Category: Nature

A Look Back at 2023

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Road Trip, WildlifeTagged , , , , 26 Comments

Our year was filled with some wandering, some quality time at home, and good times with family and friends.

January

A week long getaway to the Florida Gulf Coast was just what we needed to start the year. The week was filled with beautiful sunrises, bird watching, swimming with manatees, and a Mermaid show at Weeki Watchee Springs State Park.

February

February was a quiet month at home with porch sitting when the weather was nice, a trip to the Ships of the Sea Museum in Savannah with friends, attending the Livestrong program two days a week, and watching the camellias bloom.

March

We stayed home for the month. The azaleas were blooming and the days were filled with St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations with the Junkanoo band from the Bahamas.

April

We took a road trip to do some wandering in middle Georgia, enjoyed the spring flowers in our garden, and watched a few backyard birds.

May

We celebrated Henry’s birthday at a Savannah Bananas game and made a trip to Virginia to visit family.

June

We celebrated my birthday with a road trip to Orlando where we had a delicious birthday lunch at Sanaa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and spent a day at the Animal Kingdom theme park.

July

July brought a gorgeous full moon, a double rainbow and a trip to the Georgia mountains to celebrate our anniversary.

August

The weather was hot but the flowers in the garden were blooming at home. We made another trip to middle Georgia where we wandered around Butterflies and Blooms in the Briar Patch.

September

There were walks on the beach and gorgeous sunrises.

Tybee Island Sunrise

October

I made a trip to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Back at home we wandered around Ft. Pulaski National Monument one day.

November

We flew to Ft. Lauderdale to begin our long awaited Panama Canal and Central America Cruise. Watch for another post about this adventure coming soon.

December

We celebrated the holidays with friends and family at home. Some mornings I woke up to a brilliant orange sky at sunrise.

Coastal Georgia Sunrise

There were also many events with no photos to share. In March I completed a three month Livestrong program for cancer survivors at our local YMCA and I still continue to stay fit with water aerobics and other classes at the gym. We had some long delayed home home improvements taken care of. We cheered on our 13 year old granddaughter at a few middle school volleyball and basketball games. We were safe and dry in our home as we watched and heard the rain and wind from hurricane Idelia passed by in August.

Wandering Dawgs celebrated 10 years of blogging in March. I appreciate all of you who read and follow my posts. I’m looking forward to keep this up for a while.

Wishing you good health, happiness and much joy in 2024!

Shared with Terri’s Sunday Stills

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #274 – Asymmetry

Posted in Birds, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , 20 Comments

Last week Sophia challenged us to show symmetry in our images. This week Donna has challenged us to show asymmetry – an informal sense of balance.

My first two images use the rule of thirds to show asymmetry.

For some reason I often capture birds in groups of three. The following images are some of my favorite bird trios.

Many thanks to our host Donna for the challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #274 – Asymmetry

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #273 – Symmetry

Posted in Flowers, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , , , 22 Comments

Sofia has challenged us to feature images that show symmetry. She tells us that symmetry in photography “creates strong and balanced images” and that “our eyes find symmetry harmonious and pleasing.”

My first two images are examples of radial symmetry I found in hot air balloons as they were being inflated at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

The next images are examples of symmetry in architecture.

My last image is symmetry found in nature in my first Camellia bloom of the season.

Many thanks to our host Sophia for the challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #273 – Symmetry

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #267 – Recharge

Posted in Nature, Photography, WildlifeTagged , , , 14 Comments

Our guest host Egidio of Through Brazilian Eyes asks us what activities we enjoy that allow us to recharge our batteries.

A change of scenery and being in nature always helps me to recharge my batteries.

We recently returned from a short getaway to middle Georgia where I enjoyed morning walks in the woods and watching white tail deer in an open field. The cool nighttime temperature was a welcome change from our sweltering summer.

Morning clouds
A morning walk in the woods
We call it the land of fallen trees because of all the downed trees in the woods.

Many thanks to our guest host Egidio for the challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #267 – Recharge

Happy Birthday United States National Park Service

Posted in National Parks, NatureTagged , 8 Comments

The National Park Service was established on August 25, 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson to manage our nation’s national parks. Today there are 63 national parks and many more national monuments, national historic sites, and other national areas managed by the National Park Service.

In 1872 Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming became our first National Park. The header image above is of Lower Yellowstone Falls.

New River National Park in West Virginia is our newest national park. We visited there when it was known as New River National River.

New River Gorge Bridge, New River National Park, West Virginia

During our years of wandering we have visited many of these wonderful national areas. In 2016 I posted about the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary. Since then we have visited national areas in two of the United States Territories in the Caribbean.

USVI National Park, St. John, United States Virgin Islands
San Juan National Historic Site, Castillo San Crostobal

The U.S. National Parks offer many opportunities to get out and explore natural areas, see wildlife, visit historic sites and monuments, go paddling, go hiking, go camping, and much more. Find a park near you at National Park Service and get out and explore!

Shared with Terri’s Sunday Stills: Let’s Celebrate Something