October is one of my favorite months in coastal Georgia. The weather is finally cooling off, the sunrises and sunsets are gorgeous, and you never know what birds will show up to feed in the marsh.
I’ve been seeing gorgeous morning skies at sunrise.
Coastal Georgia Sunrise
The cooler temperatures are perfect for taking a morning walk.
Coastal Georgia Salt Marsh
I need to clean out the dying plants from my butterfly garden but I decided to wait before pulling them up. As long as there are butterflies stopping by for some nourishment the plants will stay.
Gulf Fritillary on Mexican Sunflower
Large flocks of White Ibis have been feeding in the salt marsh around our neighborhood.
This week, Tina has challenged us to focus on things that come in twos.
I enjoy taking animal and bird photographs. As I searched through my archives I came up with a few of my favorite animal and bird pairs.
Animal pairs are fun to capture. These two Irish sheep looked right at me as if posing for this photo.
Pair of Irish Sheep
A pair of Scottish Highland Cows, Hamish and Heather, came to the fence to beg for some free food.
Pair of Highland Cows in Scotland
These next photos are some of my favorite pairs of birds. The photo at the top of the page is a pair of Bald Eagles we saw from a wildlife and glacier cruise in Valdez, Alaska.
Pair of Whooping Cranes on Texas Gulf CoastPair of Ospreys on the nature trail, Gulf Islands National Seashore at Ft. Pickens, FloridaPair of great egrets at St. Augustine Alligator Farm Rookery
We’re not traveling as much in our fifth wheel anymore so I thought it would be fun to relive some of our most memorable days from previous RV trips.
On this day 3 years ago, on September 19, 2016, we were camping at Mississippi River State Park, a small Arkansas park located in the Mississippi Delta on the Crowley’s Ridge Parkway and the Great River Road within the St. Francis National Forest. We had driven through a fierce thunderstorm the day before and were ready to kick back and relax for a day.
We drove into the nearby town of Marianna, Arkansas in the morning to pick up some James Beard Award winning barbeque from Jones Bar-B-Q Diner. We discovered this place on a previous visit and knew that the restaurant often sold out by noon.
Jone’s Bar-B-Q Diner
With enough food for dinner that night and some extra to put in the freezer to take home, we returned to the campground to do some camp chair sitting in one of the best waterfront campsites we’ve ever had.
Water front camping at it’s best, Beech Point Campground on Bear Creek Lake
This Great Blue Heron, an egret, and some turtles kept us entertained as we enjoyed the peace and quiet for the rest of the day.
Great Blue Heron at Bear Creek LakeThis heron entertained us while we were relaxing in our campsiteGreat Egret at Mississippi River State Park, Arkansas
Our melt in your mouth delicious pulled pork dinner was a perfect meal to end the day.
It seems like we’ve been going non stop since we returned from our trip to Ireland and Scotland on May 23. Once I got caught up on laundry and got over the jet lag, I’ve been able to enjoy the summer.
With very little rain while we were on our trip, my garden was suffering when we got home. After a few days of digging in the dirt and a little watering, it is now thriving.
ZinniaDaylilyFiddler Crab on milkweedZinnias in the butterfly gardenZinnia
Some days are perfect for a boat ride.
High tide in the Georgia Salt MarshDriftwood on a Georgia sandbar
The hummingbirds come by each day and a painted bunting bunting pair and other small birds come by the feeder regularly. Wading birds are frequent visitors in the neighborhood.
The next stop on our winter RV journey was Saint Augustine, Florida. We had a beautiful campsite in Anastasia State Park to call home for a few days. The weather was lousy most of the time but we picked a perfect sunny day to do some sightseeing.
At the top of my to do list was visit the Saint Augustine Alligator Farm Wading Bird Rookery. During nesting season wading birds come to nest in the trees in the Native Swamp at the Alligator Farm. The birds who nest here are wild and can come and go as they please. Although it was a little early in the nesting season there were a lot of great egrets and roseate spoonbills wearing their breeding plumage and some pairs were starting to build their nests.
The trees surround a swamp area filled with alligators. A boardwalk winds around the swamp giving visitors close up views of the alligators in the water and the birds in the trees.
A bird gathering at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm RookeryRoseate SpoonbillsBoardwalk through the Saint Augustine Alligator Farm Native Swam and Rookery
The Great Egrets showed off their breeding plumage and pairs worked on their nests.
Great Egret with breeding plumage at St. Augustine Alligator Farm RookeryPair of egrets working on their nestPair of great egrets at St. Augustine Alligator Farm RookeryEgrets at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm RookeryYou can take my picture nowGreat Egret Breeding Plumage
The Roseate Spoonbills were my favorite.
Roseate Spoonbill at Alligator FarmRoseate Spoonbill at Alligator Farm RookeryRoseate Spoonbill at Alligator Farm RookeryRoseate Spoonbill at Alligator Farm RookeryRoseate Spoonbill at Alligator Farm RookeryRoseate Spoonbill at Alligator Farm RookeryRoseate Spoonbill at Alligator Farm RookeryRoseate Spoonbill at Alligator Farm Rookery
Coming up next, more about our St. Augustine adventure including other critters at the Alligator Farm.
Wandering Dawgs 