I’m not too surprised as you do a great job of sharing your walk/hike photos. Today’s post is no exception The Blue Grosbeak is just great! I wanted to thank you for mentioning Ken’s passing to Eileen so she could put it in Saturday’s Critters. It is sad to hear about his passing. He will be missed in the blogging community. He sure published a fine blog. Thank you, as always, Diane, for sharing! A happy weekend and week ahead to you and yours. John
Loved this half!
Hello. Beautiful landscapes. There are fewer birds here now because the migratory birds have flown away.
Have a great day.
Our hummers left on the 10th so now I hang up the regular bird feeder but they haven't noticed it yet. Yes, the weather is great for walking. I used to have to get out there early to beat the heat but now it's perfect about 10:00 in the morning. Enjoy your hiking!
A pretty place to hike and the weather looks perfect. Love the wild sunflowers and the posing grosbeak! Glad to hear there are lots of birds after the terrible storms. Most of our native birds stay year-round, which is nice. We heard an owl the other day. Enjoy your break.
I enjoyed this half a hike, now to look forward to the next half. I always enjoybyour lovely nature pics as well
For a minute up there, I thought you meant the snowbirds had blown in and I was going to tell you we aren't there yet ))); Love the (better) birds you did see -- that really IS interesting that they came in so quickly after the big blows. Enjoy your time off f rom the computer -- your weather now is absolutely perfect for getting out there.
Beautiful photos Diane. Greets Caroline
Thank you for sharing another terrific outing. It helps to vicariously enjoy nature through your wonderful posts since we won't be able to be out much until Gini's surgery and recovery.
Enjoy these coolish mornings!
Grosbeak is very rare to see in our areas, and even never seen female Blue Grosbeak.... pretty birds.
Beautiful set of photos.
Me alegra que hayas visto bastantes aves, por aquí también se ven muchas aves, ya empiezan a venir las grullas y hay miles de ellas. Disfruta de esas semanas de descanso, por aquí estaré a tu vuelta. Besos.
beautiful photos as always....
have a great day
It's not about whether you do a half or a full walk. After all, it's the steps you take to get outside for a little cozy time. And I also wish you happy days. I love reading your writing and also the pictures. And also what you have seen this time again. Lovely birds, wild flowers and a beautiful butterfly too. Nature gives a lot to us and always lets us enjoy. And with my comment I close again and am sure that when you come back from your days off you will post something beautiful here again. Grretings from my nature website this time and not from te other.
Thank you for sharing, dear Diane of this half walk. It was for me a full walk, because I enjoyed the mood you catched in your fotos.
Here it is cold outside and gray...
Thank you by the way for your nice comment!
Hugs and greetings, Heidrun
I was thinking about you and I am so glad to see your photos from the hiking trail. That was a great walk. The second photo of the trees is my favourite. Happy Weekend!
-Soma
Nice place to hike. You got some good pictures. Funny, the one bird looked like it was posing for you, lol. We've having some warmer weather again which makes me smile, hope it sticks around a while, but I fear it won't. I don't enjoy walking when it's cold.
Traveling Suitcase
We're back in our real Florida. Yay! Happy Halloween!
What beautiful pictures. I saw a LOT of birds last night. I don't know where they all came from, but there seemed to be a hundred of them! Enjoy your break and see you when you get back.
I love your half a hike. You saw a lot. I do a lot of half hikes now that my knee is on the fritz and am contemplating a knee replacement.
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