The Ocean Was Stirring

The ocean was stirring only a little bit here...

white caps and large waves, it was in turmoil, you could tell there were storms brewing elsewhere.

The beautiful chain of shells was hanging undisturbed.

There are 2 new pieces of shell art at Howe Street Beach, it is our favorite beach.

A Stingray

An Octopus

And a few that have been here a long time.

A Turtle...

Dolphin

and Whale Tale

Words On Sunday

- I have shared this before, but it needed to be said again -

 

Saturday Critters #563

The Egrets leave this area and head south for winter, smart birds.

I was surprised to see that a few of the Egrets are still here.

We were in Spring Lake and decided to take a drive around the lake.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a large, white object...could it be an Egret?

Far off in the lake, standing stately tall, it was indeed an Egret.

I thought they had flown south by now but 

because of my great zoom lens, we are able to get this close to the big guy.

Look at those big feet...

as I started to take my pictures, it started to walk, letting me know he/she knew I was there.

Puffing out...

Speaking out...

 

The same day I saw another Egret in this swampy area trying to fish.

It's only catch while I was there was a huge feather in its mouth, from it's back.

A stately, pure white, heron like bird, the largest of the Egrets.

I saw several turtles, this one looks like it is clapping...

It was a fun critter day!

Sharing today's images with Eileen at 

Viewing Nature With Eileen 

for Saturday Critters

The Blooms At Longwood Gardens

Fall is in the air and I love Longwood Gardens in early autumn...

People always ask me when is the best time to visit Longwood Gardens,

Spring and Christmas are the best times to visit,

but we have season passes so for us, anytime is the best time to visit.

I think right now would be considered an off season at Longwood, maybe more between seasons.

The mums and pumpkins have not yet found their way out to the gardens, it will be gorgeous when they do.

Still there is plenty of color in the gardens and more than 200 park like acres to explore.

Here is some more of what we saw.

Hydrangea

Hibiscus

Bird of Paradise 

Spur-flower

Aster

Dahlia

Ornamental Peppers

Golden Trumpet

Sights of Autumn coming...

Globe Amaranth 

Summer Tulip

Mexican Petunia 

The walking pathways are still lined with colorful flowers...

Common Sunflower

The Garden Shop is on the way out...or on the way in if you can't wait.

I picked up a few Christmas gifts that I can't show pictures of and my 2025 Calendar.

Can you believe it...I still have more to show, tune in tomorrow.

Longwood Gardens

 I think right now would be considered an off season at Longwood Gardens, maybe more between seasons.

The mums and pumpkins have not yet found their way out to the gardens.

Still there is plenty of color in the gardens and more than 200 park like acres to explore.

We don't usually appreciate the trees and greenery as much as we did today,

the park like atmosphere is like nothing I have ever seen.

The trees are huge and we spent a lot of time guessing how old we thought they were.

This is 1 of the 3 treehouses in Longwood Gardens.

This is the Lookout House, the only one of the three on the main path.

The Italian Water Gardens

There are only a few fountains in this garden.

The Main Fountain Garden 

There is a lot of interesting information about these fountains that can be found here.

This fountain is located in the center of the gardens.

This floor is covered with water...

these last four pictures are showing the water elements in the gardens.

Tomorrow, 

I will show you some more colorful pictures of the gardens.