Let's drive out to the Gulf Coast!

 We're discovering the 'real' Florida so we won't see seashells on white sandy beaches!

Great Blue Heron flying overhead

But we might see some fisherman trying to catch something on a hot summer day.

Then again, we might not see anyone! haha!

Did I mention it was HOT!

This was my jeep in the parking lot all by it's lonesome! 

John and I stopped at Felburn Park first and walked on a shady part of the trail to see the beauty of the water ponded up on the canal.

It's one of my favorite spots in Florida but not for a hike in June! We are already in the mid 90s every day with high humidity. 

We had our choice of parking places there too! 

Then we drove down over 4 miles of a dusty white road looking out the window at the canal.

It was so hot, the birds were in hiding.

This is a stretch of the Withlacoochee Bay Trail that ends up at a point on the Gulf.

Happy Birthday John!!!

We were happy looking out at the overlooks. It was windy and surprisingly cool there.

I love exploring the backroads of Florida at any time of the year. But our picnic lunch was eaten inside the Jeep with the AC running! Yes, I know....we are wimps!

A horse on the drive over looks like it has 3 eyes! 

Have you packed a picnic this summer? 

It's TIME! And it tastes even better out on a nature trail!

Happy Independence Day America! 

Thanks again for visiting me and leaving such heartfelt comments. 

Blogger buddies are the BEST! 

Love, Diane 🌴

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE!

I once caught a fish THISSS BIGGG!!!

 

The fish story will be at the end of the post but I'll assure you now, I only took the photo! I didn't actually catch the fish! But it's a whopper!

We drove out to the Gulf Coast last weekend and it was a gorgeous day.

It started with a few sprinkles of rain and that scared most people off and we had the trail all to ourselves!

The first bird we saw was a Roseate Spoonbill but I wasn't fast enough to get a photo. 

But then when we got closer to the Gulf, a Bald Eagle was on the shore and flew to a tree nearby.

It was an elegant mature Eagle and we stood there and took lots of photos while it preened.

That was one of the highlights of the day. 

And a great way to start the day!

We saw a few Osprey too and they are always fun to watch glide overhead.

This one perched nearby and we took the pics from the truck!

Looks like he's saying, 'are you looking at ME?'with attitude! 

I took these through the truck windshield. (it was clean from the shower earlier!)

And then when we finished our hike on the Withlacoochee Bay Trail we headed out on the 4 miles of dirt road. We stopped at one of the observation platforms and that's where we saw the 'catch of the day'.

I think it may be the catch of a lifetime! This young lady pulled in a 27 pound, 3 ft long Black Grouper! 

It was amazing! I was almost as excited as she was!

It was 'catch and release' so they put it back in the water to live another day! 

A fun day was had by all!

Don't stay home just because of a few sprinkles! You might miss the gorgeous clouds at the end of the day!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !  

Traveling on the 'unknown road'!

 Is that even better than the 'back roads'? 

I love maps and enjoy the navigation maps in the new vehicles. I was surprised when we drove down this road that it was listed as an unknown road!

Perfect! I love it!

Let's see where it leads!

Oh, it leads to the Gulf of Mexico!

Well you can't go wrong with a trip down an unknown dirt road to the coast.

And it was beautiful when we got there. The parking lot was empty on a Saturday morning, which surprised us.

We took a little hike down the Withlacoochee Bay trail.

What will we see today?

Wasn't this Great White Egret gorgeous!

Hubby got a new Chevy 'pick em up' truck . 

And he even let me drive it....through a mud puddle! 

We stopped at the locks on the way home and saw a rain shower in the distance.

It sure was a fun day (and yes, we got rained on)! Thanks hubby for the beautiful Great White Egret photos and for letting me get your new truck dirty! 

Do you like to take a drive? A Sunday drive on Saturday?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !  

A Day on the Gulf Coast

 

We are enjoying the Spring weather and spending time on our favorite trails and preserves.

The nice thing about living in North Central Florida is the proximity to the Gulf Coast. It takes us about 40 minutes to drive to the Gulf Coast on back country roads with very little traffic. The 'real' Florida!

The temps were in the 70s when we started our day and 85 degrees when we drove home at about 4 pm.

It was perfect for a walk on the boardwalk at Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve. More info HERE. 

As I've written before, this is a beautiful preserve that most people drive right by. The dirt road is narrow and may not look as inviting as other trailheads. But of course we love it!

The highlight of the day was the Tricolored Heron in breeding plumage.

Do you see the white feathers coming out of the back of his head and the white feathers on his rump?

At first we thought we were seeing something 'new' but the long neck, small head and large beak is the description of a Tricolored Heron.

A few 'ruffled' feathers!

Something else we rarely see are the huge Blue Crabs.

They were almost as big as a dinner plate!

Small colorful crabs were in the wet sand.

It was a beautiful day at the preserve and we had it all to ourselves. I always hope others will discover these hidden treasures. We love the peace and quiet but there's always room for more nature lovers!

Do you have a peaceful place to spend some time this weekend? ENJOY!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.  

  Mosaic Monday HERE and I like Thursdays HERE !  

Florida Flannel and Fleece

 

We had cold air come down and stay for a few days but we're back into the 70s now! We took a drive on Christmas day and a hike on the day after Christmas when it was in the 50s! We put on our long sleeve flannel shirts and fleece vests and braved the elements to hike at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve. lol But we didn't get photos of the best sightings. We saw a coyote. The same one we saw a month or so ago. It's bigger than usual and darker so it's easy to remember. We also saw deer...but no photos.

Northern Cardinal at HTP

So let's take a drive to the Gulf Coast when it's in the 60s and nicer to get out and walk.

This is a view of the Gulf of Mexico from the end of the Withlacoochee Bay Trail at low tide.

It was the lowest tide we had ever seen and the exposed mud was popping and snapping and making all kinds of crackly noises. I laughed out loud! 

And here are some of the birds we saw there.

He's blending in!

Dipping for something to eat!

Willet

Great Blue Heron

Great White Egret

Belted Kingfisher

Another Kingfisher with belt showing

Birds all along the exposed sandbars!

Oystercatcher

Cormorant

I hope you've had a lovely holiday and I'm wishing you a Happy New Year!

Enjoy each and every day! 

And get out in nature whenever you have a chance!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.   

I'm joining Mosaic Monday HERE 

and I like Thursdays HERE !