The Sherman Fox Squirrel on the Greenway!

 I've gone all of October without a single hike but my good friend, J. has kept me informed with her Greenway sightings. And that sure makes me smile.

She saw one of our precious Fox Squirrels this week and even followed it on the trail. 

These are photos I took in March of last year.

They are here in the woods year round so you might see them at any time.

The weather has been gorgeous and that has been a good thing.

But our lives have been turned upside down and my husband had a bad week. As you all know by now, he has a very rare cancer...B cell Lymphoma. 

I appreciate the prayers and words of encouragement. Every time I think of taking a blog break, I know it's not a good time to do that. Visiting your blogs is one of the best things I can do right now, when I have time. And I will comment when I can. I know you understand.

The bluebirds have been in our yard all week, even perching on the mailbox. 

Enjoy this beautiful blessed Fall.

Sweet hugs, Diane

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

Gnome Sweet Gnome and Foxy too!

 

We took 2 camping trips in March and had such fun.

I hiked...a lot! And I had some 'gnome' adventures along the way.

I found some gnomes on the trails I hiked....

and I left a few gnomes and fairies along the way.

It's been popular all these years but I just started joining in the fun.

I left this one on the tortoise trail at Reed Bingham State Park, Adel, Georgia on a bird house.

I'm not going to get carried away, don't worry.

I'm leaving a few gnomes and fairies on some of my most frequented trails.

It's just something fun and I'll make sure they don't detract from the forest or become litter.

And of course I was out on the trails near my home when we got back.

When I hiked a section of the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway, I was lucky to spot a Fox Squirrel.

This one had some distinguishing marks so I'll know it if I see it again.

I don't see one very often so it's always a thrill!

I have been calling it Silver Foxy because of the thick silver tail.

It's always an adventure when you get out on the trails.

Isn't he cute!!! 

And I have lots of photos to share from our camping trips.

Have you been taking advantage of the nice weather to get outside?

Happy Spring!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE 

and Nature Friday HERE!

Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway

 

I wanted to dedicate this post to the Greenway and share some of my favorite photos from my hikes there.

Of course I spent hours looking at 'favorite pics'!

I've been hiking the greenway for almost 10 years so I had trouble deciding which to share.

Please click on the link HERE to read the facebook page started by the Greenway Guardians. Duke Energy is proposing a project to build high voltage power lines THROUGH the Greenway! As you can imagine this would be disastrous to wildlife, birds, wildflowers and plants. Thanks go those fighting to preserve the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway. 

And join me down memory lane as I share a few of my sightings.

White tailed Deer

Bald Eagle

One of my favorite sightings!

Fox Squirrel

These squirrels can be spotted all through the Greenway. My girlfriend saw one a couple of weeks ago and said it was the largest one she had ever seen! I'm still on the look out for that one!

Barred Owl

Florida Scrub Jay

The Greenway habitat is very important for this rare bird!

Red headed Woodpeckers up on the hill!

I've named this hill the Bluebird of Happiness Hill!

Eastern Bluebirds

Gopher Tortoise

Longspurred Mint

One of my favorite sightings was this Florida Bobcat. I'll include a link to the bobcat story HERE in case you missed it!

Florida Bobcat

What a treasure this Greenway is to our community and to our state of Florida.

49th Ave Trailhead 

I've met people from all over the country (and the world) that visit Florida and walk or ride bikes on the Greenway. It is a treasure worth preserving!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !  

The Foxy Family in the pine forest!

 

I had planned a quick hike on the Greenway. (hiking the section between SR 484 and Hwy 200)

But before I even had my camera on, I looked ahead and saw something unusual on the ground!

Sherman's Fox Squirrel

Of all the critters you might see in the forest, the fox squirrel is one of the cutest!

I saw the one next to the trail run into the forest so I watched him climb a tree.

And lo and behold I saw another one scampering at the base of the same tree.

I was trying to stand perfectly still so they wouldn't go deeper into the forest when I lowered my camera to look around.

And there was one in the tree right next to me, watching ME!

I got lots of photos of him.

They are such beautiful critters!

There were really only two that I could get good photos of but I enjoyed watching them chasing each other!

I think they had fun watching me too!

This one was ignoring me. Doesn't it look like a cat in a tree?

But after awhile, I decided to finish my hike. 

It was hard to step away.

Right at the top of Bluebird of Happiness Hill, there was a big bird in the distance.

I love photographing this palm tree that grows in the wild.

And it turned out the big bird was an Eagle! WOW!

Bald Eagle.

When I turned to go back to the Jeep, I saw the Fox Squirrels again.

Two of them were together chasing each other up and down a tree.

One of the signs that a Fox Squirrel has been around is the stripped pine cones. They love to eat these.

I had fun watching them but they were playing their tricks to get rid of me.

Stretching out to be less noticeable?

This one was in a big hurry to get away. lol

And don't worry, no animals were harmed in the making of this post. They jump from limb to limb and keep on going!

What a fun sighting to see THREE of these critters in the forest! (two in the photo below)

Have you had a good week? Did you get out in nature to enjoy the surprises it holds? ENJOY!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.