Canoe Trip - Hillsborough River

I found myself trying to surprise my husband with something fun at Christmas time again.....my son-in-law helped me find a canoe. We took it out for it's maiden voyage today down the Hillsborough River near Tampa. It was a lovely day on the river. My photos came out a bit dark so I lightened them using Picasso.

We drove through the strawberry fields in the next county. We are spoiled in Florida for sure.....

We have had warm weather lately and the plants think it is springtime....

We began with clear blue skies today, although it rained lightly around 9:00.  Mostly cloudy skies still made it a great day to be outside.....

Yes....the sign says "WARNING  ALLIGATORS"....

There were many....too many to count....but I filmed three in particular.....

The river was as still as glass in some places....

Logs with families of turtles....7-8 turtles....sharing with 2 small gators...

Blue Heron....

more gators....

This turtle was the only one that did not slip into the river when I got close....

2 blue kingfisher birds trying to share the same log...

It was a relaxing day floating down stream.....when we returned, I was happy we had a trolling motor for upstream travel.....we made it back in 30 minutes.....

Have you been outside to enjoy nature lately? We certainly needed a fresh air day!

Check out the parties below......meet some really nice bloggers!

Lynda