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.
Photos-Birds, Poetry

~A Snowy Egret and a little “this & that”

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In the glimmer of late evening,
birds gather at water’s edge,
still as statues,
graceful as ballerinas,
they hunt with patience and persistence,
their beauty is mine to admire.
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Snowy Egret
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“Do you see my Yellow Slippers?”

 While staying at Myakka River State Park…

I captured these photos as the sun was setting. They were fishing where an inlet runs into a lake. This series of the Snowy Egret are some of my favorites; I never get tired of watching them.

A little “this and that”….

We are currently back at Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont, Florida. It has been rainy and cool. Not much going on here, and in between rain showers we take long walks, just enjoying the beauty of this Florida State Park.

Monday, I hope to go play Pickleball at the Clermont Recreation Center. When we were here a month ago, I got to play. Loving my new paddle!

Howard took this photo, before the start of the games. Four nets setup in the gym at Clermont. I got to play twice for several hours. Met a lot of nice people.
Howard took this photo, before the start of the games. Four nets setup in the Clermont gym. I got to play twice for several hours. Met a lot of nice people.

Yesterday we enjoyed a late lunch at World of Beer.

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This beer is called Midnight Oil. It is a very dark oatmeal, coffee stout! Yummy! It is brewed at a Florida brewery called Swamp Head Brewing.

Ham Radio and what’s coming up on our schedule…

Howard has setup his Ham Radio antennas and has spent a little time “on the air”. Wednesday we pull into the Orlando Fairgrounds, with a group of friends, for what is called HamCation.

HamCation is a huge convention of ham radio operators and other electronic vendors. Our group, FMCA, Amateur Radio Club, park our rigs on the grounds with easy access to all the activities. People from all over the world attend, shopping for bargains. It is a lot of fun and we are hoping for good weather, no rain!

Until next time, stay dry and warm!

 

 

On The Road, Photos-Birds, Poetry

Northern Mockingbird-a Tanka

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~

atop a bush he sits

his gaze speaks to me

we share a note

through my lens I see

a twinkle in his golden eye

~

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Atop a bush he sits…
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A twinkle in his golden eye…

I captured these photos on January 6, 2016 while visiting Myakka River State Park. I captured a Mockingbird at this very spot last year; I wonder if it is the same bird.

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

~A walk through the spirit of a day

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Alafia River State Park
January 26, 2016
~
A walk through the spirit of a day,
The path before us leads the way,
The breeze blows, tree canopies sway,
Sunbeams don’t reach the ground, the skies are gray,
Little eyes peer out of the bay,
On a log, in the water they play,
Heard the nine notes, the elusive owl looks for prey,
She will show herself we say,
It truly was delightful, yea.
~
Nature has a heart.
Nature has a heart.
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“Is he smiling?”
Pals?
Pals?
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Gnatcatcher, Blue-grey

 

What ya see Larry?
“What ya see Larry?”
Karla
Karla
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“I’am watching you.”

Thanks for a good time!

On The Road, Photos-Birds, Photos-Landscapes

~Alafia River State Park

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Alafia River State Park, Lithia, Florida

We are currently in Alafia River State Park. Our friends Karla and Larry are camping here with us for a few days, and we are very glad they are here.

Since Wednesday we managed to get in a few walks and one neat hike. If you like to bike and/or ride horses, Alafia River is the place to come. Check out this beautiful Florida State Park here: Alafia River.

Here are a few photos of our site and the campground. We have four Live Oak trees on our site.

Our rig
Our side yard for seven days.
Paved streets into the park and around the loops.
My Orchid seems to like it also. One started to bloom again!
Our view out the front windshield .
Water and electric; central dump station.
Pavilion amphitheater
Horse stalls
Lake on a cloudy day
Butterfly Garden in winter

The girls are enjoying it here.

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Skye River
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Kloud
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A trail
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A pond
Karla, Larry and Howard
Karla, Larry and Howard. Check out this bike trail.This park is known for its elaborate bike trails.

This park is pastoral and peaceful, and filled with live oak trees. The birds love these Live Oak trees. We have spotted several Osprey, one Bald Eagle and seventeen other species so far. Here is a beautiful Green Heron and a Killdeer.

Green Heron
Killdeer
A little fall color in winter. Alafia River State Park
A little fall color in winter. Alafia River State Park

More later…

Uncategorized

~What do you do?

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Myakka River State Park, Sarasota, Florida

It began to rain last evening around 9:30pm. It has rained a lot while we have been in Florida this winter thanks to El Nino. The rain continued all night.

The rain was extremely heavy, the thunder loud, waking us up periodically. Around 3:15am or so our iPhones were screeching, lighting up our bedroom. We knew right away that a weather alert was sent to the phone. It stated: “Severe Thunderstorms in the area until 4:00am.” Okay, we could deal with that, we certainly knew we were right in the middle of a severe thunderstorm.

The next screech alerted us a few minutes later, “Tornado Warning until 4:15am, Seek Shelter Immediately.” Okay, this isn’t good.” What to do?

The next alert came within minutes, “Tornado Warning until 4:30am, Seek Shelter Immediately.” Still the question, “what to do”. Its very dark here in the park, it is raining hard, the wind is gusting and we are in a RV!

It continued to rain heavily, the lightning and thunder were frequent,  and the wind was gusting at times, rocking the coach. It was reported this morning, that in some areas the wind gusts were 125mph.

We began to watch the radar on the iPhone, watching the little blue dot that was us, wishing this storm would pass over quickly. Eventually it passed and we fell back to sleep. Needless to say, it was scary. Our winter home on wheels is no completion against a tornado.

This morning, watching the Weather Channel, we learned that there were two tornadoes near us, houses and businesses were damaged, two people were killed and many others injured.

We have never experienced anything this severe while traveling in our coach. Yes, we have been in thunderstorms and high winds, but we haven’t been in the vicinity of two tornadoes before.

We were fortunate, we had our iPhones and received these alerts, at least we knew what was going on. I have to wonder, what should/could we have done, if anything?

Our heart goes out to those who were in harms way.