Nature Abounds at home!

 

One thing great about living in Florida is the heat....

NO, I mean birds!

I'm still stuck inside because of the high temps but I've gotten out for a couple of hikes this month. 

We have a neighborhood pond nearby and lots of big windows in our house so all you have to do is look outside to see birds.

One day, I got the best sighting but only pics of the geese. 

A flock of about a dozen Canada geese walked across the golf course and into our back yard, followed by a flock of wild turkeys. And down the greenway was a flock of White Ibis.

I usually just enjoy the view and don't always run for my camera!

And of course we are always planning for cooler weather and camping trips.

So we bought a small screen tent and popped it up in the living room! Haha!

We have a rug that's the perfect size too.

And I sewed a pocket in two vintage beach towels to fit over our lawn chairs and I like the way they turned out.

Home improvements included getting rid of this small curio cabinet. 

It never matched the furniture in my living room and I hated it. I also got tired of the jumble of what nots and tea cups on the shelves. I packed them up in a box and put them in a storage closet. I'll keep them for awhile.

Hubby put together this sofa table and I like it so much better!

Bird books and art books, a basket and giraffe! Better!

So that's my nature sightings at home!

How are you doing this week?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE. 

Reed Bingham State Park in the Spring!

We've found so many wonderful State Parks this past year and now we are starting to travel back to our favorites!

When we camped here last December there were still Fall leaves on the trees which is not unusual for the South.

And even though we stayed in the same camp site, look at the difference a season change can make.

The tree that had been orange with color was just sporting it's Spring green leaves.

We arrived on a Sunday and the lake was buzzing! 

Doesn't it look like these Canada Geese are watching the boats fly by?

I spotted a Red Admiral butterfly on this first visit to the lake and didn't get good photos.

Of course I had hoped I would see it again but I never did.

I did get to see the Canada Geese every day I hiked.

And I walked by this Wisteria in full bloom every day too. The bees and butterflies love it!

It has a very sweet scent too!

The hillside was covered in small yellow flowers.

This is it up close.

We spent a week at Reed Bingham so I'll have more photos to share. (before we go again)

Spring time is a perfect time to camp! Do you have Spring flowers in bloom too?

And since the weather is still very Spring like, we are taking off on another camping trip. I'll be away from my computer for a couple of weeks but I'll have photos to share when I get back. Have a beautiful Spring! 

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE 

and Nature Friday HERE!

Reed Bingham State Park, Georgia - traveling in style!

 

We visited several State Parks in the month of December. 

And as much as we love camping in Florida, it's fun to 'spread our wings' a little and visit some of the state parks in neighboring states.

And it's much easier to travel now in this Coachmen Nova 20d Van camper. 

Our dealer, Sunshine State RVs in Gainesville, FL was the best ever! The link to Sunshine is HERE. And I'll put a link HERE if you want to look at the specs and floor plan. 

In these photos, the side door is open (screen closed) and the back is fully open with a screen pulled down.

We had the prettiest tree in the park at our campsite!

And this is the view of the lake from the window (and door)  facing the lake.

We loved our little travel trailer and Chevy truck but we thought this van would be easier for us to manage. Thanks so much to those who talked to us about the vans and answered our questions, especially my blog friend HERE! 

We spent a week at Reed Bingham State Park in Adel, Georgia last month and had a wonderful experience. A link to the website is HERE.

I keep a camping journal and I had so much good to write about this campground and not a single negative.

Even in December the trees had a lot of 'Fall' color! 

The Cypress trees were spectacular!

Snowy Egret

And I don't think I've ever seen such a variety of birds in a lake. 

Great White Egret

I went different times of the day so I got to see quite a lot!

It sure has been a wonderful experience to travel to so many state parks.

Great Blue Heron

Canada Goose

Mosaic of a few more! (not sure what the bird in the center is)

I may need at least one more post featuring Reed Bingham State Park. 

(We did go in search of the monster of the lake and found it...stay tuned!)

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !

Walking out the front door to hike!

 It's hot....what can I say! 

Black-bellied Whistling-duck

This is not in focus and I usually like crisp and clear photos but for some reason I love this duck in flight!

I've walked over to the neighborhood pond a few times in the late evenings to get some exercise and see some birds.

Oh, and watch the sunset!

I watched a Canada Goose leading a flock of ducks in a late evening round of golf.

So what's the hold up?  Can you try to keep up!

Oh my, are all geese this bossy?

This is a female Boat-tailed Grackle. Thanks for help with the ID Wally! And thanks Eileen for mentioning with Whistling Duck. I'm still learning!

And this is White Ibis with some of the sunset colors giving him a golden streak.

There were several ducks on the pond with young ones in tow.

One more photo of how pretty the homes look here in the summer months with flowers blooming and flags flying!

Standing in my front door!

I hope you are enjoying some summer time walks!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !

Let's take a neighborhood walk! Updated!

I love to walk over to the neighborhood pond on the days we don't hike. (with the time change it's easier to go before sunset)

I couldn't wait to see what ducks might be there and sure enough there was something unusual.

I thought it was a Scaup but Pamela said in her comment that it was a Ring-necked Duck. You know...that sounded very familiar! So I searched in my OWN blog and found a post HERE that I wrote exactly 3 years ago! And the funny thing was, I saw most of the very same ducks then at the very same location! Amazing!

If only I had a memory, it would help SO much! Thanks Pamela for helping me with this ID! 

 I tried to say this using 2 syllables like a true Southern is 'want to do' but it was driving my husband crazy so I looked up the pronunciation. It is ONE syllable and rhymes with stop or drop! (this was written when I thought it was a Scaup!)

Anyway it was fun to see a nice flock of them in the pond.

A Great White Egret was standing next to this Canada Goose

but when it flew it looked dark!

Bird ID can get tricky!

The Blue Irises were beautiful 

and there was another duck in the tall grasses.

The pond is gorgeous and lots of birds and critters use it!

But when I turned to leave, a coyote ran past! I expect to see wild critters in the woods but this was a surprise! It gave me a scare and I practically RAN all the way home! But when I did a search and read more about coyotes, they are not a threat to humans. The Humane Society says, "Coyote attacks on people are very rare. More people are killed by errant golf balls and flying champagne corks each year than are bitten by coyotes." The website is HERE. Oh and since we live on a golf course and I know we have a bottle of champagne in the fridge, we have even more things to worry about! hahahahaha!

So that was the exciting trip to the neighborhood pond! And it doesn't even count as a hike!

What's new in your corner of the world?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.