Friday, February 01, 2013

Beautiful Florida Prairie Sunset

 

Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, Okeechobee, Florida (high 70, low 40)

Burrrr…it’s chilly this morning.

We are definitely into our “prairie routine.”  Our daily routine is the same, but every day is different, because the prairie is ever-changing.  Every sunset and every sunrise are different.  You never quite know what you’ll find.  All are beautiful in their own way, even on the days where there are too many clouds to see the sun.

sunrise on the prairie

Some mornings are foggy.

IMG_7712

We did the 30 mile run into the town of Okeechobee the other day.  It’s the nearest place for groceries, so you need to stock up before coming here.  We picked up a new electric frying pan, since we’ve decided it’s easier to cook on that than the stove top.  Easier clean up.

Saturday and Sunday they are having a battlefield re-enactment of the battle of Okeechobee.  We haven’t quite decided whether we’re going or not.  We really hate to take a day away from the prairie, especially when we’re getting close to having to leave.

We’re enjoying some nice hikes and usually see a few interesting critters.

This is a Little Blue Heron that was kind enough to pose for me.

Little Blue Heron

My  very favorite bird is the beautiful Crested Caracara.  They are so used to me by now, that they call me by name.  :)

Crested Caracara

There is a bombing range nearby at Avon Park.  We frequently hear exploding bombs and an occasional plane.  I thought the sky was pretty with all the contrails from the many planes.

sunset over prairie

How many other prairies have palm trees?

sunset over prairie

 

sunrise over prairie

This morning, I’m fixing a vegan version of SOS.  I use Light Life brand “ground beef”, almond milk and cornstarch for thickening.  I like it real well, but Al wants me to spice it up a little bit.  We’re squeezing some oranges we bought in Okeechobee.  Nothing better than fresh orange juice squeezed from nice cold oranges!

Last night we made our first pizza using our convection oven.  (vegan of course).  I guess Merikay and I were thinking alike because she made one recently and posted her recipe on her blog.  Her eggplant pizza recipe sounds good and I’m going to definitely give it a try.

Well, here’s hoping I will be able to get this blog to post.  I’m finding too many pictures causes me problems with my 1x service.

17 comments:

  1. We also decided an electric frying pan is so much easier. In fact check out our blog from November 2012....photos. We took out the range top! Now we have a nice counter.....all one piece. Joe has mastered pizza and I have mastered baked potatoes ( finally ) in the convection oven.....isn't it a great life? As usual, your pictures are awesome. Have a great day!

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  2. Your getting up early is for the birds (pun intended). Nice shot of your favorite bird friend and that sunrise picture is almost enough to make me want to get up early. :c)

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  3. I love seeing your sunrise pictures because I don't get up often enough to see very many sunrises. I can see why you don't want to leave the prairie any more than you have to. It's beautiful.

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  4. Once again you have enchanted us with your beautiful prairie photos. Sounds like you are enjoying the rhythm of life there and I can see why. Thanks for the sunrise inspiration.

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  5. I'm with Jim and Sandie...I don't get up early enough for sunrises, unless we're in a national park and want to get an early start before everyone else shows up!

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  6. We miss the prairie although we are having a great time at Jonathan Dickinson! Great pics!

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  7. I love your shot of the Crested Caracara, what a beautiful bird. thanks for sharing.

    Kevin and Ruth
    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  8. We had an awesome sunset here at Jonathan Dickinson also! Sorry we missed you at the Prairie but illness got in our way. Better now though.
    Syl

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  9. palm trees against the sunset are really gorgeous, love that photo, Karen, all of them actually, so dramatic.

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  10. I liked the "two palms" best. The state of Florida should hire you as a tourism consultant.

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  11. Great sunrise picture! For some strange reason I seem to be up now for way to many sunrises!

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  12. Really beautiful pictures Karen. Your header and those sunrise/sets are fantastic! What skillet did you get and where? I have one but it is really too big for the RV and doesn't get used as much as a smaller one would so I'm in the market.

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  13. Forgot to ask, is your stainless steel?? I don't like the coated ones. I've had too many pans where the non stick surface ended up in my food no matter how expensive they were or what they promised.

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  14. Beautiful sunrise and sunset photos.

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  15. Oh my gosh your sunset pictures are just gorgeous.
    I love the palm trees just stunning. The Blue Heron looks like he is saying hi.

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