What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Friday, February 3, 2017

Friday Foto Friends- Weekly Journeys, Games, and Wild-Life!



Wow! Can it really be Friday already?  This week has just flown by...and I just realized that it was time for Friday Foto Friends again, and I've been spending so much time in The Secret Garden that my mind totally forgot about capturing special pictures just for today!  So where do I begin?  Well,
perhaps I will just post a smattering of this and that...my life this past week outside of the Secret Garden!  I do hope to get back out there to the garden in a little while today to keep up with the Secret Garden Chronicles for each day...but that will come later.

Okay, so here we go...This first batch will be pictures from my "travels" and "Journeys" over the past few days:

 Cypress Tree swampy area along the Ocklawaha River.  Picture taken from the car as we drove by and were slowed down for road construction.

The Ocklawaha River, picture taken from the car as we traveled, and I rolled down the window, stuck the camera out the window and snapped!  I was amazed at the beautiful reflections that were captured!!



The Ocklawaha River again...taken from the car as we passed by... The trees are waiting for spring to reclothe them in beautiful garments of green leaves...

From our morning walk today... a little mist above the ground as the sun shines through the trees...


Also from our walk this morning...the sun shining through the oaks
This next batch of pictures is from our afternoon "Bocce Ball Game" yesterday afternoon...hubby and I wanted to get some exercise and a little friendly competition going...
Here's my hubby, throwing his ball....notice his is RED


And here am I, throwing my ball...notice mine is GREEN




We were tied, 9-9, and then  - Please note that the GREEN Ball is closest to the little ball...which means I WON!!


Okay...next on the agenda...a little mystery: Some different kind of tracks found in our yard:


and again:



And then we found this on our wildlife "nite cam"




That is a bobcat...which we have had many times before...but never did we see such unusual tracks as those above.   If anyone thinks they could be something else, let me know...but the pictures do tell the tale...or lack thereof.  (tail...that is...note the bobcat has a "bobtail"!)

And then of course, no wildlife adventure would be complete without a few bear pictures thrown in just to keep you on your toes:







THE END!!!

I hope you enjoyed this little trip through my world this past week!  As you can see,
we have a lot more going on here than just sitting in the Secret Garden!

Oh, did you see my Amaryllis pictures? If you are on my facebook page, you may have already seen these, but for those of you who are not, this Amaryllis plant is a Christmas Tradition started by my father years ago. He would buy each of the ladies in the family one of these Amaryllis bulbs to plant each Christmas, and we would have such fun watching it grow and within about a month blossom into a beautiful flower.  After my father died, I have continued this tradition with my family...or if I can't find them anywhere, my sister gets them for us.  This year was a good year for them! Here is my plant that decided to bloom just this week:




Each day it is getting fuller and fuller, and there are actually two more buds ready to open on this one stalk, and then there is another stalk that hasn't opened quite yet!!!!  So I was double, triply, and beyond blessed with this flower!

Okay, that really IS the end of today's Friday Foto Friends pictures.

HAVE A BLESSED DAY MY FRIENDS!!!

21 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures Pam. The wildlife around you is fascinating to me. Bears, bobcats and deer...watch out for Bigfoot!!! lol Hope your day is happy and blessed.

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    1. Ha Ha Mary, We do watch for "Bigfoot"! I've seen some bear tracks that made me wonder! It is a fascinating place to live...but I bet you'll see some "wildlife" in YOUR neck of the woods this weekend...SUPERBOWL! Ha ha!!Hope your home is not too close for comfort! Have a blessed day and weekend!!

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  2. Wow! You sure do live in a beautiful area. Love the reflecting pictures and the amaryllis is beautifu!!

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    1. Thank you Cathy! We are blessed to have so much of God's beautiful world around us here...even with the wild animals! I am happy that you stopped by today. Thank you...and may your day be filled with joy and blessing!

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  3. I LOVE your smattering of this and that. AWESOME photos today and that Amaryllis ....it's gorgeous. I meant to buy myself one at CHRISTmas, but didn't see any....I'm sure I didn't look hard enough, though. PLEASE be careful being outdoors with wildlife like that around...but what great photos to share. HOPE you have a wonderful weekend.

