March 29-- Bushnell Florida

As of March 24, we are in Bushnell-- parked one site over from my brother Wayne and his wife Mary Jo. It has been great visiting with them and touring the local tourist spots with them, which is why I have not been doing much writing on this blog site. The first morning here my brother invited us over for breakfast. As we were eating, two sandhill cranes strolled by the window in front of our table. I am sure they are finding the weather here just too nice to even consider migrating north! We have enjoyed our stay down here- the weather is cool mornings and evenings- afternoons warm up nicely to the low eighties. It has been dry here lately but we had a nice soaking rain last night which brought cooler temperatures. Citrus fruit is still on the trees- walking around this area the other night I noticed the smell of orange blossoms in the air. There are local produce stands all over, not only loaded with citrus fruit but also fresh strawberries, and many different vegetables ( we are especially enjoying the tomatoes). Thursday, the twenty-six, we hiked around Chinsegut wildlife and environmental preserve. It is known for its long leaf pine(the giant of all pines), but equally awesome in that preserve were the live oaks covered with moss and the many variety of palm trees. I am trying to improve on my bird identification skills-- there are several different kinds of woodpeckers down here and,of course many water birds as ibis, herons and egrets. The cranes were also seen strolling around Chinsegut and I hear the owls almost every night in our rv park. Today we toured Dade Battlefield, site of an American- Seminole war in 1835. Pictures I am posting here are of the preserve and of the sandhill cranes.