Dirt to curtains & everything in between... The joys & sometimes trials of a simple country life.
As someone born and raised on the only continent in the world that does not have wild squirrels (other than those that have escaped zoos) I have a special fascination with these cute little tree rodents ever since moving to the USA...In fact during my first visit to the USA almost 35% of the photographs I took home were of the squirrel playing in the front yard of the house in Charlotte NC...I was totally enchanted.
Since moving to FL 7yrs ago I have always felt a special delight each time I see the big Eastern Fox Squirrel (that is what the "locals" tell me they are called...or cat squirrels) ....These guys are huge compared to the small grey and red squirrels I had grown so fond of in NC....The first time one darted across the road in front of me I was sure it was a cat because of it's size....I slammed on my breaks and then watch it dart half way up a tree on the other side of the road, spin around to twitch it's tail and tell me "what for" as only a squirrel can...
Alas we have never been graced with one of these guys on our property...at least not that I had seen...that was until today....Me thinks he might be after some of those pears since that is what brings in the small Eastern Grays (and lots of birds) to the trees just 30ft from our backdoor.
Isn't he/she just gorgeous...and since we have more than enough pears to share...I hope our new visitor decides to stay for awhile so we can enjoy watching his/her squirrel antics.
Otter Springs, is a second magnitude natural spring with an average temperature of 73 degrees...This is a photo of the "boil" (where the water comes out of the ground)
Another view of the boil...As you can see the with the lack of rain both here and GA the water table is really low...I think this is why the "boil" is not creating much movement at the water surface.
The low water table however did not slow lil Sara down...she was delighted to be at "the beach"..
Because we were so early we got to enjoy the springs to ourselves for the first hour or so...Later others began to arrive and Sara quickly made friends and borrowed a bucket and spade to make mud castles with. (Note to mummy - Pack bucket and spade next trip)
Sara and Daddy playing in the water...Daddy showed off skipping stones...A skill he kept hidden from me for over 11yrs...I was much impressed...
With Sara and Daddy occupied skipping stones, I decided to take my camera on a little nature walk...Can you see the crane? and there are turtles sunning themselves among the tree roots on the left below the 2 large trees...
Around the corner the stream from the boil leads into the branch that after about a mile joins the Suwannee River...The Rope indicates to boaters they are not allowed any closer to the Spring and swimming areas.
A large crane feather on the waters edge...
Tree roots sticking out of the water along the banks of the branch...
Tree and roots across the water from me...Now if I could just work out how to get a decent close up from here of the turtle sunning himself next to that ugly black log...
THAT AIN'T NO LOG!!!!
We awoke this morning to find our butterfly had emerged from the Chrysalis and drying its wings...
I gently moved the entire jar, dill branch and butterfly to the breakfast bar to get a better photo of those beautiful wings..
Lil Sara thought it was very pretty but did not like it when it crawled up her arm...I tried to take a photo of it on her but it was not good..
Just a couple of hours after we got up and it was ready to fly away...I opened the french doors and bid our butterfly fair-de-well...I am sure we will see him again around the garden with all the other butterflies..
It was such a delight to happen upon him as a big fat caterpillar and amazing to find him again the next day tucked away in his Chrysalis...and here we are just 10 short days later and the wonders of nature are revealed before our eyes...
Standing inside my living room I looked out to see one of my lovely parent birds singing a song of love from on top of the bird feeder hook...
The caterpillar I shared last week is now sleeping...I picked the branch of dill it was on and now have it safely in a vase in my kitchen...I so hope Lil Sara will get to see the butterfly that will emerge..
The flowers around and inside the suitcase are blooming...
Oh boy now both parents are outside my window making lots of noise...
This is the view of my faux stag horn and basket from inside my living room...
Peek-a-boo...can you see the baby bird peeking out of the faux greenery...
Oh boy...now the baby is on top of the basket...Parents are very excited now...Fortunately he did return inside to the nest...Not quiet ready to leave this day (Monday)...
What a fun surprise to find this cute fat (not so little) caterpillar munching away on my dill..Thanks to my MIL's research we found out he will become a Black Swallowtail butterfly.
I am thrilled by the sheer number and different types of butterflies we have flitting around the garden this year...I planted with hopes of attracting them, but was not expecting so many...
I have always admired images of cone flowers and was surprised to have them bloom in my own garden this week courtesy of the cottage mix seeds I scattered back in Feb...Anyone who follows my blog will have figured out by now I am totally loving the number of flowers I have gotten from this one $1.99 box of seeds from Dollar General..Will be buying more of them next year for sure...Not to mention allowing my current flowers to reseed as well..
And just as I was about to give up, the White Wisteria seeds my MIL sent me have finally begun to grow...I was ready to toss the soil back into the bag of potting soil to be reused else where...Not any more...
And an update on my baby wrens...They are now a week old and I finally was able to get a non-blurred photo of them...You look at them like this and it is hard to believe they will be ready to fly in just one more week...Mom and dad work around the clock during daylight hours bringing them lots of tasty morsels...When you are on the porch you can hear them calling for more food non-stop also...I think my cockatiels are enjoying having some bird company on the porch.
Though the Gladioli are finished for the year there are still plenty going on in this 8x8 garden bed ...The 2 small rose bushes planted in here are currently hidden by the "cottage mix" flowers I sprinkled around them at the beginning of spring...Now this lovely mix is showing all its lovely gems and if the box is to be believed will continue to do so all summer long...I sure do hope so...
A bee enjoying the Corn Flowers..
I love these pretties...From what I can tell these are "Gloriosa Daisies" but I could be wrong..Anyone know for sure?
And of course the king of summer flowers, the sunflower, courtesy of the bird feed that used to hang over this spot :)
And lastly a very bad photo of the best part of a spring time garden...Wren Chicks...these babies are inside a basket containing my faux Stag-horn plant that hangs on the front porch...
I could not get a better photo because momma and poppa have done a great job of making sure the nest is down deep inside the basket under the faux plant and I did not want to disturb them anymore than I already had...
