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 !  

The Deer Whisperer!

 

I need to post every day for awhile to catch up on my hiking photos! But I'll at least try to do 2 posts a week for awhile. The weather is so gorgeous that we are getting out just about every other day! 

We spotted this Buck when we walked down a firebreak road near the Florida Trails trailhead at hwy 484.

White-Tailed Deer

I like to name the trails and I've named this one Sunshine Trail. It's nice and open and bright. And with many leaves off the trees, it's easier now to spot wildlife.

Some of my bike friends have mentioned seeing a big buck and we were so happy to get a good view of him.

But the encounter that was amazing to us was with the doe. 

She walked toward my husband.

He stayed as still as he could...

and was even taking photos of the buck while she walked by.

If I had captions it would say....

"Hey mister, did you know you're standing in the deer crossing?"

We came away exhilarated after this experience!

Nature never disappoints, does it?

Hope you can get outside and enjoy nature this week too!

I'm joining Mosaic Monday HERE 

and I like Thursdays HERE !  

Holiday Colors at the end of summer!

 

We'll hang on to the summer season for awhile longer here in Florida.

But there have been some pretty holiday colors this week.

Halloween colors in these mushrooms.

And wildflowers are blooming all over the forest after the afternoon showers we've had.

The showers keep things moist for the mushrooms to thrive too.

Most of these photos were taken at the 49th Ave trailhead which is less than 4 miles from my house.

But I've driven to a lot of those trailheads and made one big trip to the mountains of NC and guess what?

I turned over 5,000 miles on my Jeep this week. My boys tease me that I should get out and drive more. But so many of the trailheads I enjoy are very near my house. And yes, I was driving 20 mph on a quiet road and taking a photo! lol

I'll end this post with a Florida Christmas card!

It will still be nice and green when December rolls around and I thought this looked perfect for a Christmas card. It's a big buck that walked across the trail in front of me. (I was walking on a firebreak road that has grown up with grass. They'll till it up soon so I wanted to walk on it before they did)

Tom sent me some beautiful mosaics that he made from my simple mosaic from last week. Thank you, Tom! Here's one of them to share.

I've had a good week of hiking, working on junk journals and baking. 

How was your week?

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

and I like Thursdays HERE !  

A Deer by any other name?

 The name deer sounds very sweet, doesn't it? But what about rat? I saw a rat on one of my hikes this week but I'll save his photo for last. He was a very cute rat even though that name conjures up something ugly and even sinister.  Makes me wonder why I'm waiting until the end to show his photo! lol

I was walking on the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway near hwy 484 when I saw all of these critters.

The deer weren't concerned about my presence in the least.

The first one I saw was eating right along the trail.

This bike stopped to watch too.

And then a little curious deer came out of the brush to get a better look at ME.

So I'll share some of his cute pics....

I must have looked a sight!

The lady in the pink cap!

What a tale he will have to share when he joins the others.

So I promised you a rat!

Florida Woodrat

I didn't get a very good photo because he was in the leaves and brush content on the task at hand. You can barely make out the little round ear and dark eye in the center of the photo.

And after a few steps I saw an Eastern Cottontail Rabbit.

He was well hidden in the tall grasses but once I took a step towards him, he headed for the safety of the woods!

It's still hot and humid but I've made a few early morning hikes. Yesterday it was 84 degrees with 84% humidity and not much breeze. That's pretty warm and sticky but I drink lots of water and come home, take a shower and spend the rest of the day in an air conditioned house so I won't complain. (well, not right this minute! lol)

Have you had any good sightings this week? 

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE.

Hiking with Deers and Swimming with Ducks

 

We had a rare treat this week on the Florida Trails (East). We had just spoken to another hiker that went ahead of us and he motioned for us to come down where he was standing. 

There were 3 deers grazing in the woods. 

At first we thought they were a family of deers but when we saw the photos, we realized they were all bucks. 

A big buck with velvet antlers....

a large buck with one antler bigger than the other

and a small one with small knobs (antlers).

But the most interesting thing was the path they took. They grazed and walked parallel to our trail.

So we got to keep them in view for quite awhile. It was amazing!

So did we really swim with the Wood Ducks at Blue Run Park this week!

Oh my NO...that would have been embarrassing! They were mating (and in the swamp!)

We looked up the behavior online when we got home. She went down deep in the water and made her body like a surfboard.

And then when he climbed on her back, he grabbed some of her feathers in his beak to balance himself. (I thought he was keeping her head above water....but no, he just needed his balance.)

And they lived happily ever after swimming through the duckweed!

Take time to stop and smell the wildflowers!

Have you been able to get out in nature this week? I hope so!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’. 

A Walk through Deer Woods

 

I like to name areas along the trail and this is definitely Deer Woods. It's Halpata Tastanaki Preserve from the Pruitt Trailhead and we usually see deer in this area.

 

This particular day, we saw several.

Some of them aren't very concerned about us trekking through the woods.

They still take the time to have a snack as they are crossing in front of us.

(my favorite photo of the day, I made a banner out of it!)

Look how well they blend in to the grasses!

And I wouldn't normally share a shot of the 'tail end' but it was such a neat photo of the white flag (his tail) and his legs on the bound that I just had to share! lol

OK, hide now! I know you are embarrassed! 

We saw a lone Sandhill Crane close by. They are usually in pairs or a family but we only saw this one.

Ibis flew overhead and dragonflies are in abundance now. It's gotten 'warm' but we still love to get out!

Has it warmed up at your house this week? By warm....I mean we are already seeing some 90s for highs! It's May in Florida and I love it! It's just about my favorite month of the year!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.