Friday Finds: Crystal River, Florida!

-

Todays "find" is a few photos I took in Crystal River, Florida.
We recently drove down to Homosassa Springs, Florida to visit Hubby's half brothers & sisters, though our motel was in the adjacent hamlet called Crystal River.  The Days Inn there was a Denny's attached, so it was a great place to stay!
We live on the Panhandle and Crystal River/Homosassa Springs are on the western side of the Peninsula south of Gainesville, but north of Clearwater about a 7 hour drive away.
The area is small town America, both towns situated around  two large rivers that pour into a delta on the Gulf and are surrounded by State and National wildlife preserves and parks.

I took this shot below off a pier looking across the wide expanse of river at boats and residences on the opposite side:



This next shot is across a river bayou is typical of the scenery in the area: lots of Live Oak trees draped in Spanish Moss:




Here's a view down one street in the center of town:



I got this great shot of an Osprey!
Ospreys are the only kind of hawk they just hunts fish. It was on a pole behind a local seafood market with Crab House Restaurant. Looked right my way! Perfect!


Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment!

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday Writer's Workshop Prompt: Greatest Triumph

-
Image
My Greatest Triumph Many years ago, my husband and I took a 6-week beginner's course in Foil Fencing.  Now foil fencing swords are thin and straight with a protective cover on the tip. It's more of a classic dueling style of swordsmanship. Victory in foil fencing is gained by getting past your opponents sword defense to stick your sword point against their chest.  It's all about stance and form and is tends to be over fairly quickly. I believe our instructor used the 3 touch point method for a match. The fencing stance form generally taught is French: you stand in a sideways position, sword in one hand aimed at opponent while your other arm is held aloft behind you, bent at the elbow. (Think of any Three Musketeer movie you've ever seen---this is their stance.) The general over-all goal of foil fencing is to keep the body area that can be stabbed by the opponent to a minimum. However, it's important to understand, in fencing, it's not about strength but rather a
Read more

Good Eating Monday: Old Fashioned Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding!

-
Image
Welcome to the first week of February! It's supposed to be 31 degrees tonight, so after cleaning up the front walk beds, I went around covering various things that either are blooming, about to bloom or that have sensitive leaf buds, like my hydrangea's.  I picked all the yellow daffodils and brought them inside for a cheerful vase on my counter. For Garden Pic Wednesday this week I have an excellent photo of a pine tree flower! You didn't know pine trees flower?  Well, you'll have to stop back for a look! Today's Good Eating Recipe is a family favorite my Mother used to make often for us as kids: Old Fashioned Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding! What Old Fashioned Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding Looks Like This is just your basic wholesome old fashioned bread pudding made with just eggs, bread, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar & raisins! No sauces to make. Just simple bread pudding. We'd eat it hot with a little evaporated milk poured over the top.
Read more

Garden Pic Wednesday: Thriving Rose Bush!

-
Image
  Thanks to a garden club, I've learned how to better care for my rose bush and this year it's thriving! It's thick, bushy and covered in blooms! This is a Julia Child Floribunda Rose. I selected it because I wanted a smaller size rose for my front flower bed and this one grows a max of 3 feet tall and wide. I learned from the garden club the proper time to trim a rose and that's what has made it so bushy. Roses here in Northwest Florida need to be trimmed and shaped the week of Valentine's Day, Feb 14.  The right time will vary from growing zone to growing zone in different places where it's colder, but the correct time in any zone is evident when leaf buds are showing along the stems with even a few small leaves beginning to pop out. The other important thing is buying some Rose Food and fertilizing according to directions.  Tons are dark blue Bachelor Buttons are blooming adjacent to this yellow rose, so the show of blue and yellow is quite striking!  
Read more

Mama Kat Thursday: Two Before & After Projects

-
Image
The Mama Kat Prompt topic for today is: "Show Us a Before & After." Last fall and this spring I had two major  drainage issue locations: one in the back yard and one on the side of the garage. After hours of TLC they're greatly improved. Here's the before & after on both: First: The Back Yard Pond : This happened every time we had a heavy rain: After: Same spot as it looks now. Paradise. I took advantage of the naturally concave area by edging it with flagstones and filling the center with gravel & water loving plants. The Chocolate Elephant Ears here are gorgeous! Second, The Other Pond: This bed edges on the garage near the front of the house. After:  I edged the bed with paving blocks, raised the dirt level on the grass side, then planted grass plugs. Now that it's late summer,  it's nicely filled in! I consider rate these two projects among my most successful---though not all gardening  exp
Read more

The Imaginary Party Outfit for the Imaginary Party

-
Image
Mama Kat's Writing Prompt for this week is a fun one:  " Put together a holiday outfit you'd love to wear at a holiday party should a holiday party ever be on your list of things to do." This concept requires 2 things: #1)  First, imagining I have an unlimited budget and can buy whatever I want. #2) Second, also imagining I might  actually have someplace fancy to go that requires such an outfit, like, for example, an upscale Christmas party at a plush Destin hotel. Now that we have the ground rules settled, we can look at the clothing catalog photos I selected for my "ideal party outfit." Now I love a lot of things I see on those oh-too-skinny models in on-line catalog photos, but I'm not a long-waisted, hipless, bustless, skinny-minny like they are. I have more of what I prefer to call a "voluptuous hour-glass" shape. I simply look ridiculous in short-short skirts, straight shift dresses, the clingy knits, the fluffy-around the hip j
Read more