Too early or too late?

Posted on December 29, 2022 by dinajohnston

In mid-November I went looking for some fall color near my home. I wasn’t expecting to find much but the bald cypress trees turn orange during this time so I was hoping I wasn’t too early or late. The trees at Kapok Park were mostly still green or had already lost their leaves. While there was only a hint of orange, the park still looked pretty with the lake surrounded by the cypress trees.

One of the many crooked trees at the park.

I can’t remember what this plant is but when the wind blows it looks like it’s snowing.

Getting ready for Christmas

Posted on December 15, 2022 by dinajohnston

It was early November and they were already decorating the Atlanta Botanical Gardens for the Christmas light show.

It was putting me in the holiday spirit even though it was warm while we were there.

Walking through the wooded path, the colors were popping. It felt very different from the color in central Florida (which was still the usual green).

Red, pink and orange in November

Posted on December 12, 2022 by dinajohnston

The Atlanta Botanical Gardens still had a lot of color blooming when I was there in early November. Atlanta hadn’t gotten a lot of cold weather yet and it was warm the morning I was there. We were hoping we would get to wear our jackets on this trip but that wasn’t the case.

Beauty in the gardens including the blooming lady statue behind the waterfall.

The trees also had a lot of color. I took a ton of pictures with my phone so more to come on this visit.

Sightseeing in Atlanta

Posted on December 1, 2022 by dinajohnston

It was a little weird standing under Georgia 400 during our trip to Atlanta in early November. We found this small park that runs along the Chattahoochee River as we were heading north to have lunch with a friend. After lunch we stopped by the park and got out and walked around. It was loud standing under the major highway that is at least 4-5 lanes going each direction. I have driven on this highway a million times when I lived here but never thought to stand underneath it.

Most of the trees were in bright colored leaves with just a few still with green leaves. If you follow the trail that leads away from the highway it starts to get quieter. We didn’t go too far since we still had a lot to do that afternoon but it was a nice quick stop.

The next morning I headed out early for a walk around Piedmont Park before going to the Botanical Gardens. I love this spot on the lake in the middle of the park where the buildings reflect off the water. The park was busy and there was a movie being filmed in one corner of the park. I couldn’t get close enough to see what was going on though.

The trees here were just starting to turn colors.

Road trip to look for color

Posted on November 17, 2022 by dinajohnston

It was time for a road trip. We headed up to Atlanta for a long weekend to visit friends. I was also hoping to see some fall leaves but we may have just missed the peak season.

Along the way we passed miles of cotton fields that were ready to be picked. It almost looked like the ground was covered in snow as we whizzed by.

As we got closer to Atlanta I could see lots of color. There was still a lot of yellow, orange and red in the trees so we didn’t miss the season completely.

Passing by the iconic Olympic torch tower. This replica was built for the 1996 Summer Olympics that was held here. At the time you were able to climb the stairs and see all around Atlanta but it has since been closed. We were living here at the time and my sister and I spent many nights down at the Olympic park during the games.

The parking lot at our hotel was like a fairy tale with all of the bright colors.

An early morning walk before heading out for the day.

We stopped at a friend’s house for lunch and her camellia bushes were still blooming.

She also had some little green critters hiding in her garage.

More to come on those fall leaves.

A walk in the woods

Posted on January 25, 2022 by dinajohnston

The one that got away. I was walking down the back trail at Chinsegut Wildlife area and I hear a noise in the woods. Several deer were cutting across the trail way ahead of me and I just caught this buck peeking back at me before he took off into the woods.

I love coming here and seeing all of the red headed woodpeckers. They are everywhere here. And, this spring I AM going to get back up here to look for some woodpecker nests.

Another amazing thing about this place is that I was standing in one spot on the trail near the nature center and saw 4 different species of woodpeckers. Without moving I was able to get pictures of red heads and then I saw a downy, a red bellied and then a pileated. They were all hanging around the same area at the same time.

Of course I saw tons of pine warblers.

I did see an indigo bunting (either a female or immature male) at the feeder at the nature center.

My first common garter snake sighting. They are harmless and he was warming up in the sunny spot in the grass. I quickly shot this and kept going.

It was starting to look like fall in late December.

Is if fall yet?!?

Posted on January 11, 2022 by dinajohnston

The usual birds can be found on the boardwalk at Largo Nature Preserve. They are acclimated to people being around and the limpkin didn’t even fly off as I walked by.

This snowy egret looks like he is walking on water. He’s actually half skipping and half flying along the surface looking for bugs or fish in the water.

I had forgotten that northern shovelers hang out here in the winter although I rarely see males here. This time there were several males with their dark green faces.

Other critters include a butterfly and an otter that came out of the water far down the canal.

I stopped by Kapok Park on the way home to see if the cypress trees had turned orange. The small lake there is surrounded by them and can be quite a sight when they turn colors but this year they were mostly brown and had lost a lot of leaves already. Maybe it was due to the lack of rain we’ve had this fall. There was a hint of orange so it did feel a tiny bit like fall, even if it was 85 degrees in late November.

Around the neighborhood.

Posted on January 4, 2022 by dinajohnston

I went for a quick walk early one morning in early December. I was heading for a pond down from my home and caught this guy flying right in front of me. He was so close I couldn’t get his legs in the shot.

The small pond down from my home was quiet. I only found a mallard couple and a small alligator.

Birds from my window include bluebirds and a pileated woodpecker.

Walking around in my small backyard I could see that my neighborhor’s feeder had lots of bluebirds. It looks like he had changed out the mealworms for a suet. He was also getting woodpeckers and pine warblers.

On another morning walk I found the deer in the open field down the street.

The small camellia bush in front of our garage started blooming. I didn’t realize they bloom in the fall here and it was a nice pop of color in the front yard.

I made some fun nature art with a few of the fall leaves on our patio. Yes we do have seasons here in central Florida. Fall doesn’t really start until early December. The leaves were changing but I had on shorts and a tshirt and was sweating making my fall leaf circle.

Fall colors in central Florida

Posted on December 6, 2021 by dinajohnston

Interesting colors and patterns on my walks before work in my new neighborhood. It’s been cooler at night and in the mornings so some of the leaves are changing while other plants are blooming. All taken with my phone.

Long walk to the open field near my house. I can see the sun coming up over the trees.

Throwback to fall leaves

Posted on November 8, 2021 by dinajohnston

Normally we got out west for vacation in early October but last year we didn’t go due to Covid and this year we didn’t go since we were right in the middle of moving. We’re planning a trip early next year (to see some snow) but I was bummed to miss the fall leaves out west two years in a row. These were taken several years ago in Colorado. On the way to Cripple Creek and Mueller State Park. The aspen trees were bright yellow and the valley around Pike’s Peak was a blanket of yellow. I think the last shot above was taken in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.

The above were taken in the North Cheyenne Canon Park just outside of Colorado Springs. There wasn’t a lot of water coming down but it was raining on us as we hiked around the area.