Latelly, I have been quite fascinate by the work of artist Emily Martin , from the blog The Black Apple, so if you seen any similarity to her flower girl Wild Rose to my sweet girl below is not coincidence it was meant to be.
Fotos para Natal , tive inspiracao para essas fotos no blog The Black Apple, e lindo !
Huntsville State Park is a 2,083.2-acre recreational area, six miles southwest of Huntsville, in Walker County
This heavily wooded park adjoins the Sam Houston National Forest and encloses the 210-acre Lake Raven. The park offers camping, hiking, biking, boating , guided horseback trail rides, fishing, swimming in an unsupervised swimming area, canoe and paddle boat rentals, and nature study.
The Nature Center features live animals, a fish tank, bird nests and other collections, as well as information on a wide variety of topics. Programs and special events are planned on a regular basis.
Fui com a minha familia visitar uma area natural quase 1 hora da minha casa, um parque estadual , muito bonito. Essa area e predominada por arvore de pinha. Com lagos e muitos animais selvagens. Pica- pau, esquilos, jacare, cobras... Tirei algumas fotos.
We enjoy walking and taking nature pictures ,unfortunately the nature center was close when we visited.
The park is located in the southern pine belt, so the predominant trees in the park are pines( loblolly pine) the trees are majestic and add so much beauty to the park. But among the pines there are sweergum, sassafras, red maple, oaks and dogwood.
Pileated Woodpecker
Purple Beautyberries (Callicarpa Americana)
A unknown berry to me
A bracket fungus, common form of Polyporus found on dead wood.
Fall webworm
Gulf Fritillary
Caterpillar unkown to me.
This park is peaceful retreat, I hope to visit often. Just in case you are curious, here is the park web page.
I can't resist wildflowers, lately coreopsis have been everywhere here, and with a new skirt ,I just had to take pictures. We also encounter many birds(bluejay,finches,mocking bird,sparrows),a tiny frog and a good variety of flowers.
Tiny tortured frog
Mesilla (little tableland) is a historical community in New Mexico,just a few miles from Las Cruces. This little town is from around 1848,lots of history here. Walking in the street of Mesilla is like travelling in time, adobe houses, old plaza, and the church as the center of the community is still preserved and alive, the town have many little shops too. One can go picture crazy there.
Here what we did and love it :
The White Sand : this park is called the White Sands National Monument,is about 40 miles from Las Cruces,a easy straight drive.The park is the largest(275 square miles) gypsum dune field in the world. The dunes are snow white and fills so cool to the touch . All this makes for a fantastic experience! The entrace of the park is also on the old adobe style, very nice for pictures too.
Here my suggestion, if you plan to visit the park, bring lots of water and something hydrate too like coconut water. The park have very nice picnic areas,just steps way from the dunes,can fill pretty fast. Go early ,because even in a nice day(65 to 70 degrees) can it feel very hot. Sunblock, hats, sunglasses, beach toys, umbrella, nice folding chairs, kite, ball...are other things to consider. The park also sells slide boards($14),you will want one of those. Many people make a day of it,bring food.
We love this park so much,that we end up going back the next day.
Wow, this is a long post, will have to tell about OLD MESILLA in another post.
