fish sightings – The Hermits' Rest

Crossing Florida through Cross City

Today I took the day off, so I could enjoy the drive across Florida the interesting way.

Rather than going up to Jacksonville and heading across Interstate 20, we went across the middle of Florida through the parts tourists don’t usually see. This route is for the nature lover—covered in forests, lakes, Thoroughbred farms, and springs.

There are National Forests, State Forests, wildlife preserves, and charming small towns that have not lost their 60s vibe. Even though it was mostly a rainy day, it was refreshing and a wonderful change from condo after condo.

I also enjoyed showing Lee places I loved as a child. Since we’ve already been to Silver Springs (ten years ago for high school reunion) we drove by that beautiful place. So instead, we went to a place where I used to go as a child with my parents and our dog Maggie, Fanning Springs.

This was the most pleasant outing in our hot Florida summers, because the water is pleasantly cool year round. And you could see so many fish (and the occasional manatee).

Much like with finding Mom’s grave, I remembered exactly where it was in the park. It looks so much like it used to! The view out to the Suwannee River was a total match to my memory. Wow, so I took a few pictures.

Even though it was rainy, we had a great time. All those mullets swimming around fascinated us and I had just as much fun on the lovely (but slick!) boardwalk by a smaller spring/seep.

After that fun, we kept driving across the state until I hit another family link, the deepest backwater of Florida, right in the armpit, Dixie County. Yes. That’s its name. The county seat is Cross City, where Mom spent her childhood as the one fancy little girl with big bows and long curls among the children of lumber mill workers. (My grandfather was a surveyor/big fish in a small pond at Putnam Lumber in the 1930s-1960s.)

I heard lots of stories about Cross City, at one time the poorest county in Florida, but I know Mom had some fond memories. She subscribed to the newspaper her whole life.

I was surprised at how little that place had changed. I was also surprised at how much visiting these places from my mother’s past affects me. It brings back memories of things that had been buried in my mushy brain for decades. I now have a lot more empathy for my anxiety-ridden mom and her parenting challenges.

I spent much of the rest of the drive through the panhandle asleep. I was awake for a couple bad accidents that we passed. Rain is scary.

But at least we didn’t hit a bear or deer. Why? Because Florida has these signs that blink when an animal is coming across the road. They are all through the National Forest. What a cool idea!

No photos of the signs, but we saw some great clouds!

Now we are in Pensacola, making Florida seem almost as wide as Texas! I hope it’s not too rainy tomorrow so we can see more nature stuff.

New hotel brand, LivSmart Suites. There were actual birds near here. I’ve missed birds.

Phone apps, or favorite activities

What are your favorite 5 apps on your phone?

Today featured a four-hour workshop with much complaining, so I’m not up for any deep thoughts. I’ll share some photos of a quick visit to watery areas of Tomoka State Park here in Ormond/Daytona/Orange Beaches in Florida, as well as beachy and river-y views from happier parts of the day as I list my five favorite phone apps. I bet you can guess some!

Little Blue Heron, a hint at two favorite apps.

One. The Camera app, especially the one on this iPhone 17. I love all the zooms, the lenses, the Live Photos, the grid that helps you crop, and the indicators that tell you if your image is level. I have a ridiculous amount of fun taking pictures wherever I go, documenting all the life forms I encounter.

Sunset looking at an island full of roosting White Ibises

Two. Merlin Bird ID. Merlin brings me so much joy. It’s given me something to focus on that’s positive and educational, even in these troubled times. Days when I don’t get to go out and look for birds (like yesterday) are few and far between, which is fine with me. Now if only they made apps for identifying frogs and cicadas.

Three. iNaturalist. So far, none of these surprise anyone who’s ever read this blog. Right? Anyway, I’ve always wanted to know what I am looking at when I’m out in nature. This fantastic app helps me learn about my surroundings and allows me to teach others. I am in awe at the variety of living things around me, large and small. And iNat lets me learn and contribute to scientific knowledge. So much fun.

Four. Finch. It’s a game kind of app where you and your “birb” friend explore new things, work on mental health, and interact with friends to cheer them up. It borders on silly, but it helps center me in the morning and before bed. It can be very helpful for people dealing with an anxiety and depression.

Ada is my birb. She currently has a pet corgi.

Five. Crossword Puzzle Redstone. Lee plays this a lot, so I’ve joined him. The Hard ones are just right to keep my brain active and keep me from thinking I’m in mental decline. There are many different authors to choose from. We both like the G. Johnson ones. One good thing about the Crossword app is it keeps me off Facebook so much!

Runners up: Facebook, JetPack/Wordpress (blog app), Clime (NOAA weather), Apple Maps, Google.

I’d love to know which apps you like! Because I’m feeling better, here are other photos from today. Love that phone app.

Final note. Lee went to dinner with me and Vicki, but wasn’t feeling well and only ate a sweet potato. The place we ate was Aunt Catfish’s, a perfect old Florida seafood place. I could eat there again!

