“April Showers bring May Flowers” is the theme for Terri’s latest Sunday Stills photo challenge.
I was in elementary school when I first heard the saying about April showers bringing May flowers. Where I live in coastal Georgia, many of our flowers bloomed in March and have already faded. I walked around my yard to find these flowers the first week of April.
The header image is of my Dogwood tree blooming in the first week of April. I’ve been enjoying the Dogwood flowers since March.
March is peak season for azaleas where I live in coastal Georgia. This light pink bloom is one of the final azaleas in my yard this year.
These Meyer Lemon blossoms will hopefully bring me some lemons this winter.
The history of the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day parade can be traced back to 1824. This year the parade organizers are expecting an even bigger crowd than usual with the parade celebrating it’s 200th anniversary. The festivities begin well before the March 17 parade each year. Today, the Savannah parade is one of the largest in the world. Marching in the parade will be groups of families, Irish societies, floats, marching bands, pipe and drum bands, military units, and even the Budweiser Clydesdales.
People start wearing their green in early March. Green is every where you look around Savannah. The header image features the Forsyth Fountain dyed green. There will be green beer, green grits, even beards and dogs dyed green.
It’s been several years since we’ve gone to the Savannah parade. We always enjoy the festivities on nearby Tybee Island. The Tybee Island Irish Heritage usually has a parade on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day. Sadly, the parade was cancelled this year because the area was under a tornado watch.
This college includes highlights from past Tybee parades.
One of the highlights of the week is the Bahamian Junkanoo group Barabbas and the Tribe who create special costumes for the week and march in the both the Savannah and Tybee parades playing their Junkanoo music. They also perform at the Crab Shack on Tybee Island every night before the Savannah Parade.
This year’s Tybee celebration began on Friday night, March 8 with a Junkanoo parade through the Crab Shack on Tybee Island. On Saturday they will march in the 200th Savannah St. Patrick’s Day parade.
There was more green fun Tuesday night when Pipe and Drum bands from Savannah and Limerick, Ireland got together to practice on the Tybee Island Pier and Pavilion.
On Saturday, March 16, 2024 the streets of Savannah will be filled with thousands of spectators dressed in green as the 200th edition of the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day takes place.
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!
For this month’s Sunday Stills Challenge Terri asks us to explore bridges.
I live in an area with many creeks, rivers and large areas of salt marsh. Whenever I leave my neighborhood to go anywhere I have to cross several bridges. My header image is of the Talmadge Bridge in nearby Savannah, Georgia.
We’ve seen many bridges in our travels – highway bridges across wide rivers, walking bridges, covered bridges, and swinging bridges. The following images are of a few of my favorite bridges from around the United States.
Swinging bridge over the Santa Fe River in O’Leno State ParkSuspension Bridge over Tallulah Gorge, GeorgiaShadow of the Alaska Railroad train on the bridge over Hurricane Gulch, AlaskaImes Covered Bridge, Madison County, IowaRio Grande Gorge Bridge, New MexicoTwo bridges crossing the mighty Mississippi River in Vicksburg, MississippiBridge over Kentucky River at the Wild Turkey Distillery
Next up are a few favorite bridges from our travels in Ireland and Scotland.
Bridge at Eileen Donan Castle, Scottish HighlandsHa’Penny Bridge across the River Liffey, Dublin, IrelandRope bridge at Carrick-a-Rede on the Causeway Coastal Route, Northern Ireland
For this month’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge Terri wants to know if we are all in for yellow. I am!
On a recent visit to middle Georgia my husband and I wandered around Butterflies and Blooms in the Briar Patch at the Briar Patch Walking Trail in Putnam County, Georgia. As I walked along the trail I kept my eyes peeled for butterflies and yellow flowers. I hope you enjoy these yellows as much as I did!
Wandering Dawgs 