We’re in our second week of living at the hospital.  About the only time I see the outside world is when I go across the pedistrian’s bridge between the rehab hospital and the main hospital.

It was nice and sunny this morning when I took the picture, but before I went back, it had already started raining.

Until The Farmer is well enough to go home, this is My World!

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While we were in Florida we got to cruise along the St. John’s River on a pontoon boat.  It was AWESOME!

Before we even got away from the dock, there were things to see, like other boats heading out.

There was also a little blue heron feeding in the grasses by the dock.

We traveled towards Blue Spring State Park, a designated manatee refuge. It’s a favorite winter hang-out (mid-November through March) of these West Indian Manatees, since the waters stay nice and warm at 73 degrees.

It’s also the largest spring on the St. Johns River.  Although we got a glimpse or two of manatees in the river, we never got a clear enough look to make a worthwhile picture. Maybe next time!

There were lots of birds in the trees though.

And every once in a while we saw a bright splash of color from flowers growing among the trees and grasses.

We got really excited when we saw our first alligator.

Cruising along we saw great reflections in the water from the trees and sky.

Then we got even more excited when we saw another alligator, bigger than the first one we saw!

There were herons and other birds almost everywhere we looked.

But the BIGGEST thrill of the day was seeing this HUMONGOUS GATOR!

No way we could top that!  All in all, it was a great day of cruising! And a great part of our relatives world to visit!

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The woods in my world are always interesting. There’s always something new to see, even if I go over the same path every day. Birds, flowers, a different pattern of light on a tree – I just never know what I might see. But sometimes a visit to the woods is really special.

Sometimes there are little people in the woods.  It’s true! Recently when I was in the woods, I saw the most beautiful little fairy queen.

Isn’t she precious? I wish I could see her there each and every day, but most of the time she lives an alternate life far north of here, in Canada. There’s she’s a busy little person with therapy sessions, doctor visits, and playing at home. She has a sunny disposition, and is a delight to be around.

Every year Ellie plays dress-up and Grandma takes pictures for a calendar.  We use a mix of these fantasy photos and pictures from her every day life for the calendars.  The profits from selling these calendars (and one I make with farm life pictures) help pay for some of the expenses of special equipment, therapy and other stuff Ellie needs because she has Cerebral Palsy. 

She’s one of the best things in my world.

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On our way back from West Virginia a couple of weeks ago we drove through the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky. Our destination was Cumberland Falls State Resort Park.

They have a beautiful lodge. We ate a late lunch there, and got to sit by one of the big windows and check out the view.

This is the Cumberland River.  It flows nearly 700 miles from Harlan, Kentucky, to the Ohio River at Smithland, in the western part of Kentucky.

A sixteen-mile segment from Summer Shoals to Lake Cumberland, which includes the Cumberland Falls area, has been designated a “Kentucky Wild River” and is being preserved in its natural state.

The falls are beautiful, and known as the “Niagara of the South,” with a 125-foot wide curtain of water. At night during a full moon that you can see the moonbow, a phenomenon not found anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere.

Although I don’t live in Kentucky, I think Cumberland Falls is still a beautiful part of My World!

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Almost every morning when I’m out to do the morning chores, my canine companion, Toby, and I go for a walk. We go down through the bottom pasture and into the woods.

We have about 4 acres of woods on our little farm, so although not real big, it’s enough to get in there and not see any civilization.

We had some rain a few days ago, causing a lot more leaves to fall off the trees and carpet the path.

Going into the woods and under the bigger trees makes me feel a little like I’m a hobbit or elf or something, treading along through Middle Earth in the Lord of The Rings.  It’s so tranquil, and a great way to start the morning.

Our usual path through the woods takes us by a big hackberry tree (Celtis occidentalis). The morning sun and a low limb makes an interesting pattern of shade on the big tree’s trunk.

This is the same tree that had all the slugs crawling up and down the trunk earlier this year.  It’s too cold now for such critters to be sliming their way up and down the tree, so we didn’t see any today.

We passed by an old fallen log with a covering of moss, plus an added decoration of a bright red leaf.

Eventually we meander along the creek. With the sun shining so brightly today, it made some nice reflections of the trees in the water.

In the deeper areas of the creek, we can usually see some minnows swimming along. They zip by pretty quickly, so it’s hard to get a picture.

The reflection off the water also makes getting a decent picture difficult, but at least you can see there’s little fish in there!

It doesn’t matter how cold it is, Toby has to splash around in the creek.  He loves playing in water!

Many of the fallen leaves have caught on some rocks in the creek and made a little dam, slowing the flow of the water.

They’ll eventually float away, especially if we get more rain and it raises the water levels for a while. 

Further down the creek there is a fallen log.  It’s been there a long time, and has created another bit of a dam in the creek.

The water and floating leaves rush over one or two little sections.

Listening to the water flowing along is quite soothing.  Maybe a walk in the woods would be better than medicine for high blood pressure or depression!

Here’s another little video taken from the bank hanging over top of the end of the log.  I kind of like this one because at the end a walnut goes floating over and bobs in the water.

On the loop back through the woods, there are ferns here and there. It may be fall, but some things are still green.

Sometimes we wander around the paths in the pasture at the end of our walk, but that’s more fun in the spring and summer when there are butterflies and other bugs livening up the place.

For today, That’s My World is a walk in the woods.

