The Little Nuthatch — mushrooms

From what I'm heard, Asheville's main spot for birdwatching is Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary. A very neat place for birds and other creatures (including lots of ginormous frogs), and there were many of Asheville's resident birds there, including a little nuthatch! (Sadly no photo of the nuthatch though. Flighty little thing.) This last one is a TERRIBLE photo, but this guy was so cool. A Northern Flicker.

How could one not want to go to a place called 'The Enchanted Forest'? It makes me think of The Enchanted Forest Series by Patricia C. Wrede... Dealing with Dragons, etc. A really good book series I loved as a child and still get an urge to re-read every once and a while, which just shows that is IS really good. Well, this Enchanted Forest is a little different from that one, but it is lovely, and is located in Titusville, Florida. Coffee berries. Apparently the birds love them. 

This bird in flight makes me laugh... All the birds looked cold like this. All tucked in. How cute are armadillos? They are so small and remind me of bunnies, but with armor. Those pelicans where at the Manatee Observation Deck, but unfortunately no manatees.

Here are some photos I took in my parents woods on Christmas. I was very excited about finding that cute little beetle. They are such pretty insects. In Japan they are very popular, actually "collectible", which I think is a bit sad but their fascination fascinates me! And searching for beetles in the mountains of Japan does sound like fun. I really want to see the documentary 'Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo':