Meeting hikers along the way!

 

We started hiking Halpata Tastanaki Preserve from the Pruitt Trailhead. 

Just as we have done many times before. 

When we got out of our vehicle, a young man was finishing his hike and he had a nice camera with a zoom lens. I asked him if he had seen anything interesting. He asked me what I considered interesting. I said, deer, wild boar, birds? He said he had seen 2 Sandhill Cranes. It made me think about the hikes when we don't see anything unusual...like this particular hike. It was very windy and warm and we walked a little faster than usual.

But we stopped when something caught our eye...

like the shade going across the trail...

or the brown grasses in the field...

or the Wooly PawPaw blooming...

and the large arrowhead that was carved from an old tree.

All of the interesting things you see when you get out in nature.

I appreciate the nice compliments many of you have made on my banner. So I thought I would tell you what you are seeing.

 

This is a paved trail, a portion of the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway for hikers and bikes, near the 49th Ave trailhead. The speed limit is for bikes obviously (no vehicles allowed). The tunnel goes under a street, 49th Ave and the little roof you see is an information kiosk. We were finishing our hike and I turned around and marveled at how GREEN it looked that day! And how beautiful.

Which road do you travel?

Do you stop along the way to take notice of the things you see.

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

I'm linking with All Seasons at the Jesh Studio,

AND my Monday post HERE.

Beautiful Bird Behavior!

 It is extremely hard to limit the photos for this post! We hiked at Blue Run Park this week and watched 4 Hawks displaying such interesting behavior!

First we saw a Hawk taking a bath!

He splished

and splashed 

and had a fun time!

Until this White Ibis came along and stirred up the water searching for food!

But then....

isn't the Ibis in breeding colors gorgeous?

Oh and speaking of breeding!

The second hawk we saw was putting on a display to attract a male.

I'm going to need to combine some of these pics to keep this post going.

The male Hawk DID fly in and they flew off together....

happily ever after!

The 4th Hawk was flying high overhead, possibly watching all of the 'goings on'!

What a day at the park! 

Have you ventured out into the wild this week?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’. 

Hiking along a Swamp in Florida!

 

I know when I say 'swamp' images of a bog with stagnant water might come to mind. But swamps are living things with plants and birds galore! (and turtles and frogs!)

And always changing!

The water level does go up and down according to the rains and the weather.

So it is always interesting to see how different they can look even from one week to the next.

You can see by the photo of the trail that things have greened up overnight here in North Central Florida. It's our dry season but it has been very warm this week and trees and plants have fully leafed out. 

Most of the trees in this swamp are Bald Cypress which lose their leaves in winter. So the new leaves are a very bright green.

Even the green in the water is plants that are alive and well....just like this alligator.

We were in Blue Run Park for this hike and the Blue Irises are blooming all along the river!

Lots of pretty wildflowers!

The clam shells were empty

and someone got back to the car with only one shoe!

But for us, the hike was a success!

Look at the beauty in nature! It never disappoints!

 

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

I'm linking with All Seasons at the Jesh Studio,

AND my Monday post HERE.

Let's take a neighborhood walk! Updated!

I love to walk over to the neighborhood pond on the days we don't hike. (with the time change it's easier to go before sunset)

I couldn't wait to see what ducks might be there and sure enough there was something unusual.

I thought it was a Scaup but Pamela said in her comment that it was a Ring-necked Duck. You know...that sounded very familiar! So I searched in my OWN blog and found a post HERE that I wrote exactly 3 years ago! And the funny thing was, I saw most of the very same ducks then at the very same location! Amazing!

If only I had a memory, it would help SO much! Thanks Pamela for helping me with this ID! 

 I tried to say this using 2 syllables like a true Southern is 'want to do' but it was driving my husband crazy so I looked up the pronunciation. It is ONE syllable and rhymes with stop or drop! (this was written when I thought it was a Scaup!)

Anyway it was fun to see a nice flock of them in the pond.

A Great White Egret was standing next to this Canada Goose

but when it flew it looked dark!

Bird ID can get tricky!

The Blue Irises were beautiful 

and there was another duck in the tall grasses.

The pond is gorgeous and lots of birds and critters use it!

But when I turned to leave, a coyote ran past! I expect to see wild critters in the woods but this was a surprise! It gave me a scare and I practically RAN all the way home! But when I did a search and read more about coyotes, they are not a threat to humans. The Humane Society says, "Coyote attacks on people are very rare. More people are killed by errant golf balls and flying champagne corks each year than are bitten by coyotes." The website is HERE. Oh and since we live on a golf course and I know we have a bottle of champagne in the fridge, we have even more things to worry about! hahahahaha!

So that was the exciting trip to the neighborhood pond! And it doesn't even count as a hike!

What's new in your corner of the world?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’. 

Spring is in the AIR!!!

 I probably should start this post with AHHHCHOOO! 

Yes we have pollen everywhere!

But the birds are singing and the wildflowers are blooming!

So how can I complain?

I tried to ID a few of the wildflowers that are blooming right now.

I have a new Florida Wildflower book by C, Ritchie Bell and Bryan J. Taylor so that really helps!

Alligator Weed + alligator shaped root = 2 baby alligators?

And if the birds and wildflowers aren't enough to make you smile (and you missed my last post), I hiked the Florida trails with my youngest son a few days ago! 

Believe me...I am STILL smiling!

I made this button for my sidebar! 42 hikes so far this year!

Have you had signs of Spring where you live?

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

I'm linking with All Seasons at the Jesh Studio,

AND my Monday post HERE.