Inglis Lock Recreation Area

 

I was planning a post to show the wildflowers we are seeing now in North Central Florida. The forest is bursting with tiny blooms and blossoms. We even saw Cactus in bloom this week.

But then we drove out to the Inglis Locks and I just had to show you what we saw there.

I'll start with the MOST exciting sighting!

A Glossy Ibis

We see a lot of Ibis here. (the White Ibis have walked through our yard more than once this week)

He was near the locks and hard to get good contrast! All that green grass and blue sky that we LOVE here in Florida!

We rarely see the Glossy Ibis and usually when we do it is in a field and we can't get a good photo.

It was a beautiful day. 

I even talked to some fishermen and they were catching lots of Bluegill fish. 

So sit back and relax and I'll walk all around and take photos.

(I made a new banner but I don't want to take my humming bird down yet!)

Halloween Pennant Dragonfly

Little Blue Heron (juvenile is white!)

Cormorants (Male and Female)

When we got ready to leave, I spotted something odd in the top of a pine tree.

Someone crashed their model airplane into a pine. Oh my!

One more Halloween Pennant dragonfly up close.

Did you watch any of the choo choo train webcams this week?

 Click on the train icon at the top of my blog and ENJOY!

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays and

I like Thursdays HERE too!

Garberia, Fall Wildflowers

 The woods and preserves have been covered in Swamp Sunflowers for a couple of months and we are still seeing quite a few but now the Garberia is in full bloom.

"Garberia is unlike most species in the Asteraceae family in that its growth habit is woody and shrubby rather than herbaceous. Garberia is endemic to Florida’s north and central peninsula, and occurs naturally in scrub and xeric hammocks. It typically flowers in late fall but has been known to flower sparsely throughout the year. It is a state-listed threatened species." Quote taken from the website HERE.

Most of the blooms are a pretty lavender color and they look beautiful out in the woods with the pine trees.

The butterflies love Garberia!

We've hiked a lot of different trails lately and seen so many things. But one day, we headed off in a different direction in the woods, staying off the paved trail. And when we were finishing our hike and intersecting with the paved Florida Trails, I saw the blower coming. 

(this is a photo from the past)

Volunteers drive this ATV on the paved trails, blowing the leaves and pine needles off. And over the years I have talked to the couple that does this job. They always stop to let you pass, so that they don't blow leaves all over you and it's been a chance to chat. We would swap sightings and stories and they even gave me maps of the trails. So when I saw them coming I waited. But it was two women. And when they stopped the lady I knew told me her husband had passed away. That was very sad and I felt so blessed to have a chance to talk to her. She was planning to move away so I probably won't see her again. And she told me they had a bench dedicated to her husband near the 49th Ave trailhead.

It took us 2 hikes to find it but we did! We won't ever forget Kenny and his sweet wife. They have made such a difference in our lives.

 Always clearing the path for everyone with a wave and a smile! 

(a photo from the past)

Enjoy your week!

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays and

I like Thursdays HERE too! 

Just for fun!

 The cloud formations have been beautiful this week.

What do you see? 

I'll leave my scary banner up one more day to explain how it is really a collage, or mosaic!

"You are in Bear Country"

It started with a sign at the 49th Ave Trailhead, that cautions hikers of the bear activity in the area. And yes, several people have stopped to tell us they saw a bear. But we haven't seen one....yet! 

I took that sign and put a cropped photo of a tree on each side to create a collage. And then put the 'BOO' on it. Were you scared? Just a little? Tell the truth now! Which would scare you most, a bear or an alligator? We see alligators pretty often so I think a bear sighting would scare me more!

And I got some new Wet cloths this week. They have a good sale going on and they even sent me a free one. The link is HERE.

It looks like a little mosaic, doesn't it?

I also ordered some beautiful cards with original art from an Etsy shop HERE.

And I decided to cut some paper and sew it into one of them to create a journal.

 This is my favorite so I'll just have the bunny I made a long time ago, hold it for me!

 Do you love Etsy shopping too? 

Do you have some favorites this week to share?

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays and

I like Thursdays HERE too!

Are you ready for a Hike?

 

I hope you're not tired of seeing the Swamp Sunflowers! 

We found some in the most unexpected place! 

Halpata Tastanaki Preserve from the hwy 200 trailhead is DRY! The trail is soft white sand in places!

But we saw more of the sunflowers there than the wetter areas at the Pruitt Trailhead.

They've put up a new sign, which looks nice and we will walk to the right of this photo along the sandy trail to begin and make a loop.

OK! Now let's switch gears! We still order our groceries online and pick them up at Walmart! Easy peasy!

And this week, our shopper gave us a bag filled with freebies. What a nice surprise! Thanks Walmart!

We usually just stick with grocery items but this week, I put a Wilton Bundt pan in the order. And for less than $9 I have a new bundt pan for my favorite cake recipe!

