Tag Archives: Lake Louisa State Park

On The Road

~Art by Isabella

January 3, 2016 Sheila 16 Comments

Every now and then moments of unexpected joy arrives at your doorstep…

In a world, upside down, with worries of our culture being destroyed, with sadness and defeat blasting over the airways, it was heartwarming to observe a family enjoying their holidays here in Lake Louisa State Park.

Howard and I were pleased to have met this lovely family – Dad, Mom, two sons and a daughter who were camped across from us.

Aidan and Isabella enjoyed petting Skye and Kloud, and that of course is how we met. Animals always seem to help people make a connection don’t they.

Yesterday, eleven year old Isabella presented us with a piece of art that she created using melted crayons. Her Dad stated, “This is a new thing kids are doing.” It warmed my heart! I know she was busy, biking, kayaking and sightseeing, which made her gift even more special.

They left this morning heading back to their daily routines of work and school. I wish for them, and know they will have, happy and successful lives. Sometimes you just know, based on interactions, this will be so.

Update:

I think I need to modify my post just a little; I didn’t know until just now, but should have known, that Aidan helped Isabella with this art piece and I want to give Aidan my thanks as well. Thank you, Aidan!

Art by Isabella

Isn’t it beautiful?

Wishing each of you – wonderful adventures, happiness in whatever you do, with love in your lives always.

Please, excuse the quality of the photo, it is taped to our dirty RV windshield.

On The Road, Photos-Landscapes

~Scenes from a morning walk

December 26, 2015 Sheila 8 Comments

Lake Louisa State Park, Clermont, Florida

Its hot here in Clermont, Florida with temperatures reaching 87 degrees. Walking for any length of time is out of the question. The “girls” get pretty hot, as do their human best friends! Sitting outside is tolerated for short periods of time; bugs can be a nuisance. However, for me being outside is preferred over sitting in AC.

We have a lovely site with a huge tree that shades the passenger side of the coach for most of the day. Birds visit, which is nice, along with other creepy crawly things, that is not so nice.

My five Orchids are enjoying being outside soaking up the humidity in the air and receiving moisture from the early morning dew. One is sprouting new buds; hopefully I will have a blooming Orchid soon.

Life goes on. Moments of pleasure, such as our walk this morning or sitting outside watching a Northern Cardinal pair hunt for bugs, make up for what we can’t control.

Enjoy each day!

At Home, On The Road, Sharing with other Blogs, Weekly Photo Challenge

~Weekly Photo Challenge: Intricate

May 2, 2015 Sheila 14 Comments

The Daily Post – Photo Challenge – Week of May 2, 2015 – “Intricate“.

Hubby and I like to hike and on occasion we come across a Golden Orb Spider. They create a huge and intricate web.

Banana Spider — This photo was taken at Lake Louisa State Park, near Clermont, Florida.

A Side View — These two photos were taken at Ray Roberts State Park near Dallas, Texas

The following photos are Milkweed Seeds. I took these photos while visiting a local park where I live. I think they have an interesting and intricate form.

It looks like the silk from a spiders web. — It looks like the silk from a spider’s web.

The featured image is a photo I took at another local park located off Highway 34 as you would travel west from Loveland to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. It is early morning rain drops on a spider’s web. The header photo are two Lady Bugs doing what they do to create more Lady Bugs! Photo taken in my yard.

I hope you enjoy my Intricate photos.

On The Road, Photos-Birds, Sharing with other Blogs

~Gobble, Gobble~

February 28, 2015 Sheila 14 Comments

_MG_3895 — A lovely pair of Wild Turkeys

Lake Louisa State Park, located near Clermont, Florida, has many acres of old-growth Orange Groves, some bordering the main road into the park. Presently, these groves are non-producing, but provide great habitat for birds and other wildlife.

Recently, some of these trees have been uprooted and stacked in piles as you can see in the photo below.

_MG_3725 — Uprooted Orange Trees. Rows and rows of them.

I wish the park’s management will allow some of the piles to remain for the wildlife seeking refuge, but I tend to believe they won’t. Better yet, why don’t they plant new trees in their place. They don’t have to replant orange trees.

This is what they looked like prior to being uprooted. — This is what the field looked like on December 26, 2014 as they began uprooting the trees..

Anyway “Lets Talk Turkey”

Late one evening about one week ago, leaving the guys behind, my friend Karla and I decided to jump in the car and head out in search of a pair of American Kestrels. We had been seeing them daily, when driving in and out of the park.

The Kestrels had been hanging around some of these mangled piles of orange trees, perhaps getting ready to build a nest. They would sit on one of the tallest points of the stack, probably looking for food. I wanted to capture a photo of them.

On this particular evening we didn’t see the American Kestrel pair, I think it was too late in the day, but we did see this gorgeous couple, along with seven other females, coming out of the woods to forage before roosting for the night. They were pretty far away so my photos aren’t the best. The guys missed out!

To learn more about our Wild Turkeys go to http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/wild-turkey/.

Until Next Time

Stay Frisky

_MG_3896 — Maybe she is saying, “pick me instead of her”.

I am sharing this post with Eileen, Viewing nature with Eileen for her Saturday’s Critters at http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com/2015/02/saturdays-critters-63.html