A two park morning

I found these leaves at McGough Nature Park in Largo back in October. They look like lacy leaves. They were spread out all along the trail. I would normally think bugs did this but it almost looks natural and I’ve seen it at several other parks. Does anyone know if this is natural?

I stopped by the turtle pond to say hi to all of the turtles swimming around.

A bunny was sitting right on the trail.

Some of the resident tortoises at the nature center.

It’s not often you get to see a Mississippi kite up close. They are pretty rare to see in the Tampa bay area and this one was rehabbing here at the center.

After leaving McGough Park, I stopped by the Largo Nature Preserve for a quick walk before heading home for lunch. It was a quiet morning so I didn’t stay long.

A rainbow of leaves

I found all of the colors of the rainbow while hiking the area behind our hotel in Park City. The trails that zigzag across from one ski slope to another were full of leaves changing colors. Yellow, red and orange were the usual colors to see in fall but many of the bushes were changing to pink. It was amazing to see so many different colors in one place.

Linking to Wednesday Around the World.

End of summer colors

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These were all taken at the Florida Botanical Gardens in late October. Some things were just starting to bloom and some things were starting to look tired.  The purple coneflower were all at the end of their season but red berries were sprouting up everywhere and bananas were growing in the fruit garden. Of course there’s always something growing in central Florida.

Things that grow on trees and trees that grow on things.

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I recently started to notice all of the random things that grow on trees that I don’t think were originally part of the tree. Lots of moss, lichen, fungus and vines using them to survive on.  Some things are weird, like the white blob that looks like a big cotton ball. Does anyone know what that is?  These were all taken at Chesnut Park.

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Then there are trees that grow on things.  There are several trees right along the boardwalk that have molded themselves into the railing.

What fall looks like here

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In mid-December I headed out to Honeymoon Island for a long walk on the nature trail. I was hoping to see the eagles or the owls. Both should be nesting by now. The only thing I saw up close were a million mosquitoes. It should have been cool and windy but it was over 80 degrees and the humidity was high by 9am. I had 2 coats of repellant on and still came home with 15 mosquito bites. I did manage to see the very tip of the eagle’s head while she sat on the nest which is a good sign that she’s sitting on eggs.

Shine the Divine