Fun Times in Deland

All together we spent about six weeks with our friends, Drew and Margie, in Deland. We would park in their driveway for a couple weeks at a time then move on to somewhere else and return. We love spending time with them. Margie and I really enjoy going treasure hunting at the local flea market and thrift stores. Here's an interesting thing we saw as we were leaving the flea market one day. Is it a motorcycle, a car, a trike? What???

The Red Fox pet store in town has, wait for it.... a red FOX! The owner rescued it as a baby and now he comes to work with him sometimes. There's one particular dog that he favors and will "talk" when that one comes up to his cage. They have other unusual animals here- piglets, hairless guinea pigs and rats and some absolutely beautiful birds. Another day we visited and he had a baby skunk which he let us pet!

We spent a day walking around Blue Spring State Park counting manatee. We lost count, but the ranger said they counted 40 including this mama and baby!

The boardwalk trails here are so fun!

We saw our very first wild armadillo! So exciting!

The downtown Deland area has a lot going on. Every Friday night there's a homemade market with food, jewelry and other items for sale set up along the side streets. Lights are strung over the stone courtyard outdoor bar. I dance with the kids to the music until 9pm when the band takes the stage and the minimum age requirement forces us out. It's time to head home anyway.

Another time we attended the Mardi Gras Pet Parade where they threw beads and candy from the beautifully decorated floats. The kids had a fantastic time! Afterwards we met some of our favorite dogs and posed for photos with them.

Sand Hill Farms in Eustis has THE BEST blueberries! We've picked from 4 places in 3 states and these were by far the most delicious and plentiful berries. They have five different varieties. (I didn't realize there was more than one.) We went twice and picked more than TWENTY pounds total of their emerald blueberries! And we ate all but a few cups in just a couple months time.

The kids FAVORITE part of being in Florida has to be the lizards, or more accurately the anoles. I taught them how to catch them and they both became quite skilled at it. They really wanted to keep all of them, but we just can't. They did actually take a couple to the beach with us and surprisingly they stayed on our towel with us until it was time to leave. Then they went INSIDE the gas station with us! Oh boy! We later released them in Gina's yard.

We picked up lunch and had a picnic watching skydivers land in front of us at Skydive Deland. 

Asher still remembers my agreement from two years ago that I'll take him for his 18th birthday.

The interesting face of a Muscovy Duck

Asher took Marco Polo videos of this little duck family for his cousins.

Caught this Anhinga with evidence of his fishing method, stabbing. 

I joined an Audubon walk at Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge. There was a nice canopy trail that I considered peeling off to explore alone on the way back, until the guide mentioned that three venomous snakes can be easily found on that trail. One being the pygmy rattlesnake that's less than a foot long. Uh, let me think....Nope!

Lakeland {Swans, Gators and Lubbers}

I really enjoyed Lakeland, Florida. With 38 lakes in the area, there is plenty to do. 

The downtown area around Lake Mirror is peaceful and beautiful with 

interesting architecture and beautiful gardens wrapping around the lake. 

 I managed to pick up two life birds here, the black swan and the common shelduck (below).

Lakeland is home to many special swans. The first swans were seen here in 1923, but 30 years later, they had all been killed by disease and predators (alligators and pets). One swan-loving resident, sent a letter explaining her disappointment to Queen Elizabeth, who in turn sent two of her own Mute Swans to repopulate the city. The descendants of those royal swans now number around 80 and live primarily in Lake Morton, but can be seen in other nearby lakes.

 It was shocking to not only see so many swans together, I counted 43 Mute Swans, but also so many different kinds. I saw Black Swans, Black-Necked Swans and a grey pair that are likely Mute/Black hybrids, and lots of cygnets!

This mama was caring for eggs and hatchlings.

Isn't it ridiculous how cute these Mute Swan cygnets are?

 Normally shy, these wood ducks were more relaxed and let me grab a few photos.

The funniest part of the day was when a huge flock of white ibises followed Asher thru 

the park like he was the Pied Piper! So funny! Evidently people have been feeding them. 

The main reason we stayed in Lakeland was because that is where Circle B Bar Reserve is located.

My birding friends introduced me to this place a month earlier and I was just in love with how close you could be to so many different species of birds. I could hardly wait to return with my children. Sadly, the water levels were so low, what were the best ponds previously, were now completely dry, which also meant the birds had moved on. We still saw lots of wildlife, but nothing like my first visit. We saw alligators, turtles, alligators, birds and more alligators.

Watching an alligator about 12ft from the edge of the trail.

 I watched a Common Gallinule feed her chicks. 

I was lucky enough to spot a Red-Shouldered Hawk feeding her young. 

I managed to get this photo of one of the nestlings. 

To make the day more interesting, we ended our hike with a snake and this Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, which I mistakenly have been calling a "lover" grasshopper all year. 

 Earlier in the year we found groups of maybe 20 of these tiny little guys on our walks. They are very striking with their black, red and yellow coloring. We learned that they are poisonous (to eat), so their only predator is the Northern Shrike (bird). It will skewer the grasshopper on a barb or thorn and leave it there to roast in the sun, killing off the poison, before returning to eat it.