Sunshine on my shoulders for Christmas

My sons and I had a wonderful time in Florida visiting with my husband’s parents. The weather was spring-like and the temps were in the 70’s and it was fantastic feeling the warmth of the sun. And it was very different (and interesting) being somewhere warm for the holidays, a first for me.

They live in a lovely little retirement community and have a sweet little house right on a canal that leads to the sea. Just being there gives such a feeling of peace and contentment. And one morning I woke up and the lawn was covered in all sorts of birds, some of which you’ll see below.

But I’ll start with a few beach pictures because one of my sisters texted me today and asked where the hell the Florida pictures were on my blog and how long were they going to have to wait. Nah, I’m kidding. She said it much nicer than that . . .

 

These were all taken along Casey Key.

 

 

I love the pinks of the sunset here.

 

And how cool these palm fronds look in this sunset shot.

 

Taken Christmas evening at the Venice Inlet.

 

It was great to see flowers blooming, too.

But it was the birds that I spent the most time photographing.

 

These were all taken along the canal at my in-law’s house.

I believe this is a Great Egret.

 

A Yellow-Crowned Night Heron.

He came right up to the porch, the little devil.

 

I’m not sure what kind of hawk this was, but he was screeching and performing all kinds of antics up there.

 

I am pretty sure this is a Snowy Egret.

 

And this was quite the exciting find for me. Taken from afar of what I first thought was a flamingo because of the pink coloring, this is actually a Roseate Spoonbill.

I caught this image and the alligator below at Myakka River State Park.

 

My sons had never seen an alligator before, so this was interesting.

 

And I took this while driving through Sarasota near The Ringling Circus Museum.

 

I know this isn’t much, but I’m not feeling all that wonderful right now. I’ve done something to my back and have been in bed or on the couch since yesterday afternoon. It’s getting better, but I just am not feeling all that great. At least I’m on winter break from school so I don’t feel bad about having to call in sick.

I’ll be posting more as the week wears on. Hope this little bit of sunshine makes you smile ~

Until next time, then . . .