Red-headed woodpecker

We got such a good look at a bird we have never seen before! 

 

A Red-headed woodpecker. It flew right in front of our car and we had a good place to pull over to get photos.

 

 I only got one that shows his bright colors.

 

He moved around the tree and the others were just in silhouette.

How exciting to see this beautiful bird near our home here in Florida. Wikipedia states HERE that it is listed as near threatened. We see a lot of different woodpeckers here in Florida but this one was very different in it's coloring.

 

Have you had a good week too?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

Fences, Fences, Fences!!!

I live in North Central Florida, in the Horse Capitol of the World! You can read about our city HERE in Wikipedia.

 

(this horse was actually scratching it's neck on the fence, do you see the fences in the background?)

 

We love to drive around and see the gorgeous horse farms. So after a nice walk on Mother's Day, we took a drive just a few miles North of our home to take some photos.

 

It was a bright day and I liked the way the rows and rows of fences showed up against the green grass.

 

Beautiful! 

 

And enough fences for a 'month of good fences' so...

I'm joining Tex for Good Fences!

Favorite Things!

Any idea what some of my 'favorite things' are?

 

BOOKS! Oh how I love BOOKS!!!

 

And I found some treasures at the Library Book Sale last week.

 

I'm always thrilled to find an old school book or reader. It takes me back to happy times. And I've always wanted a copy of Hitty and was surprised to find one finally!

 

Of course a leather bound copy of Shakespeare is precious too.

 

And remember this quote from Little Women, "Some books are so familiar that reading them is like being home again." Louisa May Alcott  I found a beautiful old copy of Little Women to treasure.

 

I’m joining Beautiful Sunday.

Happy Mother's Day!

Have a wonderful day!!!

 

Blessings, Diane

(comments closed so you can enjoy your day)

Eagle Sighting!

I looked up into the sky here in Florida and saw several birds. Usually when you see more than one, they turn out to be buzzards. But it appeared that there were crows chasing some bigger birds so I went inside and grabbed my camera!

 

It turned out I was seeing two large eagles!

 

They are some of the most beautiful birds to spot!

I was so happy that I took the chance to take photos.

 

And even more surprising was this photo.

 

An osprey was in the 'flock' too!

So there turned out to be 2 eagles, an osprey and several crows....

and they didn't appear to be getting along well with others! lol

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

Have you seen anything out of the ordinary this week?

Summer time Hiking at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve!

These are photos from over a week ago. It's hard to believe it's gotten too hot to hike already. 

 

But when the cactus blooms at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve, you can be sure it's HOT!

 

They sure have beautiful blooms though.

 

 And I managed to get a few next to the fence to join Tex today!

 

I'm not sure what this plant is but the flowers look like crepe paper.

 

They are so unusual!

 

I'm joining Tex for Good Fences!

Who can I blame? Wendy?

We sometimes blame Wendy for things that go wrong in our house.

I know it's wrong to blame her but she is full of mischief!

 

And I think she was all set to do her own post when I found her at my computer!

 

She has been very unhappy wearing a heavy velour outfit in this heat!

 

So the next thing I found was THIS!

 

Who can blame her? It's been around 90 degrees for several days now. 

 

Do you find when you don't have a lot of energy that you don't have much enthusiasm either? I have had to take stock of my energy level and figure out what to change. It's too hot to hike and my sweet hubby is working hard on our landscaping right now. So a week ago, I decided to start taking a walk in the evenings and to change my diet. Not 'go on a diet'....just take some of the carbs out and goodies that I like to nibble on. I can't eat sugar but carbs can give me the same bad sugar rush if I eat too many. So I made a change to see if I could boost my energy level and not feel hungry all the time. I've walked 6 days in a row and I feel so much better. I also dressed Wendy in a cooler outfit. I hope she doesn't start watching TV during the day! I have enough bad habits to deal with! hahaha!

 

Do you link food and exercise to energy and moods? It sure makes a difference in how I feel. The end results make it worth the effort....I keep saying that! (and I won't eat that granola, I'll let hubby have it) Any other 'words of advice'?

Let's call this one 'Wednesday Wee Ones'

just for FUN!!!

Look UP! "Swallow-tailed Kite"

And you really need to look UP every time you go outside here in Florida. We have so many wonderful birds that live here and many more that migrate through the central part of the state.

 

I watched this Swallow-tailed Kite from the driveway.

 

He was so far up in the sky that most of my photos are a little blurry.

 

But at least I could see that he had something in his talons. It looked like a twig maybe.

 

I learned more about these beautiful birds at Wikipedia HERE. "They are endangered in South Carolina, threatened in Texas, and rare in Georgia. A key conservation area is the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge in Florida." And we live very near that area.

 

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

I know the weather is changing in many parts of the US right now! So be sure to look UP when you go outside!

Window Boxes on Fences

That's a catchy title...don't you think?

 

I took these through the window of our car as we were driving through Williston, FL.

 

It was across from the Ivy House but we didn't stop! The Ivy House is an AMAZING place to eat though if you are ever in this neck of the woods.

 

What a beautiful day for a drive!

I'm joining Tex for Good Fences!

The Purple House

Well, our house isn't really purple...it's more a lovely light shade of lavender! 

 

This is a 'before' pic! Progress photos coming soon!

 

A quick pic of the guys laying sod on the side of the house, making the flower beds smaller. 

So that's what's keeping us busy this month. We've had old shrubs removed, grass planted so that our flower beds aren't so wide, and new plantings are going in every day. Thanks Honey! He's planting and watering every day! 

 

When I look at the past month, I see how much we love the outdoors and viewing nature. It will be nice to get our yard back in shape to make it easier to maintain. Then we'll have more time for hiking!

I’m joining Beautiful Sunday and

Lavender Cottage for Mosaic Monday 

Amaze Me Monday HERE  

Talk of the Town HERE and

  Thoughts on Home on Thursdays HERE.

 

The temps will be near 90 every day this week! Summer comes early in Florida! How's your weather this week?

 

Black-Crowned Night-Heron

I wasn't quite sure what this bird was when I saw it at Blue Run Park in Dunnellon, FL. It was in the same area that we saw the Black-Crowned Night-Heron that I posted HERE.

 

But it didn't have a black head. 

 

So we think it's a juvenile.

 

From the back, it looked like a gray goose! lol

 

Here he is in the swamp.

I'm glad I was able to get down the trail and get a better look at him. And don't you DARE laugh at his 'hair'! Just be glad I couldn't take a pic of MY hair! lol It was windy!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.