Moss Park - Sunday Update

I may start doing a weekly Moss park update or some "outdoor" photography update each week since we usually do something outdoors every weekend. Yesterday, Kevan and I went to Moss Park to spend a few hours watching the wildlife and walking/driving around.

Shortly after we arrived we saw this momma deer. Kevan was able to walk almost all the way up to her. Then, we drove around where the boat dock parking lot is and saw this sweet baby.
We realized the twin was in the bushes and were able to wait around to get a pic of them together.

We ended up seeing many deer, a ton of sandhill cranes (that would run up to our car like they were happy to see us), a baby armadillo (didn't get a good pic) and squirrels. This is the first time we have gone and didn't see a single hawk (except for one flying by us) so I was a little disappointed, but the twins made up for it. It was a little rainy, but we still enjoyed our visit.

Moss Park (Orlando, FL)

Kevan and I go to Moss Park quite a bit. We have been there camping, hiking, fishing and we also go there on most Sunday afternoons to just drive/walk around. If you like wildlife it is a wonderful park to see. Who knew that all of this wildlife existed in a non-Disney park in Orlando?

We normally see hawks, deer, sandhill cranes, racoons, woodpeckers, various other birds and we've even seen a scrub jay. There is also a boat launch or you can fish off the shore. I did catch a pretty good size bass one day while we were there. Below are a few pics of what we encounter on our visits.

The other night while driving down the road toward the entrance we found this little guy. Isn't he cute!

Then, these sandhill cranes tried to get in our car. It may have been due to the fact that there was some leftover Taco Bell in the car that they smelled, but I like to believe they wanted to come home with us. :o)

We've seen hawks almost every time we've visited (mostly near the boat launch). Here is a picture of a hawk we were watching the other day. His head is totally turned watching us and that is the back of his body. Pretty amazing. We also caught a hawk that had a snake and was almost finished eating him. Click here if you want to see him.

If you are interested in viewing our other Moss Park pics, my favorites are here and ALL of them are here.

I will leave you with this. He is just so darn cute.

The Bird Woman

I am scared I'm becoming one of those bird freaks. You know, the kind that wear their funny hats, suspender shorts, black socks pulled up to their knees, big beige boots and always have binoculars hanging from their neck. I must confess....I love birds. Any bird. Even vultures. I think they are cute. Look at this face.

I am now trying to remember to have my camera with me at all times just in case I see a bird that beckons me to take his picture. Which, they all do. Living in Florida is a dream come true for a girl that has a heart that skips a beat every time she sees a bird through her camera lens. No wonder I have heart palpitations! There are soooo many different types of birds in Florida. Be right back...(I need to go get my suspenders and black socks then head out for a walk). Oops, did I say that out loud?

Everglades National Park

Kevan and I traveled to Homestead, FL to see Coral Castle. Kevan apparently did his research before we arrived in Homestead and had a little idea in the back of his mind that he didn’t share with me until after we were finished with Coral Castle and had a few wine tastings at the winery. He wanted to drive all the way to Flamingo, FL.

As you can see from the picture below, it is the southernmost tip of Florida.I have to say, I wasn’t really excited about the idea. It was 5pm and there are no restaurants/gas stations on the way and I like a plan. I like to pretend in my mind that I am this adventurous woman, but in reality I don’t like things sprung upon me! Also, I don't like to be in the middle of nowhere when it is getting dark. I do not like the dark! So, we decided to stop at the Visitors Center and check it out first. They were closing, but the ranger told us to go to the Royal Palm Stop and do the Anhinga Trail before we headed out. It was a few miles up the road so we decided to go. I'm so glad we did.When we began the trail we saw this Anhinga trying to swallow his catfish dinner.

Just a few feet from this guy/gal we saw another one drying his wings in the sun.

Anhingas are really funny birds. Driving around Merritt Island we see them all the time in the water. You will be looking out at the water and all of a sudden you will see this little head pop up. You will think in your head that it must be a snake or a turtle or something. Not a bird! Birds don't walk/swim around underwater. Then, you see him go back under and come back up with his little head popping up like a scope on a submarine. It is really funny to watch. Once they get their fill of fish they jump out of the water and dry their wings on the side of the bank. They also have feet like a duck.

As we continued the Royal Palm trail we found a boardwalk that went out into the water and looped around to a place further down the trail. Now, I like docks and all, but I'm not crazy about a huge boardwalk that you can't see land from because it is this huge trail that goes all around the water. But, I sucked air in and tried to be a man (I mean, a tough woman). Trying to forget that the boardwalk was making creaking noises when I walked on it and I could fall through at any moment (because people fall through all the time! lol!). I didn't say I was rational. You wouldn't want to fall in with a thing like this right next to you would you?

I didn't think so. We saw at least 6 of these guys swimming around just waiting for a helpless woman to fall in!

As we were finishing the boardwalk trail we saw more birds like this one:There were so many more wildlife, but I can't post them all here. So, if you are interested in seeing the rest, go here.

