A Taste of Fall!

 

We've had some nice Fall weather lately and this week I stood in my courtyard and took a few photos looking onto the golf course.

When we are fortunate to have time at home we spend some of it in the lanai.

And this is the view looking out at my neighbor's Yellow Poplar tree in all of it's fall glory!

It's been beautiful but my days are spent doing 'have to' things lately.

Our Camellia is blooming like crazy right now too!

And we've had little Warblers flitting around,

as well as our neighborhood Mockingbird!

But we've always loved living on the golf course and having such beautiful views.

We had one really long day at the cancer center this week and Ron was able to get a full chemo treatment...8 hours long! He's been weak and tired the rest of the week but we are hopeful the treatments will have good results. Thanks for your continued prayers and for your friendship! It sure makes a difference in my life. I so enjoy reading your blogs too and will comment when I can.

Have a beautiful weekend!

 Lots of hugs, Diane

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

Fairytale Forest

 

Let's walk on Scrub Jay Way today!

It's a trail that I take often and one I named myself. 

And indeed I DID see Florida Scrub-Jays on this hike but they flew past and when a bird flew out of the scrub it was this very handsome Mockingbird.

I also saw the elusive Rufous-sided Towhee and a Dove.

But lets get back to the fairytale part of this hike.

Yes, it's this beautiful 8 point buck in the trail ahead of me.

I was almost back to the Jeep when I saw something BIG in the trail ahead.

So I stopped and zoomed in to see what it was.

I felt honored to see this regal White-tailed deer.

And feel thankful to have walked at a slow pace that particular day, so slow that he wasn't scared away until I decided to start toward him.

And off he leaped into the scrub.

This is a hike to be remembered!

Another wonderful adventure on the Florida trails!

On to the next!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !

Catching up with the Sandhill Crane family!

 It's always fun to drive out to Halpata Tastanaki Preserve and hike the trail from the Pruitt trailhead.

And there are usually good sightings when you drive in the front gate.

I was happy to see the Sandhill Crane family, alive and well.

It was funny though when I stopped and hopped out of the Jeep to take the photos. 

My camera fogged over from all of the humidity!

But I waved it around and luckily the Crane family stayed close by their photo shoot!

I think this bird is a young Mockingbird.

It always confuses me because they seem more tan than gray.

I KNOW what this bird is! haha!

Northern Cardinal

I thought this was a small grasshopper with really long antennas but now I wonder if it a katydid. Anyone know?

Lots of beautiful plants and wildflowers this summer.

We've had summer pop up showers and that helps.

Oh and now we've finished the hike and I'm driving the Jeep back out on the gravel road.

And look what I saw!

Papa Crane was crossing the road ahead of me. Mama and young one were already across. I slowed down and waited!

Have a wonderful weekend! Take your time!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !

A Tree with Character

 This was our turn around point in a hike we took at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve this week. (Pruitt trailhead)

It was very hard to turn back because there are trails taking off in every direction and they all look inviting. 

But we had been hiking for over an hour and had to be realistic. Our hike ended up taking 2 1/2 hours total and that's about our limit. I'm hoping there are leftovers in the 'fridge for dinner at this point! lol

We are hiking just about every other day now with the weather so perfect so I have a lot more photos to share.

I'll hit some of the highlights of this particular day.

I think the fall months are just as colorful as the Spring here in Florida.

The pink muhly grass is simply gorgeous.

And the brown eyed susans are in full bloom.

They spread out over the preserve with thousands of blooms.

It was amazing to see a young Bald Eagle.

 Northern Harrier

This Northern Harrier flew over us from time to time and a Hawk tried to chase it away.

 Thanks hubby for this amazing photo!!!

We were surprised to see the American Kestrel, too.

 Eastern Meadowlark.

Mockingbird

So much to see and do right now. It's hard to stay indoors!

Have you had a good week? 

I hope you've had a chance to get outside and enjoy the beauty of Autumn.

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !  

The Queen Butterfly

 

The beholders eye sees the beauty.

A little twist to the usual quote.

But I'm going to start with beauty that we all agree on and end with what I think was the most beautiful sighting I had this week. This is not a butterfly we see often so it seemed fitting to see it this week in honor of Queen Elizabeth 11.

Queen Butterfly

We've had a lot of pop up showers lately and the wildflowers are blooming like crazy!

Long-Tailed Skipper

This Skipper was missing a bit of one of his tails but I loved the way the sunshine came onto him.

I don't remember ever seeing the Morning Glory on this trail but it was blooming when I hiked this week.

And I walked 'off trail' to get this wonderful photo of a Mockingbird! 

I thought it was a Cuckoo and walked through the tall wet grass to get a really good photo. Thank you very much! lol

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

And now onto what I thought was my most beautiful sighting this week.

The Yellow Orb Spider

I don't usually like spiders but this one is amazing!

A rainbow over the Gulf of Mexico this week.

And please keep leaving comments even when it gives an error message. It seems like they are all coming through so I don't understand why the message comes up.

 

Thank you SO much for your sweet comments! They really do make my day. And I won't even fuss if you tell me my amazing spider is not beautiful! hahaha!

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and I’d Rather B Birdin’.