Wednesday, July 13, 2011

turtle, mushrooms, tortoise, suwannee...


before i get started...
i just have to say that 'Ponzio' did a really terrific job
with that previous post! 
luckily, he left some food & beer in the fridge...
and unless he cleaned up REALLY good, i don't think he had any wild parties!
anyway...maybe i'll have him fill in when we go on vacation or whatever!
here he is, guarding the house...sitting on top of the turtle planter...
on the railing on the front porch!
oOo

OK...so this past weekend...we decided at the last minute to 'get outa town'!
we went to Stephen Foster St Pk in White Springs, FL.
not far from home, just a little over an hours drive.
Stephen Foster Pk...is named after the famous composer by the same name...
whose most famous song is probably  "Old Folks at Home" 
♪♫ ♪ ...way down upon the suwannee river... ♪♫ ♪
throughout the day, you can hear the 97-bell carillon 
play some of his famous tunes!  and if you go there around Christmas-time,
the bells play christmas songs!  i love it!! 
the park is located along the...yeah, you guessed it...the Suwannee River!!

the weather was cloudy...rainy...

thunderheads rolling in...letting loose the rain...and then rolling back out...
all day and night.

but between the rain drops...and between the storms, 
we were able to get some hiking in!
we also took a ride over to the Suwannee River St Pk which is only 
about 30 miles or so from Stephen Foster. this park is situated right where the 
Suwanne & Withlacoochee Rivers meet.

so, without further talk...
here are SOME of the pictures from our wanderings last weekend!

(sorry. i couldn't resist. MORE mushrooms!)

(looks like coral, eh?  but it's lichen on a dead tree!)


(box turtle!!!!!!)

(fence lizard)

(old bridge across the Suwannee)

(looking down the trail we walked along the Withlacoochee)

(an old crumbling wall around a natural spring)

(some collected tiny smooth stones and old, old, old sharks teeth.)

('balanced rock' on the Suwannee)

~back to the campground...
(a Gopher Tortoise!!!)



(i thought this was so cool looking...the color, the rings...the moss...)

(this one might look like a 'magic mushroom'...but my lens fogged up!)

(squirrel peeking over the fire-ring at campsite)

(i haven't seen this bird at home, so i'm not sure what it is...
but when i find out...i'll add it in here.)
THANKS to Samantha, Bunnits & Calling Ravens...in comments...

and so...as i bid you farewell...
a parting shot!
(sam carrying his baby around...)


(ok...so why do i always feel so guilty...when i click that 'publish' button...
but have not yet caught up on OTHER blog reading!?? hmmmm?)

stay cool. 
have a safe journey & enjoy the ride.

:] laura

21 comments:

  1. That looks like a delightful place. Wonder why we haven't been there in our forays to FL? Will have to put that on our list.

    I love the fungus shots. Keep 'em coming.

    The bird looks like a rufus-sided towhee, but I don't have my glasses on. If you look it up, they might have changed the name. That's what they were called when I was a full-throttle birder as a kid.

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  2. Love all the shots, but especially love seeing the gopher tortoise!

    I think your bird is a towhee, too :)

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  3. I don't know why you feel guilty, but you shouldn't.
    That should be a Rufous-sided towhee and congratulations on getting the shot! Towhees are terribly shy around The Dirt Patch!

    Love all the photos and it looks like you had a great time!
    meggs.

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  4. Welcome back! Love the trippy mushroom photo, it looks magical and mysterious, and that is one shiny box turtle. He must have known you were coming and spruced up some for his 15 minutes of fame!

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  5. yup, i would've said towhee. :) nice shots. love the 'coral' and the mushrooms and the box turtle and the tortoise, and the cat butt, and... heck i love it all. :)

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  6. p.s. love the coexist button on your sidebar. :)

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  7. Oh. OH. You hit on one of my obsessions--CLOUDS. My Favorite is the Mares Tails.

    Wondering how do turtle's shells grow as they age?

    This occurred to me as I was going back and forth observing the two different turtles and looking at their shells.

    Loved camping. The feeling away from my stuff is LIBERATING. Way TOO ATTACHED to my STUFF.

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  8. Cool shots. Sounds like you had a good time. I love that mushroom with the rings. We don't have anything cool like that around here.

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  9. Very nice shots! It looks like it was a lovely weekend, I think I'm a bit envious.

