Saturday's Critters

Not the best photograph, I know, but I took this picture with my iPhone through the glass of my backdoor. These little chipping sparrows show up every day about the same time that my little 3 year old grandson and I are sitting down to lunch at the table by the door, so we get to watch them while we eat. We like to call them our "lunch sparrows". There are usually about 10-15 more on the ground below the feeder.

Linking with Saturday's Critters.

SkyWatch Friday and a few reflections

I like the way the sky looks in this picture and also the way it is reflected in the waters of Lake Jackson, which is located just north of Tallahassee and not far from where I live. I took this picture from one of the many boat landings on the lake.

On a sad note, yesterday morning I was driving down my street when I noticed that the beautiful little white squirrel I showed earlier this week here on my blog had been hit by a car. I'm assuming it was the same one since it was in the road in front of the same tree I photographed it climbing in before. I was finally able to get close enough to get a good shot of this beautiful little animal, but due to the circumstances, I am showing a small version of the picture (you can click on the picture to enlarge it). I moved it out of the road so it wouldn't keep getting run over. I'm hoping there are more of these cute little guys running around the neighborhood, but I have a feeling it might be awhile before I see another one.

Linking to SkyWatch Friday and Weekend Reflections.

Stone Bench

I saw this pretty little stone bench sitting in the shade at Dorothy Oven Park. Do you see the female cardinal on the ground just to the right of the bench? She is eating seeds that have fallen from a nearby feeder.

Keep Calm

Sign on the sidewalk in front of a cupcake shop. I think cupcakes are always a good idea!

Linking to signs, signs.

Palm trees and a waterfall

I like the way the trunks of these palm trees look in the afternoon sun. They were obviously planted there of course, and only a couple of years ago from the looks of the palm fronds on top of them. The waterfall and stream are part of the stormwater management system at Cascades Park I told you about in my post last Wednesday here. To see what the top part of the waterfall looks like, visit my post here from last February.

Linking to Our World Tuesday.

Glamorous Tape Dispenser

How cute is this? None of the guys out there need to comment if you don't want to. I just couldn't resist taking a picture of it.

White Squirrel

This illusive little squirrel lives in my neighborhood and I'm not sure if there is more than one, but every time I see it, I don't have my good camera with me. This picture was taken with my iPhone on a particularly gray day, so I apologize for the quality, but the gloomy surroundings do make its white fur more noticeable at least. I want to point out that this is NOT an albino, but a rare color variation of the common gray squirrels which are found everywhere in my neighborhood and regularly raid my bird feeders. If you look closely, you can see a gray stripe running down its back and some gray on its face. I wouldn't mind having this one in my yard though. Maybe I could get a better picture!

Linking to Saturday's Critters.

Weekend Reflections

I took these pictures in Georgetown, Texas when I was visiting family a few weeks ago. Georgetown in located just north of Austin and is the county seat of Williamson County, Texas. It is a cute little town known for its beautiful town square filled with antique shops, restaurants and boutiques which are all located in historic buildings, some of which are over a hundred years old and reminiscent of the Old West. This restaurant is located right on the town square and you can see some reflections of the square in the windows and doors. My sister and I spent a wonderful day just walking around town and browsing the shops. I did manage to buy a few things too! You can visit Georgetown's website here to find out more information and see more pictures of this lovely little town.

Linking to Weekend Reflections.

Blue skies and soft sand

No worries about falling down on this part of the play area. That sand looks nice and soft! As you can see from this picture, we have had an unusually warm autumn here, even for north Florida.

Linking to SkyWatch Friday.

Sidewalk Art

I noticed this pretty little hummingbird image on a sidewalk in the yard of one of my neighbors.