Twelve thousand steps later

Today was my only Saturday in Ormond Beach. So by gosh, I was going to make the most of it! While I’m still not back to the strength and stamina I had when I was working with horses and camping so much, I still managed 4.5 miles of walking at three different parks. I got my nature walking in!

I started off back at Tomoka State Park, where I walked the mile-long paved path on the other side of the road from the main park. It’s very smooth, and can be enjoyed by people with many disabilities in addition to walkers and cyclists. I’d have enjoyed it much more if there were fewer motorcycles on the road (it must have been a special touring day). There was a never-ending parade of buzzy small planes, too. But it was shady, and I saw a beautiful box turtle. Not many birds.

The woods is very uniform, with the same mix of plants throughout. I wonder how long it’s been recovering from being an indigo plantation? Here are some sights.

I left there and proceeded a few beautiful miles down the road to a truly special place, Bulow Creek State Park. Lots to see here! First I enjoyed the area around some huge, old live oaks, including the Fairchild Oak. All the trees are beautiful. My big surprise was spotting a raccoon family in the big old tree. Mom was trying to keep up with four very busy young ones. I enjoyed them a while, then showed them to a couple of other visitors.

Next I took the shorter trail that goes through a wet area. It has a collection of fascinating seeps that flow across the clay substrate to form the larger creek. Since it’s rained recently, they were flowing nicely. They are very similar to the seeps on our property, and now I understand them more. It made my day (that and the raccoons).

I endeavored to go on as much as possible of the next trail, which is a six-mile loop. I did not go that far. I did make it to where the trail turns and follows Bulow Creek before turning back. This was a lovely trail that even had some birds! I saw a Pileated Woodpecker fly by. There was also ample evidence of wild hogs. And since there was NO evidence of bears, I concluded that the large black animal that snorted at me was a hog. Yow. But the ferns, flowers, and trees were great. I also enjoyed many brown anole activities.

I had one more stop on my route, which made a nice circle. I wish I could have taken photos as I drove, because the drive between Bulow and North Peninsula State Park is through some of the prettiest wild east coast scenery I’ve ever seen. Woods making tunnels over the road lead to stunning swamps and to wide-open marshlands. I may take Lee there just to see it again. I also enjoyed going over a small drawbridge.

At this park I went on a trail that’s supposed to be a birding trail. I didn’t see any, nor any alligators. I did see a very large gopher tortoise. It made a noise at me for interrupting snack time. I also found what had to be its hole (huge) nearby.

If it wasn’t so hot, I’d have enjoyed more of this trail, which crossed hammocks and scrub. But I got too red and knew I needed to get a drink and rest. That led me to a shiny Anhinga. A bird!

I came back to the condo and enjoyed putting my observations in iNaturalist and rehydrated. After cleaning up, I got Vicki and we had a fancy steak dinner at the fancy restaurant I ate at last week. Other than very happy and loud revelers next to us, we had fun.

Lee is halfway here, after dealing with bad traffic and wonky GPS. Tomorrow I won’t be alone in the condo!

Hope you enjoyed the photos. I sure enjoyed my day. All positive.

Visiting Mom (and more)

When I was planning this trip to northern Florida, it occurred to me that I wouldn’t be too far from the ancestral home of my mother’s side of the family, and their last hurrah in Green Cove Springs. (That town name took up lots of trace when addressing an envelope so I will call it GCS from now on.) It was, in the middle of the 20th century, when I used to visit Saintly Aunt Belle and all the Canovas, a quaint small town centered around a sulphur spring and a grand bath house for taking in the waters, which then flowed into the St. John’s River, which famously flows north.

I had not been back since December 1984, at my mom’s funeral. Let’s just say that was an episode my dad, brother, and I wanted to put far behind us as we raced away vowing to “never see those g-d people again” to paraphrase Dad. Since all “those people” are dead, and the neighborhood is a Walgreens, I felt it was safe to return. I brought Vicki so she could beat away any ghosts with her cane.

First we had to see Elvis. I asked for his blessing

We stopped for lunch in scenic Palatka, which still resembles Palatka but with some new stores. We ate at Florida’s oldest diner (apparently only since an older diner closed). Angel’s Dining car is in a real old dining car and has lots of milkshakes. We ate other food, however, and and I especially liked the sweet potato fries.

As we drove to GCS, I needed to stop to do a meeting with my boss (I took off most of the day). As I slowed down to turn into a driveway, we passed two Highway Patrol cars that had pulled someone over. The next thing I knew, we were being pulled over. I was confused. It turns out that I should have jumped into the left lane when we passed them.

I was all perky and nice, so I accepted my warning and promised to do better. As Mr. Trooper headed back to his car, a red truck went by in our lane. He got immediately pulled over! I guess there’s an information campaign going on about slowing down AND getting in the left lane, which I would have done if I wasn’t trying to turn right. Lesson learned.

