After many days of cloudy skies and heavy rains we finally have had a few days of sunshine. On an early morning walk, in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, we spotted these Sandhill Cranes and an Osprey fishing for its breakfast. The early morning light created a nice image on the Loxahatchee River.
I first spotted the Osprey standing at the edge of the river. I could not see if it had anything in its talons. I tried to get as close as I could without scaring it, but without a longer lens it was not close enough to capture a great photo. It watched me creeping closer and decided to take off. It flew across the river and twice dove down to the surface. I would love to know if it had food in its talons. Why was it driving down to skim the water’s surface? It did not appear as if it was diving for food, but instead dipping its talons in the water as if to keep something wet.
These two Sandhill Cranes were walking around in the grass, feeding. We spotted them just as we got out of the car, driving from our RV site to the Loxahatchee River in the back of the park. I needed to walk around them to have the sun behind me. They keep an eye on me as I walked around them and tried to get closer to take my shots. They really seemed to just ignore me, but I knew they were watching me! They are beautiful birds and I love watching them.
A couple of weeks ago we spent four days at Lake Griffin State Park in Fruitland Park, Florida. It is an old state park; small, lovely and quiet. The ranger told me, “We are small, but we have a lot of pride”. She is right! We certainly enjoyed our stay there.
Lake Griffin State Park is nestled in a heavily forested area near the populated towns of Fruitland Park, Lady Lake, Leesburg and The Villages. After hours spent enjoying anyone of these towns, it is always nice to return to the peace of quite of the park.
If you ever plan to stay at this State Park be aware that some of the sites are hard to maneuver into, especially if you are 40 feet long. I would recumbent sites, 13, 17 and 19. We were in site 38, which is a large, pull through, but a little difficult to swing into. However, once you are in the site it is extremely easy to leave the park.
where are you going
little blue so determined
does your shadow know
We love to stop, for a few days, at Eastbank Campground as we travel east on I-10. Eastbank is a US Army Corps of Engineer Park located in Bainbridge, GA; however, the nearest town is Chattahoochee, Florida.
The park, with its heavily treed and hilly grounds with Lake Seminole as a back drop, is a picturesque and peaceful place.
One could sit for hours down by the lake and watch the hundreds of shorebirds feeding, or watch the forest birds hunting for bugs and berries, or just relax and marvel at the beauty of the setting sun.
We never know what the weather will be at Lake Seminole and this time, as we passed through, it was still winter. This place is so beautiful, no matter the weather, we still get out to enjoy hiking, birdwatching, photo taking and watching beautiful sunsets announce the end of joyful experiences.
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