Savannah, Sand Gnats, and Skidaway

I finally made it back up to Savannah this weekend. It seems like I haven't been up there in quite some time, so it was nice to go this weekend and see some more sights (and see David, of course!). I drove straight from work on Friday and met up with David and his friends Robert and Meg at the Savannah Sand Gnats game. Robert and Meg are David's friends from college that just moved to Savannah from Germany (he's a JAG), so it was good to finally meet them and hang out. The game was nice- hot of course- but lots of fun.

I have to admit, I was a little spoiled, since about a month ago, I went with Stacey to a Pensacola Wahoos game. Pensacola just built a brand new stadium downtown, right on the water and it is so nice!

David said that Savannah is considering building the Sand Gnats a new stadium on River Street right off the Savannah River, which would be amazing!

Saturday we contemplated going to Tybee to the beach, but considering this was the first sunny Saturday in which it wasn't raining in well over a month, we knew it would be crazy at the beach. We decided to venture down to Skidaway Island and see what we could find.

We first hit up the state park to see what that was about when we got down there. It was absolutely beautiful down there. We did the 3 mile hike and did a little birding along the way. Ha!

The park boasted of old liquor stills, earthen works from the War between the States, and of course nature and the beauty of the marshland.

We spotted another painted bunting (and heard many, many more!), a few different woodpeckers, and a new bird we got to cross off our list. We spotted a great-crested flycatcher. Granted, I didn't know itat the time, but thankfully I got photographic evidence for identification later!

It was a great {and hot!} place to tour and I look forward to going back many more times in the future!

After the park, we drove around Skidaway to see what it was all about, since neither one of us have ever been down there. I fell in love with the area and tried to convince David to buy a house down there. This one would do. You know, in a pinch.

The next stop was the Aquarium. Which I wasn't expecting much from, but it surprised me!

 

Well- that's it folks! My advice is go explore your backyard. You never know what treasures are right there in your own neighborhood!

Two Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed...

One fell off and broke his head. Ok, maybe not his head, but he did dislocate his elbow and crack his growth plate. My little nephew, Barrett had a little mishap on Friday. He and his cousin Rendi were of course- jumping on the bed and he fell off and the rest is history. Poor little guy! He was a trooper though and such a big boy through it all.

In the ER waiting (ahem, for NINE hours), he looked up at Brad and proclaimed "this isn't going to end well." And bless his heart, it didn't. Luckily, they were able to pop his elbow back in, but not without much screaming and tears.

He's got a new cast to sport and he of course, got Gator colors. That's my boy!

 Love this little guy and I'm glad that he's not having to have surgery on his little arm. What a brave boy he was!

Needless to say- no more monkeys jumping on the bed!!

Mama G- this post is just for you :-) xoxo

Outdoor Adventures: St. Marks Lighthouse

Another weekend, another outdoor (ok, birding) adventure! This weekend we chose to head down to St. Marks to go to the wildlife refuge/lighthouse. David and I got into a little argument over St. Marks. I swore that we had gone there before after we went to Wakulla Springs and he swore that we didn't. Well, I guess that we never did because David didn't recognize anything when we got there, so David won that argument. I must have dreamed it...

 I love St. Marks. It is so "Florida" to me. Sure, Florida has great beaches that millions flock to every year, but it is places like St. Marks that make me love the coast. Places that feel a bit more"local" and have that true Florida flavor.

And what would a trip be to St. Marks without a few lighthouse shots?

 I did of course get some bird pictures! We didn't see anything too exciting.

I took a picture of some grackles. Don't they look so much prettier when they aren't in their "normal" setting? AKA eating out of the garbage/dumpster or stealing food off your plate when you are dining outside?

The little Red-Shouldered Blackbird singing his heart out. I have never seen so many of these in my life than I did on Saturday!

In other wildlife spottings...

Lots of blue crabs

A gross rat

Wish we had seen this...but we didn't. I had this on my camera from our most recent trip to Blountstown and it was too good not share :-)

Well, that about sums up the trip to St. Marks. I know there were four gentlemen who were glad that we made it back home and released them from doggy jail!

Check That Off the List

I'm sure you all were waiting with baited breath to see if I spotted my painted bunting. Just wanted to let you know that I did and it was a sucessfull trip :-)

These birds were just gorgeous and I am glad that David was able to find me some to look at. Thanks David and Fort Pulaski!

Hope you all had an equally satisfying weekend and got some of your items checked off your list as well!

Wait- It's June Already?

Where did May go? 2013 is clicking away like a champ! Here is a little recap of things from the past month.

First off, Brandon GRADUATED from high school! How is that even possible?

I am sooo proud of that young man. He was the Salutatorian of his class (he takes after me, because I was for my class as well). So I will take all the credit for that one. Ha! No really- he is such a hard working, smart, good kid and I love that boy. Congratulations Brandon! It was so much fun getting to celebrate him and this major milestone in his life.

Someone else celebrated a milestone in May. My sweet, sweet mom had a birthday!

Like our matching outfits? :-/

I got to travel with David's mom and two of his sisters to Atlanta to attend the Living Proof Live event with Beth Moore.

I'm so glad they invited me to go. I had a great time and got a great word from God while I was there. If you ever have the chance to attend one of these events- do it!

My brother took me on a fishing excursion on the Chipola River.

My tomato plant is rocking it's socks off with 'maters. And other backyard related happenings. Lots of flowers, lots of birds, and lots of ball throwing going on out there!

New life abounding with the birth/hatching of my resident house finch that decided that my geranium was the perfect place for her nest. I've been keeping an eye on these four little guys.

When I checked on them this past Sunday, they had finally made their debut.

I can't wait to watch them grow and finally leave their nest. Did you know that a group of house finches is known as a "development"? Just a fun fact for you. Ha!

Guess it is now confession time. I have a new hobby. And that new hobby is ornithology to sound all fancy. But in reality, it's just bird watching. And guess what? I don't care if that makes me a nerd, because I love it and find it fascinating and fun. And thankfully David was taught at an early age to love the study of birds by his Aunt Sybil. She would take him around to look at birds all the time. He pulled out his old field guide of birds that she had given him and what did he find?

He spotted an Eastern Phoebe at my family's farm back in 1991. I'm sure Aunt Sybil had taken him out there to the farm because we used to have an albino hawk out there that all the local bird enthusiasts would come and watch all the time.

So, I have a partner in crime who doesn't mind me watching my birdies all the time. We even have a date this weekend with a painted bunting at Ft. Pulaski in Savannah. And I can't wait! He has seen several of them there (they aren't normally found in my area) and I hope that I can get a glimpse of one too!

Image via Great Florida Birding Trail

I added the picture, just so you can see why I am excited. How gorgeous is that bird?

Ok...that's enough about my bird nerd self....

That about sums up the month of May. I'm sure June will be gone before we know it as well!