Happy Thanksgiving and camping out!

We are enjoying the beautiful Fall weather to take some camping trips.

But hopefully I can blog a little and visit everyone along the way!

I am sharing photos of the second half of the 'half a hike' I posted a couple of weeks ago.

This hike was along the Florida Trails from the Pruitt Trailhead.

It's a trail I hadn't taken in a long time.

But the weather is nicer now so I'm taking advantage of the cooler temps to get out more.

Summer Tanager

Flycatcher

A mosaic of another one that posed for me.

Hawk perched high in a tree

Wooly worm

Has anyone else every heard that you can count the stripes on the Wooly worm to see how bad the winter will be? I never can remember if more stripes means a harder winter or the other way around! lol

There's finally some water in the horse pond so it's been especially pretty lately!

I stopped on the dirt road to get the horse farm pics.

Grab your sunglasses before you get out! 

I hope you are all having a blessed Thanksgiving week!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !

Summertime Adventures and Blackberry Crumble (recipe)

 It's been a nice start to the summer here in Florida.

Our temps have been nice enough in the mornings to hike.

And I even made a special trip to the blackberry patch at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve. (SR 200 trailhead)

I put on a long sleeve shirt and reached in the brier patch and picked sweet ripe blackberries until I had enough for a Blackberry crumble. 

I saved a few to eat with vanilla yogurt too. Yummy!

One of my favorite sightings this week was this beautiful White-tailed Deer.

 When I looked over into the woods, he was looking right at me. I think it's a 6 point buck.

It was hard to get good photos through the trees and when I moved he bolted.

He ran across the trail in front of me so I got another good look.

But as you can see in this photo

....he easily disappeared into the deer woods.

One of my favorite bird sightings this week was this pretty yellow Summer Tanager.

And here's the best recipe I've tried lately. I took a recipe and changed it up so that is was 'lower' carb and sugar free. The topping came out so crunchy and perfect for the tart blackberries. 

Blackberry Crumble

Wash blackberries and pour into buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of Erythritol 'sugar'.

Crumble topping

• 3 tbsp Whole Earth Organic Erythritol
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup of almond flour
• 1/4 cup of oat fiber
  
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter cold
• Sprinkle of salt
• 1/4 cup of slivered almonds (opt)

1. 
   
2. Mix dry crumble ingredients except the almond slivers.
3. Cut up the cold butter into chunks.
4. Work the butter into the crumble.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Sprinkle the crumble over the top of the berries.
7. Sprinkle slivered almonds over the top. (opt)
8. Bake at 30 minutes until a golden brown.

I didn't have any almond slivers but I'm sure that would add to the crunch. And it would be really good with sugar free ice cream on top or whipped cream. 

And what do you mean some of it is missing? 

Those crazy kids! You have to watch them all the time! 😉

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Get outside if you can and enjoy the great outdoors!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.  

  Mosaic Monday HERE and I like Thursdays HERE !  

Some of the "new kids' in town!

 

We are seeing birds now that we don't see year round here in Florida.

The Summer Tanager was a neat sighting.

We actually saw the red male but he flew away as soon as we saw him.

The female stayed on the same branch and sang and sang!

And think she was trying to call him back.

These were sighted at limerock road trail off of hwy 200.

On another hike on 49th Ave trail I saw this pretty female!

We saw a beautiful Northern Parula this week at Blue Run Park.

Lots of Swallowtail Kites at Halpata Tastaniki Preserve.

And we even saw some Mississippi Kites in our neighborhood! (no pics of them yet!)

We see Tortoise homes everywhere we hike but it's neat when we actually see one 'at home'! 

This one is on the embankment of the 49th Ave overpass. Can you see it right in the center of the photo? 

The sunflowers are just starting to open at Cannon Farms! 

We are still hiking on all the nice days which means we are having to make ourselves take a day off now and then. But when summer comes, we won't be able to get out as much! 

Have you had a good week with nice weather?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’. 

 

It's been raining 'ducks' and 'Ibis'!

We've had some much needed rain this past week.

And we've seen some sights a little out of the ordinary, like this PawPaw bush with red petals in the center!

The Mottled Ducks I've seen in the neighborhood pond flew over for a visit.

They landed in our backyard and walked around finding worms and all kinds of edibles under our trees. Later I saw them in a retention pond nearby.

And when we were driving home from a hike, we saw a large flock of about 50 White Ibis in a retention pond in our community.

One loner....

And I'm not sure these are getting along well with others! lol

Retention ponds are necessary in Florida neighborhoods to catch rainwater run off. Much of the year they are dry (and kept mowed) but during heavy thunderstorms and rains from hurricanes they may hold water for a few days. And Florida is flat and near sea level so these retention ponds are worked into the residential planning. 

A big view of the retention pond from a distance.

I've seen a lot of pretty birds this week and this one is my favorite.

A Female Summer Tanager seen on my hike from the 49th Ave Trailhead.

She's a real beauty and a rare sighting!

What's your weather like this weekend?

After one rainy day we've had beautiful weather, some great hiking weather! 

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’. 

My Art and Local Birds

OK...let's start this post with a heart to heart talk. 

 In March...of THIS year, I started doing some art. I began with some watercolor markers, then bought a small set of watercolors. Next I bought a sketchbook and started sketching some birds. I've been encouraged to share some of my art here on my blog. But we need to make a deal before we start! 

I am beginning....I am practicing....I am NEW to it all. 

I already know that some of the heads are too big and the necks are too skinny. I know the beaks don't always come out like I see them 'in my head'! So I don't really need a lot of constructive criticism. Believe me....I am my own worst critic. But having said all that, I would like to share but I'm still feeling shy about it. Be kind....(I know you will be).....I'm still learning! And yes, I'm having FUN!!!

I decided early on to try to make my birds realistic. (the first bird I painted was a 'blue' bird, probably a make believe bird! haha) I use some of my bird identification books for inspiration and the photos I take as well. I am concentrating on 'Birds of Florida'. 

Cattle Egret

Red-headed Woodpecker ( in progress)

I've been seeing this woodpecker at the Florida Trails and even got 2 of them in this short video!!!

 Pied-billed Grebe

My next art challenge is a bird I saw on Hike #75 at the Florida Trails late in the evening. The light wasn't very good but the coral color of this bird stood out. I got to hear it's melodious song too.

A female Summer Tanager

I love sketching the birds and the Tanager will be beautiful if I can get the watercolors right. Are you learning something new this summer?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE 

 

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.