All posts by Sheila

I have a passion for the outdoors and I am most happy enjoying what nature has to offer. Hobbies include photography, birding, Pickleball, astronomy, biking, and hiking. I have been happily married, for 50 years, to an amazing person.

On The Road, Photos-Birds

~Today’s Feathered Friend-Wood Stork

March 25, 2016 Sheila 6 Comments

Photos from Myakka River State Park, Florida – January, 2016

In many cultures, storks represent fertility, springtime and good luck.

Beauty I have none,

grace in flight I have plenty,

perseverance, I am proof.

_MG_5676

Interesting Fact:

This species seems to have evolved in tropical regions; its North American presence probably postdates the last ice age. A fossil fragment found might be of the living species; it is at most from the Late Pleistocene age, a few 10,000s of years ago.

Sharing with Charlotte at Prairie Birder

On The Road, Photos-Flowers, Plants, Trees, Poetry

~Poetry-Japanese Lantern Form – Yes

March 23, 2016 Sheila 5 Comments

Here is my Japanese Lantern poem. Inspired by Jane at Just Another Nature Enthusiast (see link below).

~

Yes

Smile

Positive

Simple pleasures

Yea

~

One evening last week, I captured the sun setting behind this tree. The branches form the letter Y. So as it usually goes, I wake up with words in my head. I remembered reading Jane’s post about Japanese Lantern poetry form.

~Here are the rules as posted by Jane on her blog ` Jane

A five-line, eleven-syllable shape poem take the form of a Japanese lantern.

Line 1: one syllable (usually the topic and a noun)
Line 2: two syllables about the topic
Line 3: three syllables about the topic
Line 4: four syllables about the topic
Line 5: one syllable (synonym of or related to the first line)

Say yes instead of no when you can, always offer a smile, be positive, enjoy simple pleasures and all things in nature.

On The Road, Photos-Birds

~Today’s Feathered Friend-Northern BobWhite

March 19, 2016 Sheila 2 Comments

Lake Colorado City State Park, Texas

We were sitting at the dining table in the RV, at Lake Colorado City State Park, drinking hot chocolate. The day was cold, cloudy and very windy keeping up mostly inside. Kloudy alerted us to the fact that something was in the area. Looking out the window we spotted a covey of Northern Bobwhites.

I scrambled to get my camera to take some photos. These are not the best quality shots, but I enjoyed seeing this group.

This is the closest I have ever been to a covey of Northern Bobwhites and the most I have ever seen at one time.

_MG_6690

_MG_6688

We spent two nights at Lake Colorado City State Park, waiting out the snowy weather in Colorado.

Instead of heading to Amarillo and spending our time in a private RV park, we chose to stay another day in this lovely Texas State Park, observing nature without neighbors.

This was our second visit to Lake Colorado City State Park.

On The Road

~Our visit to Texas Hill Country

March 18, 2016 Sheila 4 Comments

Our visit to the Texas Hill Country and the Buckhorn Lake Resort…

Kerrville, Texas, located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country is a picturesque place, and one of our favorite cities to visit while traveling along I10.

The Buckhorn Lake Resort is one of our favorite private parks. The Buckhorn is unique in that it offers travelers many choices of RV sites: back-in sites along grassy fields, pull-throughs in the interior of the park, pull-ins with a view of beautiful Goat Creek, an area for adults only, and privately owned Casitas with RV parking. They have rental cabins, a huge barn where entertainment and dining are offered, meeting rooms, two bath houses with hot tubs and pools, an exercise room, a doggie park, a tennis court, basketball goals, four Pickleball Courts (new), and an outside meeting place for happy hour. They also offer scheduled events and bus transportation to many of the attractions in the area – Bandara, Fredericksburg, San Antonio plus many others.

I am sure I have missed something. If interested go to their web-site and have a peek at this beautiful RV park – Buckhorn Lake Resort. They truly have earned the “Resort” in their name.

When you enter the park there is a lot of room to stop for registering or hooking-up when leaving. The registration office below.

_MG_6654

This huge windmill sits in the middle of a circle as you enter just below the office.

_MG_6653

View of a bath house, pool, Red Barn, rental cabins and gathering place for happy hour.

Red Barn, grounds with a dog park behind

Meeting place outside the Red Barn

Old Red Tractor wits along side the Red Barn

Rental Cabins

One of two bath houses with hot tub and pool.

A view of the Casitas. These were built during phase three. The ones below this photo were built during phase one. You can see as time passed the Casitas got larger.

_MG_6658