Stormwater

When you are walking around beautiful Cascades Park near downtown Tallahassee, you would never guess that its major function is to act as a stormwater management system consisting of a network of underground channels, open streams, and retention ponds. It is designed to flood, offering relief to nearby areas during major storm events. In this picture, you can see a restored stream bed that has been landscaped with native and "Florida friendly" vegetation to protect the stream bank from erosion and create a natural habitat for wildlife. The stream runs through the park between two of the retention ponds. Notice the sign warning people and pets to stay out of the stormwater, which contains pollutants from urban runoff. You can read more about this unique city park here.

Linking to signs, signs.

December Theme Day: Shop Window

Seen in the window of an antique shop in Havana, a small town just north of Tallahassee.

The first day of the month is Theme Day in the City Daily Photo Community. To see other interpretations of this month's theme from around the world, please visit the CDP December Theme Day Gallery here.

Late Bloomers

I think these are coneflowers.

Linking to Our World Tuesday.

1931 Chevrolet Sedan

I saw this beauty parked on the side of the road and could not resist taking its picture. Pretty cool, huh?

Excuses

Sometimes when you are sitting at a traffic light you see something that just begs you to take a picture. This was one of those times.

Capitol SkyWatch

The 22 story Florida Capitol sits on a hill downtown. Just to the right of it you can see the very top of the dome of Florida's historic Old Capitol with 3 flags flying at the top. Those flags are (from top to bottom) the United States flag, the POW/MIA flag, and the Florida flag.

Linking to SkyWatch Friday.

Segway lesson

Have you ever ridden a segway? The lady in the first picture was getting a lesson, while the couple in the second picture seem to be pretty skilled at it, especially since they were going downhill. This is not something I would try I'm afraid. I'm unsteady enough just walking on my own two feet, so I was just happy to watch and take pictures.

say "per-low"

The weather was perfect this past Sunday for the Springtime Tallahassee Fall Festival. I know that sounds a little contradictory, but Springtime Tallahassee, Inc. is a local civic organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Tallahassee’s history. Since 1967, they have sponsored the Annual Springtime Tallahassee Festival (in the spring) which includes a parade, music, food, and arts and crafts booths. Recently they have started sponsoring a smaller one day festival in the fall at Cascades Park with children's activities, arts and crafts booths, music, and food featuring the famous Southern chicken and rice recipe called chicken pilau (pronounced "per-low"). My grandmother used to make a variation of this recipe using shrimp, which I like much better, but the chicken version is pretty good too! The musical group shown in the third picture is called The New 76ers, a local acoustic folk band and they were wonderful. You can listen to some of their music here.

Linking to signs, signs.

Fall skies and reflections

I just love how blue the sky is in October. I took this picture while I was walking around the perimeter of Cascades Park. That white building on the left houses the Florida Department of Financial Services and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, one of the many state government office buildings located downtown near the state Capitol complex. It also happens to be the same building where my son has worked for the past 10 years.

I will be taking a short blogging break for the next week or so while I enjoy some family time. Be back soon!

Linking to SkyWatch Friday and Weekend Reflections.

Good Fences

I saw this cute guy sitting on a fence beckoning people to come inside and visit his art show at a pumpkin festival over the weekend.

Linking to Good Fences.

Sign at the pumpkin patch

Cute sign seen at the pumpkin patch this past weekend.

Linking to signs, signs.

Spanish moss

Walking around Cascades Park on a clear fall day, I noticed this strand of Spanish moss looked like it was trying to touch the top of the 22 story Florida Capitol Building in the distance. Maybe it was trying to talk some sense into our lawmakers over there.

Linking to Our World Tuesday.

Pumpkins

Another October weekend, another pumpkin patch with the grandkids. It was nice and sunny here this past Saturday and the sunlight made the pumpkins look especially pretty.

Blue Skies on the Birding Trail

Perfect weather for a walk, but I think all the birds were hiding that day.

Linking to SkyWatch Friday.

A good fence at the pumpkin patch

While visiting one of the local pumpkin patches this past weekend, my youngest grandson decided to stand on a pumpkin and lean on the fence to get a better look at all of the cars going by at this busy intersection.

Linking to Good Fences.