Where Bloggers Live: Nature Friday Vacation Days
- sallyinstpaul
- Jun 14, 2024
- 3 min read
Welcome back to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live! I am lucky to have joined a terrific group of bloggers who give a peek into the places and spaces where they spend their time.
Today's topic is Vacation: A Day in the Life...and this is well-timed because I took 7 vacation days from work in the month of May: 3 Fridays plus the week of Memorial Day.
For this post, I'm focusing on two mornings in May that my husband and I spent as "Nature Fridays" at Crosby Farm Regional Park in St Paul, MN to bird, hike, and (in my case) photograph interesting things.
We heard more birds than we saw, and saw many more birds than I was able to catch with my camera. The cooperative birds included some very active red-bellied woodpeckers...
Indigo buntings squabbling over territory...
An American robin who was ready for his close-up...
And red-winged blackbirds trying to attract female attention.
We also saw these bird signs attached to trees around the entrance to the park. Right after taking the blue jay sign photo, we heard one calling and saw it a couple minutes later. That was a very well-placed sign!
Some of the trees were cool to look at, including this skeletal one that was being overtaken by a mushroom colony...
A terrifying one that looks like a cross between a giant crustacean and a Leshy from the Witcher...
The horror that results from a Dune sandworm adapting to an arboreal environment...
And, to turn away from the grotesque to the beautiful, a stand of living trees reflected in the higher-than-usual Mississippi River.
Although mid-May is early for wildflowers in Minnesota (we see more in June), there were some pretty blooms in the park as well. Purple was the dominant color of flowers on our two visits...
But white, yellow, and red were also represented. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than I am recognizes some of these flowers.
On our second visit, as we were approaching the parking lot, we were bid farewell by deer lunching on the grass and vegetation (i.e., nature's salad bar) off-trail. That was a nice final sighting for our nature outing!
You're probably wondering whether we saw any rabbits during our time at Crosby Farm, and I must report that we did not. By the time we arrived at the park, the bunnies had already eaten and gone back to their safe places. However, my husband and I have seen wild rabbits from our balcony again this year, so all is well on the rabbit-viewing front.
During our weeklong vacation, my husband and I played many games of the Wingspan board game to continue the bird theme. Although it's a competitive game (and fun to play that way), I prefer to play it cooperatively. The game play is not different, but we collaborate on strategy and decision-making. To me, the collaborative approach is more relaxing and is much more in the true spirit of how wildlife preserves function.
We think of ourselves as developing adjoining properties as bird sanctuaries with the goal of creating the best habitat, protecting the most birds, and overall making the most wonderful bird spots we can between us. Everyone who has ever birded knows that what's better than there being an outstanding birding location in an area is there being TWO of them.
Thanks for joining me in a short recap and photo essay of the nature-related activities of my last vacation/staycation.
Next month's topic is My Self-Care at Home...which I currently have no idea how I will address!
In the meantime, visit these lovely bloggers as they share about their vacation doings:
Bettye at Fashion Schlub
Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Em at Dust and Doghair
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
Do you have any vacations/staycations planned for the summer? Do you like to do any hiking/nature photography/wildlife watching during vacations? Have you ever played the game Wingspan?
Blogs I link up with are listed here.
Pharrell was often spotted wearing the Carbon Tourbillon Chronograph ref. 26265FO.OO.D002CR.01 that was first link released in 2008. The Royal Oak CCW1 was auctioned off link last October (along with the above QPs) at Pharrell's inaugural sale for the online link auction platform Joopiter.
What a lovely post, I love all the birdie shots. Purple Floral blossoms are pretty. Thanks for being part of Garden Affair.
Gorgeous photos, thank you for sharing them with us at Handmade Monday :-)
Thank you so much for sharing your vacation days with us at The Crazy Little Lovebirds link party #42. :)
Amazing birdlife, lovely photos