Why I love where I live, part two

Last year, when we were still in Maryland, I wrote about how much I loved where I lived. The good news is that even though we moved hundreds of miles away, I still love where I live... for very different reasons!! Some parts of Tampa are more beautiful than others. When we were down here for our 10 day house-hunting trip, we could definitely tell a difference in types of vegetation in different corners of the city. I was pretty adamant about finding a house in the area where we are now because there are so many old, large oak trees with spanish moss, palm trees and tropical plants. We're out on the fringes of the city, close enough to the stores, but far enough way for it to feel peaceful. I took some pictures recently during some of my runs and walks with Chase and I'll post them below.

I also love all of the wildlife here. This is what I've seen so far: tons of lizards, turtles, huge birds (cranes, egrets, hawks, ducks, etc), black snakes, armadillos, raccoons, a red fox, giant toads and alligators! During a walk last weekend we saw an alligator out of the water for the first time! I really wish that I had my camera with me! It was sitting right on the edge of a pond (not ours, thankfully!) getting some sun. It was beautiful... but I'm glad it was on the other side of the pond from where we were walking!

Oh and did I mention that I love the Florida weather!? I was sort of kidding in my last post when I said that we could go swimming, but then Eric came home from work on Friday and said, "Hey, want to go to the pool?" So we went! And then we went the next day too! It was really strange walking to the pool in our swimming gear, past the clubhouse that was all decked out with Christmas lights and holly! But the pool was warm and we had a great time! Chase loves the water! I think he'll definitely take after his dad and aunts... he'll be a great swimmer!

This is what it looks like when I go running... the sidewalk is hardly ever straight!

There are birds everywhere! We see them in our backyard a lot... until Elvis barks and scares them away!

Lots of wild flowers and berries: