Sunday, January 17, 2016

Nature Discoveries During Our Morning Walks in Winter Park, Florida

My husband and I were vacationing in Florida during Thanksgiving, and every morning we would go for a walk before the kids woke up (unless we were doing an activity already that day that involved a lot of walking;  such as a theme park or a State park).   I always had my IPhone with me, so I could take pictures of all the pretty flowers.

We do not have anything in bloom (or alive for that matter) where I live, so to see beautiful flowers growing outside this time of the year is a real treat for me.  Here are just a few flowers we discovered in Ashley and Jason's neighborhood.

 I loved this pretty yellow flower, but I have no idea what it is.


Bougainvillea was in full bloom EVERYWHERE in Florida while we there.  It must be a very hardy, easy to grow vine because I swear it was growing in every one's backyard.  We also saw it growing in pots in all the theme parks.  Such a beautiful flowering vine.  I wish we could grow it here in Wisconsin.


A pretty pink flower that again, I have no idea what it is.


My son told my husband that there was a nice nature walk around a lake in a gated community near my children's house.  I don't think it was suppose to be open to the general public, but we didn't hop any gates to get there.  We just walked right in the car roadway.

It's a very beautiful lake that has a nice path going all the way around the lake and a covered deck overlooking the lake.


I love the mirror effect of the trees and deck in the still waters.  I kept thinking I'd get to see an alligator in these waters, but I didn't.  We saw a lot of fish bubbles, and several different types of waterfowl though.


I really wish IPhone would improve their zoom lens so that it would work more like my DSLR.  I think most of the time my IPhone takes pictures that are just as good as my DSLR, except when I have to zoom in.   Then it gets grainy like this.


At first we thought these little guys were swans, but I believe they are just white ducks.  I don't think I've ever seen pure white ducks before.


This is another white bird we discovered.  See him sitting on the shoreline?  My favorite part about Florida other than the weather and beaches, is all the fun and interesting birds there are!  They all seem to have such interesting personalities too!


Here's a close up of this little guy!  Most of these larger birds let you get fairly close to them to photograph.


On the way back to the house we discovered these pretty flowers.  Now these, I have grown in pots in Wisconsin, but unfortunately I forgot what they are named.   Are they Mandevilla vines?



And finally, we found this very interesting plant, tree, or bush.  I would love my southern readers to tell me what it is for my husband and I found it so fascinating.  It is very large, about the size of a small tree and had huge leaves which were larger than my hand.


Inside the base of the leaves was this large pod.  I don't know if it bloomed already and this is the seed, or if it is getting ready to bloom.  Anyone know what it is?


Visiting a state that has a completely different plant growing zone than yours is always so fun.  I love seeing all the different ways people grow plants and flowers in their yards.

Have a great day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

4 comments:

  1. These are great photos, love the mirror effect of the lake. It looks so peaceful there, hard to believe that there actually could be alligators. Love the pretty vine with all those pink flowers, it must be so nice seeing flowers all year round.

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  2. That lake looks beautiful, what a great place for a walk! You saw some lovely flowers too :)

    Away From The Blue Blog

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  3. It is fun to see the different varieties of blooms throughout the country. Wish I was better at identification.
    Thanks for joining us on The Maple Hill Hop! We wonder where you'll be next! ;0D

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  4. Delightful shots, Amy! The yellow flower in the first photo is Cassia fistula (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassia_fistula) or the "Golden Shower tree.
    Thank you for participating in the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

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