Florida and the wildlife

On my way home from work yesterday morning, as I drove by the little lake down the street, I saw a pretty good sized turtle climbing up the bank.

I wish I had had my camera with me.. because as soon as I stepped out of my car he started up this "posture" dance... I've always heard of turtles as being so slow.. but here he was scraping his back legs into the ground sending up this spray of dirt.. like he was peeling out at the track or something .. lol.

I'm thinking he must have thought my black firebird was like the biggest turtle he'd come across in some time.. (ok ever) but he wasn't backing down for a second. Darn I wish I had a picture of it... makes me smile everytime I picture it in my mind... lol.

The wildlife here is one of the many things I love about Florida.

On any given day I can sit out in the screen room and see cardinals, turtles, (the pic is of a turtle that lives in my back yard munching mango's all summer long) kingfishers, grackles, hummingbirds, mockingbirds, owls, even had a wild turkey that used to fly in (ok I didnt see him fly.. he just kept appearing and standing in the yard) although I haven't seen him since last... oh no.. since before Thanksgiving... oh dear..., there are long necked crane as big as ostriches that show up in herds in my front yard to feed, cow birds, and during the hurricanes we even had a parakeet walk up the driveway. I have a few bunny rabbits living in the landscaping, frogs and lizards all around the screened room and squirrels everywhere.

I haven't seen an armadillo yet in my yard, although I see them alongside of the road all the time... hmmm.. come to think of it.. that's the only time I've seen them... feet up... roadkill... same goes for the racoons... never in my yard.. just roadkill...

Down at one of the state buildings downtown they have a little creek... err canal... uhh waterway running through that is stocked with all kinds of different fish. Most look like they could be living in someone's aquarium and turtles laying out on the waters edge or posed on the rocks in the water tanning their little shells.. I can sit and stare at them for hours.. so relaxing.

Seeing how many of nature's creatures have made the choice to live here lets me know I'm not totally nuts in wanting to live here also.