Memorial Weekend

Kevan and I went to Weston, FL for Memorial Weekend. We stayed at the timeshare resort, Vacation Village of Weston. We had a small 1 bedroom suite. It was one of the nicest resorts we’ve stayed at through our RCI Timeshare. We had a HUGE pool with the largest hot tub I have ever been in. It was very quiet, clean and all the workers were really nice.

When I woke up in the morning I went out onto our balcony and saw this little baby sitting in one of the palm trees.

Then, while Kevan was in the shower I decided to go ask the pool lady where the best place for breakfast would be. On my way I saw this worried Mama with her baby.

The pool lady told us that the best place for breakfast was Bagel Mania in Sunrise, FL. It was really good and I highly recommend it if you are in the area. We ate there all 3 mornings that we were at the resort. :o) Over the next few days I will update everyone on the rest of our trip.

I'm back

I stopped blogging for awhile because I've been busy with school (Liberty University) and with work/life. But, I've decided to start my blog up again to record some things Kevan and I have been doing.

My husband and I recently purchased a new Nikon D5000. First I purchased the D3000 and then a few weeks later decided to go back and get the better one. I do not know much about photography, but I'm hoping it becomes a new hobby that Kevan and I can have fun doing together.
The weekend we purchased it we decided to go to Merritt Island and takes some pictures with our new camera. Click the pic below to go to see our first pictures.

2009 Reading List

Below are the books that I have read during 2009 (or currently reading). They are in the order of Most Current to Oldest ones read.

1. Annes House of Dreams - Book 4 (Lucy Montgomery)
2. Anne of the Island (Anne of Green Gables, Book 3) (Lucy Montgomery)
3. Anne of Avonlea (Anne of Green Gables, Book 2) - Book 2 (Lucy Montgomery)
4. Anne of Green Gables - Book 1 (Lucy Montgomery)
5. Dracula (Bram Stoker)
6. Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt
7. Breaking Dawn (Stephenie Meyer)*
8. Eclipse (Stephenie Meyer)*
9. New Moon (Stephenie Meyer)*
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7 - J. K. Rowling)
11. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6 - J. K. Rowling)
12. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5 - J. K. Rowling)
13. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4 - J. K. Rowling)
14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3 - J. K. Rowling)
15. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2 - J. K. Rowling)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1 - J. K. Rowling)
17. Breaking Dawn (Stephenie Meyer)
18. Eclipse (Stephenie Meyer)
19. New Moon (Stephenie Meyer)
20. Twilight (Stephenie Meyer)
21. All Things Bright and Beautiful (James Herriot)
22. Diary of Anne Frank (Anne Frank)
23. Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson (D. A. Carson)
24. Every Farm Tells a Story: A Tale of Family Farm Values (Jerold Apps)
25. Writings of a Deliberate Agrarian: One Man's Ruminations About Faith, Family & Livin' The Good Life (Herrick Kimball)
26. Carry A Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt (George Grant)

I pretty much enjoyed all of the books this year. There was one more book that I read that I didn't finish because I didn't like it. So, I didn't add that one to the list since I only read about 1/2 of it.

I especially enjoyed the Harry Potter series because Kevan and I read them together and then we would watch each movie. So, that was a lot of fun. I love anything about history so the Roosevelt books and the Anne Frank book was great. I love farming so the rest of the books were enjoyable too. I also really enjoyed the Twilight series, but it made me really miss my 20's. :o( Made me feel old.

I was very surprised that the Dracula book contained so many references to God. They prayed to God for strength, spoke of God sending His Son as our Savior and even gave God glory in the end for giving them the strength to overcome Dracula.

Also, the Anne of Green Gables books also contained many references to God and his Providence, keeping the Sabbath holy and one of my favorite things was that lying was such an awful thing then. I wish it was still so. Today, lying doesn't seem to be a big deal and it should be. The Anne of Green Gables movies do not have the religious side of the book and that is disappointing.

*Reread again since the movie was coming out.

Our 6th Anniversary!

Kevan and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary yesterday. I am blessed that God has given us these 6 wonderful years together. Kevan is a wonderful husband and I am very thankful for him. We ended up going to church, the beach, drove around animal watching and then ended with a lobster and shrimp dinner at Dixie Crossroads. It was a wonderful day together.

I didn't realize that when I ordered the Lobster dinner (it was on sale) that it would come with eyeballs. My gracious husband cut the head off for me and hid it under a paper basket. He's so sweet.

Click here to see more pics.

Sewing Project

My friend from church showed me how to make these cute bears. I kept one for myself. I made this one for a friend that is having a baby boy (his is the one with the trucks and tractors on it). Aren't they so cute! Also, I didn't finish their bows yet so they look at little funny.

Sewing Room

I organized my sewing room a little more this weekend. It is still quite a mess, but at least I can move around in there now. :o) Click on the picture below to see more pictures.