Homosassa Springs Part 2

*Bunny update...  after googling wild baby bunnies last night I found out that it was, indeed, old enough to survive on its own if it didn't find its Momma and that wild bunnies were difficult to care for in captivity and most did not survive.  So, armed with that information, my plan (before collapsing into bed from sheer exhaustion from a day of working on the duck pond enclosure) was to release it first thing in the morning if it survived the night from the stress of being captured and being in captivity.  Thankfully, the bunny did survive the night and even ate all the lettuce!

This morning when Hunter wasn't looking and before my first cup of coffee and morning chores, I took the bunny to the front of the property and released it.  The bunny hurriedly hopped away.  I said a prayer for the survival of the little thing and that Hunter wouldn't find it or any more bunnies for that matter.

~~~~~

Now for some more color and nature as one reader aptly put it...

I just love Caladiums, especially the ones that have pink in them.  This was taken during the torrential downpour with extremely loud and close cracks of thunder.  Can you see the rain on the boardwalk?

Pelicans amaze me.  They are such a big and bulky bird that it seems it would be almost impossible for them to get airborne and fly.  These are Brown Pelicans...

These are White Pelicans...

Love the blue eyes surrounded by yellow!

This is a Double Crested Cormorant.  He was hanging out with the Flamingos.

I like the tufts of feathers coming out the top of his head!

A Great White Heron...

A Great Egret.  One way to tell the difference between the two is by the color of the legs.

A Great Blue Heron before the rain storm...

How 'bout some pretty flowers...

I think my hummingbirds would love this flower...

Take some time to reflect...

And, last for today but certainly not least, is the ever graceful and elegant Swan...

I hope y'all aren't getting bored with this yet cuz there's more to come!  Stay tuned and have a wonderful day!

Till next time,

Special Day Part II & Reorganizing

On Tuesday's all day fishing venture, I shot over 200 photos.  That's not really a lot of photos considering the number of hours I spent sitting at the back of the boat yet Country Boy always thinks I take WAY more than necessary!  It's digital... what does it matter.  Right?  Back in the film days I would not have even dreamed about taking that many!  But, I digress...

There are some really pretty and interesting plant life floating along the edges of the rivers and lakes. 

I'm not sure what kind of flowers these are but they reminded me of orchids.  

Here's a closer picture.  See how they're symmetrical like an orchid?  I also like all the different types of vegetation in this photo.

I believe these are water lilies.

As you can see, I'm not up on my water flowers!

Feel free to correct me if you know what these flowers are!

My husband calls this a cabbage plant.  Water cabbage maybe *hee,hee*!

The dew on these cabbages looked like diamonds sparkling in the sunlight.

That was not a plant, I was just making sure you were paying attention!

The wildlife was plentiful.

Common Moorhen

I don't know what kind of bird this is (TexWisGirl, a little help please!) but there were quite a few of them hopping from one lily pad to another.  I really enjoyed watching them.  It was almost like they were playing a game!

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Sandhill Cranes in flight

And of course, the scenery was lovely.  There's something about being on the water that seems to take away any cares in the world you may have.

The water in the second lake we went to was so clear and fairly shallow.

What a great place to sit and relax and enjoy the view!

For those of you wondering if Country Boy caught anything all day, the answer is yes, but he threw them back in because they were too small.  He didn't catch as many as he was hoping for... maybe next time!  And, in case you're wondering what I did all day (other than take pictures!) I read, stretched, did some WordFind puzzles, stretched, grabbed the net when CB caught a fish, stretched, handed out the snacks & water and did I mention I stretched *hee,hee*!  Our jonboat is rather small and the seat is rather hard.  My bum was sore that evening and the next day!  But, at least, I didn't fall out of the boat every time I stretched!  This matey has some good sea legs!

Country Boy stayed out as long as possible.  As we were heading back to the boat ramp the sun was beginning to set below the tree line.

I've been practicing capturing 'starbursts'.

That was our special day!

Today?  Country Boy is working.  I'm watering the garden and tackling the dreaded guestroom.  I am in the midst of reorganizing (the house, basically) so that I can make the guestroom into a sewing room while there are no guests!  My current sewing room is on the front porch.  While it's a lovely time of year to be 'outside' enjoying the sights and sounds, eventually it will be too cold to be out there for very long.  I also have to iron the fabric in the kitchen, cut the fabric on the dining table and do the sewing on the front porch.  My goal is to be more efficient and have everything in one location.  It's difficult to do in a small house with no extra 'bonus' rooms of any sort so I'm having to get creative!  Which is fine.  I like being creative!

So far, I have unloaded every book from one of two double bookshelves (I like to read!) which were located against one wall in the guestroom and relocated it to our bedroom. I then proceeded to fill it up again!  Today, I'm unloading the rest of the books off the second bookshelf and moving it to the living room.  Then, I will load the books back on it and then start reorganizing the guestroom which is currently a staging area for  things that I am going to donate to the local thrift store.  Once I have some room to move around in there, I am going to set up a sewing table and a second table for cutting.  I may also have to play around with the furniture placement in there.  I'm hoping the bulk of it (the furniture moving) will be finished today but it will take some time to sort through and make decisions on the rest of the stuff.

I've procrastinated long enough... I've had my Claritin (allergies were bad this morning... something about October for me and my allergies), my breakfast and as SpongeBob would say "I'm ready"!

Till next time,

A Special Day with Country Boy

Country Boy decided that he wanted to go fishing yesterday.  So, he spent some time on Monday prepping his boat and we bought some Night Crawlers at the Bait & Tackle shop in town.  Tuesday morning we headed out to the river which is only a few miles down the road.  This was my first trip on this river so I was anxious to see what the sites were!  I was not disappointed!

The sun was peeking through the trees and there was a mist on the water's surface.  

After launching the boat, we headed to a small lake.

Once we arrived at the lake, there was lots of casting, reeling in and shutters clicking!

Great Blue Heron

There wasn't a lot of talking going on.  Instead, we just enjoyed being with each other and sharing this beauty together.

This Limpkin was a great subject for the camera.  I think he enjoyed posing!

I coulda' used a good stretch too!

The birds were singing, the cicadas were humming, the sound of water lapping against the boat, and so many sights to see!

It was a beautiful day to be outside.

This reminded me that it is Fall!

We came in around 2:00 and headed home.  I made some spaghetti sauce to have for dinner that night and cooked up some chicken to put in salads or wraps.  After that, we headed back out again to another lake.  

I'll share more photos later... I don't want you to fall asleep at the computer!  I also need to get back to my HUGE re-organizing project that I started this morning and need to get done before Country Boy gets home *yikes*.  I have WAY too much stuff for this size house *sigh*.  Must.get.rid.of.more.stuff!

Till next time,