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!

Heritage Farm at General Coffee State Park

 

We loved the campground at General Coffee State Park and one of the best parts was driving over to Heritage Farm to park by the lake and explore the hiking trails. The park has over 1,500 acres so there is so much to explore. 

I'm always more interested in heading down the forest trails or walking along the river.

But the trails at the lake start at the farmyard!

There are beautiful log cabins, barns and fenced off areas for the animals.

So I spent some time photographing some of the beauty here (before heading off to the river to hike less frequented trails). 

Goats, Sheep, Chickens, Horses and more!

He looks like Billy Goat Gruff! 

Lots of well maintained buildings on the farm.

Aren't the log structures beautiful!

A collage of this one.

One you can go inside or sit on the porch!

And the Purple Martins were in abundance, hopefully eating the gnats that were everywhere!

We really loved the horse and wish we had found out his name.

General Coffee State Park was donated to the state in 1970 and is named after General John Coffee, a planter, US Congressman and military leader. What a treasure it is. More info HERE. 

We would love to go again in the Fall when it is cooler and the Fall leaves are turning.

Have you been to any state parks in Georgia? We would love to visit more of them.

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE. 

Which trail will YOU take?

 

We drove over to the Pruitt Trailhead and parked at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve.

The gate is locked and only authorized personnel are allowed in but the road surface makes for an easy trail to hike. 

But look ahead! Do you see the storm in the distance? 

Let's turn to the right and get 'off the beaten path'!

Today was a beautiful day and we saw a few people riding horses. 

We asked this couple if the horses they were leading were in training but they said, "No, they just didn't want to get left behind." Everyone wanted to take a ride!

Another couple enjoying an afternoon ride.

The views were gorgeous as we walked.

And we saw lots of birds along the way.

Hermit Thrush

Robin

Flycatcher

This is the trail that beckons me. A tree lined trail that goes deeper into the woods.

But it's been a good day and the storm went away from us so we stayed dry.

And I took this photo from the side window, with hubby driving 55 mph down the highway.

Pretty spectacular to see so much beauty, even on the drive home.

We see horses just about every time we go anywhere here in North Central Florida. Do you see horses where you live?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’. 

Florida Fall featuring the 'Littles'!

 

We really don't have a problem seeing little things when we hike. We walk really slow! lol

Palm Warbler (thanks hubby for the photo!)

And we are constantly looking about!

Tiny wasp on Dotted Horsemint (it smells incredible, minty sweet!)

It's been perfect hiking weather here this past week and we even took one afternoon hike with it only in the 70s! 

So here's a few of the 'littles' we saw on the trails.

Grasshopper

Shiny beetle

Hover fly (hard to photograph but so much fun to see)

Probably a Hornet and not as neat to see!

And not little! For a wasp, it was huge! lol

A teeny tiny moth!

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

We're seeing a lot of these birds right now!

Feay's Palafox at top with honey bee, Cypress vine is the tiny red flower and a small purple morning glory.

Even this horse at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve was small!

Has your weather been nice too? Do you love getting outside in the Fall? The birds are returning to Florida so we've had some good sightings too! Lots of photos to sort through! 

Have a wonderful weekend!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.   

Seeing the Extraordinary!

 

I'll just jump around in my photos and show some of our sightings at the Pruitt Trailhead a few days ago. 

I take SO many photos that I can't possibly share them all but here are a few!

 Eastern Bluebird high in the branches.

Gulf Fritillary

Northern Harrier (we think)

Anhinga (we're sure! lol)

And now for the extraordinary! We parked at the trailhead in the blazing sun! No, it really wasn't that hot, around 80 degrees with a nice breeze. We put the top back on the Jeep and pulled out the snacks. 

We like to eat apple slices and cheese sticks and always have a bag of nuts and some Wheat Thins in the ice chest, just in case. We had just eaten some of the apple when I remarked about the big flock of buzzards overhead. 

 Hubby said, one of those is an Eagle!

So out we hopped and we both took a bunch of photos (a bunch is Southern for a LOT!!!)

One more....

oh just one more.....

well, maybe one more! hahaha!

The one above has a dragonfly that photo bombed him! The Eagle was HIGH up, the dragonfly much closer! We estimated the Eagle to be around 4 years old because of the dark tips on the tail feathers. 

This man on his horse came off the trail and stopped to look too. 

And that was the perfect ending to a wonderful hike!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.