Terri’s latest color challenge is peach and orange. When I think of these colors I think of autumn leaves and pumpkin patches. Here in coastal Georgia our leaves don’t change colors and I don’t see many pumpkin patches.
My home state of Georgia is known as the Peach State so my first two images feature delicious Georgia peaches. Their season is short and is over for this year. I really wish I had some fresh Georgia peaches to enjoy right now.
Georgia PeachGeorgia Peach Daiquri
I don’t have any images of orange leaves or pumpkins but I found these orange flowers and butterflies in my garden this month.
I often see insects on garden flowers but it is a challenge to get them to stay still long enough for a photo. Here are a few insects I managed to capture through the years.
Shared with Terri’s Sunday Stills challenge Insects
Terri’s Sunday Stills challenge is On the Wing. I enjoy bird photography and have thousands of bird photos in my archives. I browsed through some of them and included a few favorites for this challenge.
Whooping Crane spreading his wingsBrown Pelican at SunsetRoseate Spoonbill
Male Ruby Throated Hummingbird
I am the daughter of a United States Air Force pilot and I can’t do a post about wings without including wings of the USAF Thunderbirds.
U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds
Thanks to Terri for her Sunday Stills monthly challenge – On the Wing
Terri’s Sunday Stills challenge of State and Local Parks reminded me of some of the wonderful state parks where we have camped on our many RV travels over the years. I had a hard time choosing which parks to feature for this post but I narrowed it down to three of my favorites. These parks are great for a day trip as well as for tent or RV camping.
Stephen C. Foster State Park in Fargo, Georgia
We love this park so much we camped here many times through the years. We enjoyed stopping here on our trips to and from Florida. The park is located in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge 17 miles from the nearest highway. There is a small marina with a boat launch as well as canoe and kayak rentals and ranger guided boat trips into the swamp. It’s quiet and off the beaten track.
Silver Springs State Park, Florida
Silver Springs is another state park we visited many times on our RV trips to Florida. Tourists began visiting Silver Springs in late 1800s. The first glass bottom boat tours started taking visitors for rides over the crystal clear springs in the 1870’s. Today Silver Springs is a state park which still operates the famous glass bottom boats. The park also has several hiking and biking nature trails, a museum, a replica of a 19th century settlement called the Cracker Village, and a very nice campground.
Custer State Park, South Dakota
Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument attract many visitors to the Black Hills of South Dakota each year. Another great place to explore is nearby Custer State Park. Visitors can spend a day taking scenic drives on the Wildlife Loop Drive, Iron Mountain Road, and the Needles Highway. The park is also a popular place to camp with several campgrounds to choose from.
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.
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.
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!
Wandering Dawgs 