Basking in the Sun

Sunny and Seventy Seven!  Woohoo!  It's about time!  After being holed up indoors hiding from miserable cold this past two weeks, I couldn't wait to get outdoors and feel the sunshine on my skin and in my soul!

"That ain't exercise, honey!"

Lately, I've been trying to add exercise to my daily routine, you know, to improve the health and all.  My life has become pretty sedentary in the decades that followed marriage, job, and motherhood.  Yes, I do work in the garden once or twice a week and occasionally on Son #1's property, but it has clearly not been a good substitute for routine exercise, as evidenced by my physical condition.  So in an effort to uproot this office-chair potato, I have been making valiant efforts to get out for a daily constitutional. 

Afternoon Amble

I don't know about you, but I am a lover of Nature and the Great Outdoors.  There was a time, not so many years ago, when a two- or three-hour trek into the woods was a weekly event for me.  Not so much these days.  I make many excuses to myself why I don't get out there anymore...the health is not what it used to be...can't find a hiking companion...don't have time...gas is too pricy...the reasons go on and on. 

Into the swamp...

I decided today to head out on a swamp trek to visit my river again.  For those who don't know, Florida's Peace River is just a skip and a holler from my house, and it was the inspiration behind my blog's name.  I really don't get down to the water enough, which is shameful.  Today, I wandered out with high hopes of doing some birdwatching and maybe even some gatorwatching.  Come, walk with me, and visit my little piece of the world.

The Fisherbirds

Today, I took a little walk in the local park.  I do love spending time in my garden, but sometimes I feel I must get a little more "elbow room," if you know what I mean.  I've been feeling that way for a couple weeks now, but just haven't had the gumption to get out for a hike in the woods (it's too hot!).  Then it occurred to me that I haven't walked in the park for the longest time.  And the park has something my garden doesn't have...water!  Lots and lots of water.  Which means lots of wading birds.  You are virtually guaranteed to get your birdwatching fix after an hour in this park. 

Peace in the Park

On this first of March, in spring's ushering month, nature has brought us a most perfect day.  With the sun shining and a warm breeze blowing, today was a wonderful respite from this long winter!  I knew the next few days had a more gloomy forecast, so I just had to get out in the open today.  My goal was a mid-day walk through a peaceful park just down the road.  It turned out to be a gorgeous experience...how glad I am that I made this journey.  Come walk with me through this peaceful park.

A Day at the Beach

I'm off to the beach! Not literally. Just in my head. Thoughts of this dreary month have caused my mind to wander over to the oceanside. I popped over to my photo archives and pulled out some memories from a beach trip last summer. Peaceful, warm, pleasant memories...

I love the sea oats that arch gracefully along the beach edge.

The most wonderful memory of this particular trip was a first-time-ever sighting of the Reddish Egret. Another bird checked off my list! The Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) is a medium-sized heron that inhabits coastal beaches of the tropics and subtropics of the Americas. I watched this bird for quite a long time. Like many coastal-wading birds, he was not people-shy. Isn't he beautiful?!!!

A Reddish Egret (Egretta rufrescens)

"The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man."
-Author Unknown

Now I have been known to do the touristy thing and visit public beaches and resorts here in Florida. But...sometimes it is nice to visit a beach that has been "little touched" by the hand of man. This particular beach I visited was on an island in the Gulf of Mexico that was almost completely absent of manmade structures. The city high-rises were a distant blur in the horizon. While the kids splashed in the water, I roamed the sands looking for shells, birds, and flowers. Such a breath of fresh air!

A white peacock butterfly on a sunny beach sunflower.

Beach morning glories!

Meet "My Florida"

"Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain." - Henry David Thoreau

I'd like to introduce everyone to my little piece of Florida. Ours is not the Florida promoted by tourism departments. From where I live, you'd have to drive a long way to find a theme park, a beach, an airport, or even a mall. We live here in a lonely stretch of earth hugging the Peace River and lined with scattered small towns, mobile home parks, swampland, cow pastures, and orange groves. The land here is rich in phosphates, and phosphate mining is another big industry here. This area produces 75% of the nation's phosphates used for farming. At first glance, it appears that these mines are destroying the landscape. But I have walked through a few of our state and county parks that are built on reclaimed land from the mining companies. (See this link for more info: Phosphate Primer.) These parks have become beautiful natural areas and wildlife habitats. Our area is also sometimes referred to as Bone Valley, because it is rich in fossil remains. Fossil hunts via canoe trips on the river are an offbeat choice for tourists looking for something besides beaches and theme parks. My house is just a skip-and-a-holler from the Peace River itself: a short walk across a neighbor's grassy lot and a muddy, five-minute trek into the woods. Even though my garden sits on a tiny half-acre, I feel very fortunate that it is so close to a woodland and a river. There is no shortage of wildlife here! Here are a few photographs of "My Florida":

This limpkin is tiptoeing though the shallows of the river in search of snails. Limpkins are a common sight on our river, as are Florida alligators.

This Queen butterfly is nectaring from a beggartick bloom, a wildflower in this natural setting, but a weed in the garden.



New leaves on a Red Maple, one of the native trees that grow in Florida swamps.



I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky, and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.

~e e cumming

These shots--through towering cypress trees--were taken in a park that is situated on a reclaimed phosphate mine. We love the boardwalk that keeps your feet high and dry (and safe from gators).


(Note: The Peace River scene, the butterfly, the maple, and the sky-thru-the-trees photographs were all taken by my son.)