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    1. Thank you Debbie. I got the amaryllis at Lowe's...they had a lot in the garden section marked way down right before Christmas, so I bought quite a few to give as gifts. They have been a big hit especially now that they are all starting to bloom! It's such fun to watch. We are very careful regarding the wildlife, but have found that they are more afraid of us us than we of them, or should I say we have a mutual respect for one another? We've been blessed to be able to enjoy them from afar through the lens of the camera. Have a blessed and wonderful weekend!

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  4. I'm amazed by all your photos, Pam, but particularly by the gorgeous reflection one you captured from a moving vehicle. That's not easy!
    Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Thank you Martha Jane. I was surprised that reflection pic turned out as well as it did because I literally just held the camera up and snapped...we were moving pretty slow, however, due to construction on the road, so that was a good opportunity! I thank the Lord for His provision of beauty to enjoy!!!

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  5. Your Amaryllis are do pretty. I had a lot of them at my last home, sure do miss them. Yes, I do agree.. you won! Enjoyed your photo's.

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    1. Thank you Sylvia. You need to go to Lowe's to get some amaryllis bulbs, especially before Christmas when they have the gift boxes. I got these at a very large discount right before Christmas, and gave away several as gifts this year. If I were near you I'd bring you one!! I hope to plant this in the yard, but we have to watch out for the big grasshoppers...they LOVE them and will eat them right up! so, I enjoy this while I can! Have a blessed day my friend.

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  6. I am in love with the amaryllis plant. I tried to find a paper white plant for a friend of mine for Christmas. I couldn't. I will try to remember to look for the amaryllis plant in November-December.

    Does the wildlife bother your property? I used to know some people who moved to northern Indiana who could watch the deer feed on the foliage of trees in their backyard.

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    1. yes, the deer will eat some kinds of trees and plants. I learned to put cakes of pure ivory soap around the plants they like, and it will deter them. But it has to be ivory soap. Something to do with the tallowate in it. Also, I cannot plant a vegetable garden because of the deer and rabbits here. They would just eat it all up before I could get it. I may try some raised beds in our fenced in area, but even that is doubtful. Yes, the amaryllis and other bulbs are usually available at Lowe's and other big stores before Christmas. That is where I got mine, at a huge discount right before Christmas. Thank you for stopping by today. Always love to hear from you.

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  7. Great photos of the animals and the beautiful Amaryllis.
    We have the same animals here in the pine barrens of NJ. Rarely see anything but the foxes and raccoons, deer.
    I would love to have a trail cam.
    Thanks for sharing these. I enjoyed them so much.

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    1. The trail cam opened up a whole new world for us. We knew we had these animals out there at night, but never could see them. So now we get to see them from a 'safe distance'. I'm so glad you enjoyed the visit to our "wild kingdom".

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  8. Pam,
    You're photos are amazing! The photo where you were able to capture the reflection on the water is beautiful. The wildlife photos are great too--I see deer occasionally (they do wander into town sometimes!), no bears, and I've heard of bobcat sightings in this area.

    Life is an adventure!

    Blessings!

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    1. Thank you Kim! We enjoy our wildlife here, and appreciate the fact that they wait until after dark to wander through our yard. Although we do see the bear occasionally in the day time, and deer too. The bobcat stays pretty much nocturnal. I love the adventure of it all. Glad you could come along!!

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  9. Wow Pamela! The night photos of the animals are fantastic! In my area we do see black bear, deer, coyotes, raccoons, etc.. but no bobcats thank goodness. Love the photos of the beautiful Amaryllis too. I grew up in an Italian family and we played Italian Bocce Ball with a built in lane. I miss playing the game. Have a day of blessings my friend.

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    1. Thank you Toni! I am glad you enjoyed my little menagerie of critters and flowers and playing Bocce ball. We enjoy playing that in the yard...it gives us some good exercise. I was surprised to win this game! Not usually the case! :)

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  10. WOW!! Never a dull moment at your place! How close are those night visitors to your secret garden? Wow!

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    1. The camera is in the front yard, and the Secret Garden is in the backyard, but they can walk through there as it is not fenced off. So, that is why I don't sit out there at night. :)

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  11. I love all your photos. Thank you so much. Yes, you won. I like your photo with the green ball.

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Thank you for visiting here today. I would love for you to sign my guestbook and let me know you stopped by. I always enjoy reading your comments and words of encouragement! May you be blessed as you go on your way. Please come back and visit again soon.