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  10. you take your cat camping!?!

    interesting to see the swannee river in picture rather then in song

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  11. That 97 bell carillion must be so cool to hear!
    Can never have too many shots of mushrooms, fungi and lichen... great!
    The box turtle is one handsome fella.
    Great water shots too.
    Loved the cheeky little squirrel.
    Towhee - what an unusual name.
    A great break away, thanks for sharing :D)

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  12. I've been feeling guilty, too. I am so far behind on reading my favorite blogs. Enjoying catching up yours today though. Love the turtles--the box turtle is well, so boxy. We don't have all the different types of turtles that you seem to have!

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  13. Oh my goodness, it's always such an enjoyable stop on your blog, your photos dreamy and what interesting spots you cover...the animals, even the lizards....are great to follow...but that turtle, he's a sure keeper, well in photo form anyway...thanks for the adventure, I loved the journey again!

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  14. So pleased to know that (and see the evidence of!) you had a lovely weekend away! Imagine finding sharks' teeth in a river bed. Guess that means they really are very, very VERY OLD! Super pictures...love the magic mushroom...you could have fooled us, you know...we're a pretty gullible lot ;) Yep, Ponzio seems to have done a great job. We'd enjoy hearing from him again...we became quite attached to the little fellow!

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  15. thanks Bunnits, Samantha & Calling Ravens for naming the TOWHEE! it seems there are a couple of species of Towhees that were thought to be the same...and they were called the Rufous Towhee, now they split them into 2 different Towhees...this one is now called the Eastern Towhee. THANKS!
    and to everyone else...you know, i LOVE turtles...and was SO excited to see that BOX turtle! yeah! he sure was a shiny one...like you said, Tumbleweed! but he did have an old gouge in his shell...maybe a bigger animal tried to eat him??

    and the Gopher tortoise was HUGE!! luckily he was out foraging...or he would have ran right back into his burrow when he saw me coming!

    Milo always goes camping with us! she's a good little camper!

    and the mushrooms...with all the rain...and humidity...they're all over the place. i just can't stop snapping pic's of them!

    Jean...the turtle's shell...like our bones...just grow with them...as our bones do.

    well...thanks ALL for stopping by & taking the time to leave a note...luckily i was able to find the rocks you left them under...and luckily they didn't just turn into mush from all the rain! :)
    thanks!

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  16. Great post as always ....now i'm feeling doubly guilty for not being able to get to the post still.......and for being so behind with my blog reading .....please forgive my tardiness ...I am still confined to barracks .....xx

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  17. Hello Laura,
    In the photo of the Box Turtle looking at you... I see a Bow on the edge of its Shell, just behind its head.... it is an exceptionally perfect Bow too... just like a Bow-Tie. And the shape above the Bow... is very interesting.
    Truly has a beautiful face. Am not at all surprised seeing it is now your Logo... rather perfect too... Bow and all!

    Stunning setting the Ringed-Orangey-toned Mushy is in. One of those extra perfect picturesque moments.

    When I lived in Sydney there was a Church Bell tower near where I lived that tolled Xmas Carols... loved listening to it. Fabulous how pure a melody can be recognised from Bells and still retain the feel of Bells.

    Love all the photos Laura, and of course the Story snippets you give with them.
    Wonderful time as always.
    Thanks heaps from your Friend Magda in Australia xxx

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  18. Cute post and I love the critters. The mushrooms are cool too! Great photos.

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  19. Haven't been to Florida yet; looks good esp the mushrooms. I really do like them. Thanks for sharing your adventure.

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  20. This is the 2nd time I've looked at this post...looks like those mushrooms are sizzling, sort of a burnished red look. The one with the color rings looks like some ladies hats from the past. And where did you get that clock widget? It's really cool?

    Your river pics are always the greatest, even when it's the same river...each one looks to be from a different place!

    What a cool exit photo of Sam and Milo! You know, when you take a slew of pics, you can always put them together to tell a story! Your choice of countryside looks like a lot of fun! Have a good weekend Laura.

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  21. Never had cats (always dogs) and find it very cool and intriguing that Milo goes camping with you. I would love to hear more about that if you have the time. Stories, or how you manage a cat while camping...anything you would like to throw out there really.
    It's fascinating!
    meggs.xx

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thanks for stopping by! it's always nice to hear from fellow wanderers!