Withlacoochee State Trail

Braving the savage 15mph winds, searing sun with no clouds, and brutal 50F temperature, today was a brisk ride on a portion of the 46 mile bike trail.  This rail to trail is a scenic, slightly hilly ride through grasslands and sandhills.  Wildlife was limited to several birds, possibly yellow warblers or vireos, and the remains of an armadillo. Definitely a nice ride that requires more attention on a calm, warm day.PS, the grass and trees are starting to turn green, accented by yellow and purple wild fauna.

Ravine Garden SP- Palatka

Ravine was rather a disappointment.  A mile long, 50' deep ravine in Florida is an oddity. Fill it with semi-tropical plants and azaelias and it improves.  Cover everything with air potato vines and the entire concept nose dives. This would be a great park if the lazy snowbirds would volunteer to clean it up.  We settled for a two mile walk among the flora and fauna.  Highlights were two Great Horned Owls who chatted with us (Who cooks for you, we do) and the flowers.

Paynes Prairie

A bright sunny 70F day goes a long way when your trying to get alligators moving. 

Wading in the water and splashing helps too, but no volunteers were available.

As usual the birding was great; a Bald Eagle, Moorhens, Coots, Ibis, Cranes, and Herons. 

Washington Oaks Garden SP

We finally had a sunny 75F day so a trip to the east coast was in order.  The beach half way between Daytona and St. Augustine is an oddity due to the Coquino shells which solidfied into sedimentary rock.  This makes for an unusual beach to explore and photograph.

On the ocean side of the sandbar activity was centered on shelling, observing weathered rock, and watching seabirds dive bombing for fish.  On the sound side we explored the oak and palm hammock and watched the minnows and crabs.

The finale was a hawk which posed for pictures just as we reached the car. Naturally I had the wrong lense on but not bad considering I got within 25' before be flew away.

Silver River SP

This park is known for its clear water but also has a great outdoor classroom for Florida schools.  The grounds include a museum as well as numerous buildings.  Represented are the Seminole Chickee, several Cracker houses, an African American one room school house used up until 1960,and an early glass bottom boat for leisurely touring the clear waters.

Crystal River Indian Mounds

Crystal River has a large complex of Indian mounds as well as pottery examples from the various tribes of the east, ranging from Ohio and New York to Florida and Georgia.  This particular site has several burial mounds as well as shell middens and a ceremonial mound.

The palms on site are also very interesting from the perspective of a Northerner.

Florida Manatees

We have now seen several of Florida's natural springs which with their 72F water create a warm stop for Manatees to gather during cold spells.  These springs are usually so clear that you can see to the bottom of 20' pools. Located near rivers, they also occasionally flood with river water and turn tea colored from the tannin in the water. The picture below is a prime example of ideal conditions. Also note that over 100 of these endangered species died during the late January cold spell due to thermal shock.

University of Florida Natural History Museum

UF has an excellent museum and a substantial fossil and skeleton collection from ancient Florida.  The 10' high Giant Sloth on display is just one example.

The moth and butterfly collections are also amazing.

Yulee Sugar Mill Historical Site

Sugar in the mid 1800s was boiled down locally from sugar cane and sorghum.  This steam powered mill and 1,000 cane workers provided sugar for the confederacy until made inoperable by the Yankees.

Paynes Prairie

Paynes Praire continues to amaze us.  A one day visit resulted in 32 species including wild pigs, bison, horses, alligators, bald eagle, multiple types of ducks, coots, cranes, hawks, ibis, bittern, vulture, pelicans, plovers, blackbirds, sparrows, warblers, bluebirds, turtles, and a cottonmouth snake.  Any place with hundreds of like species is amazing, but add in small groups of birds like the near extinction whooping crane and it becomes surreal. The gator below was about 12' long.  He bathed in the sun for about an hour while we watched and studied the marsh from a platform above him. Eventually he entered the water to focus on supper.

Olustee Battlefield

In 1864, the Confederates defeated the Blue Coats at Olustee and drove them back to Jacksonville.  Tallahassee would become the only southern capital not captured during the war. This battle is revisited yearly with a Gray-Blue Reinactment. The participants did an excellent job with no permanent causalities compared to the day 2,500 of 10,000 soldiers died.

Florida Revisited

A visit by family resulted in a week of revisiting places we enjoyed as well as a number of new sights. Unfortuately, El Nino kept things cool with temperatures in the high 30s at night and low 50s during the day.
One rainy day at Rainbow Springs SP, we were the only visitors to enter the park.  Floridians do not like cold weather.  The bright side; it was still better than Ohio in a snow storm.

72F spring waters turned the 45F air into a mystical paradise.

Bivens Arm - Gainesville

Bivens Arm is a small city park with a one mile trail, a nice short woods walk for a potentially rainy morning. The oak seedlings are just starting to leaf out and signs of spring are becoming more evident every day. This land snail, close to two inches long when extended was busily searching the forest floor for breakfast.

Highlands Hammock SP

Sebring is orange and snowbird country but we went there for the Hammock. 
The park was one of Florida's first state parks and was improved with CCC labor in the 30s.It is a jewel, especially the cypress swamp.

Leu Botanical Garden

Today consisted of a trip to Orlando to see Leu Gardens.  It rained, but the gardens and the museum were still pretty good. The frost earlier this month took its toll but Camellias and Azaleas were blooming and the selection of exotic tropical plants made the walk in the rain worthwhile. Palms, cycads, bamboo, ferns, and bromeliads each displayed their unique characteristics.  The Sausage Tree, with its 10 pound pods resembling giant potatoes, was one of the major highlights.  Unfortunately, the banana trees, the roses, the cactus garden, and the philodendrons were all hit particularly hard by the multiple frosts. PS - Orlando is way to crowded - we were glad to get back to horse country after several hours of bumper to bumper traffic.