Thanks to my blog friends at The Low Carb Diabetic here, I have a cake that I can eat! YAY! I am allergic to sugar and usually just do without dessert but now I have this apple cake to enjoy! Here's the link to the original recipe HERE.

I cut it into serving sizes and freeze them in a ziplock bag. That way I can take out just one serving, thaw it and even put a few drops of water on top and microwave it for 15 seconds to eat it hot! 

Here's the recipe!

Apple Cake

8 servings

1 1/4 cup (140 g) blanched almond flour

1/4 cup (24 g) coconut flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. xanthan gum

1/2 tsp. sea or kosher salt

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin

1/4 cup (56g) butter or ghee, room temp.

1/2 cup xylitol or Swerve powdered

1/4 cup juice from lemon (about 1 and 1/2 lemons)

4 eggs, room temp

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch Bundt pan with oil (well)
2. In a small bowl, add almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Put aside.
3. In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, add the room temperature butter and sweetener (xylitol or Swerve). Beat on high for 3 minutes until it is light and fluffy.
4. Turn the mixer to medium high and add 1 egg at a time, making sure it’s incorporated into the batter before adding the next. When all eggs are added, add the vanilla.
5. Add half of the lemon juice. Add the dry mixture to the bowl, mix and then add the remaining lemon juice.
6. Fold in the apples with a spatula. Batter should be light and airy. Add to the Bundt pan and spread to even out the top.
7. Bake for 35 minutes until edges are slightly brown and toothpick comes out clean.
8. Place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, take the cake out of the pan by placing the cooling rack over the pan and flipping it over.

And take my word for it....it is AMAZING!

 

I've tried a few brands of almond flour and I've had good results with all of them. The one I used for this recipe had some coconut flour mixed in so that worked good!

Have you had a good week too?

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

Also I like Thursdays HERE.   

A rare and exotic Wildflower!

 

It still amazes me that we can go out into the wild and see so many amazing things.

We were fortunate to see this Longspurred Mint, Dicerandra Cornutissima on the Florida trails this week. It was between the 49th Ave trailhead and the Landbridge Trailhead. 

It is endemic to this part of Florida and is listed as endangered. More info HERE. 

We've seen it in another area nearby but this is the first time we've seen it on this part of the trail.

And to share one of my favorite things this week....

here's the big pad of Forest Scrapbook paper I bought to work on junk journals.

I've already been cutting the cover page in case it looks a bit 'wonky'!

There are so many beautiful  images and it's all a nice weight of cardstock.

I'll use these for bookmarks.

It's enjoyable to put together these journals and then sit down and embellish them later.

I thought I would write some nature quotes on some of the pages.

This is a tag journal 'in progress'. 

They are so quick and easy and I love the way they turn out!

Have you been working on creative projects this week?

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

Also I like Thursdays HERE.   

Healthy choices!

 

Getting out in nature has been the best decision we've made throughout this terrible pandemic.

So I'm sharing a few of the photos I took on our hike at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve this week.

It was hard to get a good photo of the lime green airplane, it blended in with the sky!

We saw several Great White Egrets.

And a couple of Red-Shouldered Hawks.

It was a beautiful day to be out in nature.

And for my favorite thing today, I'd like to share the Vanilla Wafer recipe I use. It is amazing!

Most of you know I can't eat sugar. It's a healthy choice but for me a necessary one too. I am allergic to sugar and can't eat it. So we eat a lot more homemade breads and desserts. 

Keto Vanilla Wafer Cookies

1 cup Super Fine Almond Flour

1/4 cup Powdered Swerve or favorite no-calorie sweetener

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 pinch Sea Salt

1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

3 tbsp Unsalted Butter, softened but not warm, see notes

In a large bowl, whisk together the Almond Flour, Baking Powder, Sweetener, and Salt. Pour in the Vanilla Extract and stir. There will be some clumps but they will diffuse as we mix!

Chop the butter into 4-5 chunks and add to the flour. Using your hands, begin to work the butter into the flour mixture until a dough forms. Work quickly to keep the heat from your hands from melting the butter! Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 min.

Heat oven to 350°f and line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

To bake: scoop about 1.5 tsp of dough and form into a ball. Place between the palms of your hands and press into a saucer shape. To get THE LOOK of a nilla wafer the edges should be flatter than the center; they won't spread.

Place on the baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes, watching until the edges are brown. They make bake up to 12 minutes depending on how long you chill your dough.

Transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack; they will be delicate when hot. Let the cookies cool completely for maximum crispness!!! After about 1 hour they will firm up and continue to get crispy.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Serving Size - 2 cookies

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 123
Total Fat - 11g
Carbohydrates - 3g
Fiber - 2g
Protein - 3g

The online recipe is HERE.

I can use my Danish whisk to combine all the ingredients! And I watch these cookies very closely while they are baking. They are perfectly done in my oven in 10 minutes! I leave them on the cookie sheet (or pizza pan) for a few minutes to harden before I put them on a rack to cool.

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

Also I like Thursdays HERE.