Friday Foto Friends - Surprise Photos

Today's photos are kind of surprise photos, because I didn't expect to see them exactly the way they happened...

 Esperanza plant growing in my yard...  This bumblebee almost got in my face while I was trying to take this picture. He came out of the inside of one of the flowers...I did not notice him when I started taking the picture, so it was a bit of a surprise

We took a little ride down a forest road in the evening to see what interesting sights we could see. I noticed these unusual "pea pods" growing on this wildflower plant...

  Click on this link for more information:  Crotalaria Retusa...yellow wildflower seed pods and flower seen in the woods alongside the road   I guess they are poisonous...so I'm glad I didn't try to eat them. LOL...It is a lovely yellow wildflower, however!  I've noticed that the October wildflowers are yellow, whereas the September wildflowers were mostly purple! Interesting!

It was a surprise to find this turtle egg floating in the water at our neighborhood pond one evening...Not sure what kind of turtle, and I understand that if it is in the water, it most likely won't live. I am sorry for the turtle.

After our evening ride to try and see some wildlife, (which we didn't find), we came back home and as we turned onto our road we had this surprise in front of our house!

 There were three adults, and they went into the woods, but I kept hearing one of them making noise from inside the bushes, like she was calling someone.

So I went around the corner and saw the two "fawns" running back and forth in this yard, trying to find a way to get out and get back with the parents.  This picture is not very clear as it was dusk, and low light, far away...but I thought it made an interesting surprise picture anyway.  There were two of them, but the other was still hiding  when I took this.  I soon left the area so they could be reunited with their parents.

I am digressing here... back to our ride in the woods...actually we took a ride to this spot earlier in the day and I was surprised to see a large fox squirrel run up this tree.  It became well hidden in the branches before I could get a picture, so that is why we decided to try again in the evening to see if we could see him.  Of course there was no sign of him anywhere, so I took a picture of the tree instead.  Perhaps he is still up there, laughing at me because I can't see him.

This is a little road that goes back into the woods, but we didn't venture any further with our car. It is meant for ATV's or 4 wheel drive vehicles, and we didn't want to get stuck. We may come back another day and take a nice walk on this road. However, we need to be prepared for other kinds of surprises, because while we were out there in the morning we did see a bear run across the road...
(before I could get my camera focused, of course)

Okay, I will leave you pondering that thought for a while as we gaze back up into this beautiful long needle pine tree.  I think I will name the fox squirrel "Waldo"...and we can play that game..."Where's Waldo"...LOL.

After all of the destruction from Hurricane Michael this week it is good to rest our eyes on some natural beauty surrounding us. Our hearts and prayers go out to those who have been uprooted from their homes due to this horrific storm. May God speed aide to them quickly and may they soon be able to be restored to their homes.....however, for many, that is going to be a very long, difficult process.

Matthew 8:19-20

19.  "Then a certain scribe came and said to Him,

'Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.'

20.  And Jesus said to him,

'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, 

but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.'"

Sometimes the cost of being a follower of Christ is very great, but even in the midst of the storms of life, Jesus is able to calm the storm, restore our lives to peace, and give us great hope.

We just need to keep the faith.

Matthew 8:23-27

"Now when He (Jesus) got into a boat, His disciples followed Him, and suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.

Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!"

But He said to them, 

"Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"

Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

So the men marveled, saying,

"Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

Now let us journey over to Deb's place at Breathing in Grace and see what our other Friday Foto Friends have been doing this week. Hope that you and yours will have a blessed and peaceful week, and that your surprises will only be good ones.