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One of the places we visited while in West Virginia last week was the State Wildlife Center.  It’s located in Upshur County in north-central West Virginia, 12 miles south of Buckhannon, near French Creek. I don’t recall ever visiting it before, and The Farmer had never been in that part of West Virginia, so we decided it would be a great trip, and off we went, with Dad in tow.

The center is a zoological facility operated by the Wildlife Resources Section of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, and displaying native and introduced state wildlife.

The first thing to see are the elk and Canadian geese. They’re off in a different direction than the rest of the wildlife. We drove up to the parking lot and walked down to their pen. I would guess from the noise the bull elk was making that it’s rutting season.  He was bugling often while we were there, as you can hear in this short little video:

Elk (Cervus elaphus), also known as wapiti (from the Shawnee word waapiti, meaning white rump), are one of the largest species of deer in the world and one of the largest mammals in North America.  The particular male was quite cranky and protective, taking great exception to me getting close to the fence to try taking a picture through the holes in the chain links:

From the elk area we drove to the main parking lot. The rest of the wildlife can be seen along a 1.25 mile trail through a mature hardwood forest. We picked a good time to go, as the leaves were fall colors, and since it was a cool week day, we were the only people there.

There is a big enclosure for otters, but they were hiding out of sight when we went by. That was kind of disappointing, as I love watching otters play. They also had a few bison, but they were so far off we couldn’t see them very well even though they are some of the largest animals in North America, and can weigh well over a ton each.

There used to be an estimated 300 million buffalo roaming the land in 1865, but they were hunted and killed in such huge numbers that by 1889 only 541 remained. Their numbers have increased now, but they are still found only in zoos, on private ranches or on public lands.

The mountain lion (Felis concolor) wasn’t even that lucky. They were totally exterminated in West Virginia by 1900. This big cat is known locally as the cougar, panther, painter or puma. Weighing 80-200 pounds, with the males a third again as large as the females, they can get up to 8 feet long.

The mountain lion is known as one of the most elusive of all the world’s cats, so this is probably the only way we’ll ever see one!

Next door to the mountain lion was a pen with white-tailed deer.  That seems a little mean, putting an unreachable dinner right next to their pen.  On the other side of the deer lived several gray wolves (Canis lupis).  It’s a wonder the deer don’t have a nervous breakdown, being placed between two breeds of carnivores like that!

Gray wolves were originally found throughout North America, but now can only be seen in wilderness areas of forest and tundra. They actually help improve populations of the wildlife they prey on by culling the sick and weaker animals.

We also saw a bald eagle, a couple of red foxes, and a couple of gray foxes, along with a wild turkey, and ring-necked pheasants.  There was a bobcat with those neat tufted ears, but it wouldn’t cooperate and turn around for a picture.  The bobcat lives throughout West Virginia, and although not often seen, is often living surprisingly close to people.  It’s considered a valuable wildlife species because it hunts destructive rodents and eats carrion.

On down the trail we saw red-tailed hawks, a golden eagle, kestrels, barred owls, and a bunch of raccoons. There was a pen for a striped skunk, but I think it was in the den sleeping. At any rate, we never saw it.  What we did see was a lovely great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), and because of the “hoo, hoo, hoo” call, commonly known as a “hoot owl”.

Once again, they placed a predator by a forever out of reach dinner. It seems that great horned owls are the skunks only serious predator. I’d like to know how the owl captures the skunk without getting sprayed with that noxious odor of theirs!  Maybe it’s because great horned owls are also capable of totally silent flight, so their prey doesn’t know the owl is coming until it’s too late too run.  They’re an impressive bird in many ways.

Oh yes, and The WV Wildlife Center is also home of French Creek Freddie, a cousin of groundhog Punxsutawney Phil.  We didn’t see him either, but then, it wasn’t Groundhog Day!

They also had fishers (Martes pennanti), a shy animal that used to live in the Appalachian forests, but due to trapping and loss of habitat, no longer lives wild in West Virginia.

The black bear (Ursus americanus) was near the end of the trail.  They were pacing along the fence and quite active.  However, this picture is of a still-life sort of black bear:

He “lives” in the gift shop at the end of the trail.  His name is Jack, and he was a lifelong resident of the wildlife center.  He is believed to be the largest black bear to have lived in West Virginia, weighing about 700 pounds at prime weight.

Beside the bears on the trail was a wild boar, an animal that was introduced into West Virginia in the late 1960s. They can weigh up to 400 pounds. Huge!

And at the very end of the trail was a pen with several coyotes (Canis latrans).  Coyotes are a member of the dog family, and certainly look the part.

They prefer to munch up on rodents or other small animals, but are great opportunists and will eat anything, animal or vegetable, it doesn’t matter.  They have a hefty 50% mortality rate, but still manage to thrive, adapting and surviving in all kinds of environments.

Besides all the penned animals, there were also squirrels, chipmunks, birds and other wildlife in the forest.  All in all, the West Virginia State Wildlife Center a pretty neat place to visit.

And while I no longer live in West Virginia, I still think of it as part of MY World.

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We’re traveling right now, and have limited internet access, so I’m way behind anything done online!

Saturday we took a train trip in West Virginia, along the New River.

The leaves were turning, but not as spectacular as we’d hoped for. I’ll get more pictures up later from our travels when I have better internet access.

In the meantime, That’s My World for today, and if you want to see other people’s worlds, check out the following:

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