The Sunshine State

I've been spending the last week visiting my parents in Florida. The weather has been beautiful, and the freshly squeezed orange juice is amazing! How nice to just go pick an orange or grapefruit off the tree when you want it! I would love to have fruit trees in my back yard!

I'm also enjoying the wide variety of birds in the area. We spotted this Wood Stork while driving the other day, so I had to stop and take some photos of him. He was putting on a show for us, as if he knew I had my camera lens on him. There are a few resident Egrets in the area, so I need to have my camera ready the next time I see one. They are beautiful birds!

There just happened to be a quilt show going on in Venice last weekend. My Mom and I enjoyed viewing all the quilts and vendors, while my Dad and brother( who was visiting from Connecticut) were very patient while we took our time! The quilts were beautiful, and of course, I had my favorites! Here's a picture of the men waiting for us to finish our rounds!



We headed down to the beach to catch the sunset, along with a lot of other people! What is it about the sunset that draws people to it?? The serenity of the waves lapping on the sand? The pondering of another day's passing? The mysterious wonder and beauty of the world?


We took a little trip up to Crescent City yesterday. It's about a five hour drive from where my parents live in Englewood. My brother and sister-in-law live there, so I couldn't be this close and not see them! I hadn't seen their home since they purchased it, so was pretty excited to see where they live. The trees in their yard are amazing, and my obsession with trees and leaves was evident with all the pictures I took in their back yard! These are just a few of the photos of the giant live oak trees towering in their yard. They are magnificent trees, with Spanish moss gracefully hanging from the heavy branches.

Aren't these trees just incredible? I'm back in Englewood for a few more days before heading back to Colorado, so I'll be enjoying this Florida sunshine a bit more!