While much of the area near GCS looks unfamiliar, the cemetery looks the same. In fact, I drove straight to the right plot where all those Canovas and their spouses are interred. Then I got confused because there were pinwheels all around, so I drove around a bit. Mom’s headstone had a pinwheel thing next to it. Perhaps my estranged sister put it there before she moved to Texas. If so, that’s an old pinwheel.

The round thing under 13 is a blue marble the color of Mom’s birthstone. I added that.

I told Mom, who is not there, of course, that I miss her but am fine. By the way, Mom was not Catholic; the person who arranged for her funeral and headstone was, though. See why we left? Anyway, here are some of my other dead relatives’ markers.

Maternal grandparents – my grandfather was a great guy.

We looked around a bit more, identified some plants, and went to Spring Park, very near the Walgreens where the crazy Canova children grew up (actually that house was one street over and now has a funeral home on it).

Here’s the spring now. The circular opening is what used to have a fence around it.

The Spring Park has been made very nice, which pleased me. The bath house is gone, but there’s a grand city hall across the street. The refurbished spring-fed pool is lovely.

Spring facts. What is doesn’t mention is the sulphur smell.

My happiest moment came when I saw that the outflow into the river was just as it once was. Crystal clear water briskly flowing into the river, full of fish and water plants.

The river area is not all built up, which pleased me. The only birds were Boat-tailed Grackles, but they were entertaining enough. We did see a Roseate Spoonbill on the way back, so all was well.

We made it back to the condo through some bad rain, which they need here, too. After a rest, Vicki and I ate so-so Italian food. She was a trooper today. I’m not gonna force her on my marathon of parks tomorrow, though. That will be solo.

Vicki found this green lacewing larva wearing its disguise of lichen. How cool!

It was good to have someone with me today. I didn’t know how I’d take visiting the source of childhood negativity again. But mostly I remembered how my father took care of me when relatives were snippy, and how kind the compassionate family members were to our nuclear family. I’ve done the work and came out healthier! Whoop!

Book Report: Steve Martin Writes the Written Word

I find Steve Martin funny, charming, musically talented, and a fine actor. As a writer I give him a solid B/B+. He’s not a bad writer, but not one whose words would get published as hardback books if he weren’t already famous. So, you don’t need to run out and buy Steve Martin Writes the Written Word: Collected Written Word Works by Steve Martin. You can get it when it comes out in paperback. Or I bet it’s better with him reading it as an audiobook. You’d get all that wryness and tongue-in-cheek-itude better.

There are short stories, odd lists, and two novellas in this collection, including Shop Girl, which became a show or movie or something. I found it okay, but didn’t really like the characters. The Pleasure of My Company, a story written from the viewpoint of a very neurotic but likable fellow, I enjoyed more.

It occurs to me that much of Martin’s ability to make you laugh comes from tone of voice or slapstick, neither of which come across very well written in written words works.

I left the book at the condo so someone else could read it, though they tried very hard to return it to Anita.

Fish update

I did promise yesterday to show you the rosy red minnows that went in the fish pond yesterday. They all came up at feeding time, so I could get photos in the murky water. They’re busy chowing down on that algae.

I got another couple of goldfish photos. One is not a fantail, so it’s easy to ID!

Animal comings and goings

While I was on the East Coast looking at waves and birds, there have been shifts in the population here at the Hermits’ Rest. One is a familiar friend/nuisance (depending on behavior that changes moment to moment).

Yep. Apparently Lee woke up Thursday night to find Benny in his lap. He no longer has his collar on, but still is a fully functional manly dog. So much for the people 2 miles away promising to fix both their fence and the dog.

He’s still madly enamored of poor Carlton, who patiently rebuffs Benny’s attempts at fathering very ugly puppies with him. Benny is apparently an example that yes, dogs can be gay. He is Carlton’s constant shadow. At least he’s settled in enough on this visit that they have started playing more and mounting less. That’s very welcome.

I assume at some point the teen girl will come home from Grandma’s house (or whatever) and ask about him. Then her dad will have to come here and listen to another lecture on neutering and keeping track of pets. Until then, we will take care of our guest, unless he decides to go home. He’s a nice dog other than the boundless energy when I’m trying to sleep and his Carlton fixation.

Also while I was gone the population of the fish pond went from 0 to four. Kathleen bought me four pretty goldfish and had Lee put them in.

We needed them since the algae is creeping in.

They are my favorite kind, so I’m pleased. They are all still alive. Kathleen predicts they’ll die on day 15, since they have a 14-day guarantee.

She tried to get minnows yesterday, but the pet store didn’t have any and didn’t appear to be caring for their other fish.

Same fish. The other two saw the camera and fled.

However, today she was at College Station and found healthier minnows. I’ll get photos of them tomorrow, but they look like minnows, and they will be in this green water. Just imagine it.

We still have the same number of birds and equines, so that will have to do for the animal report.

I found the birds, at last!

Most of the week we’ve been in Myrtle Beach, we haven’t had much birding time, and not many birds have been around other than the classic pigeons and pelicans one can see from the condo balcony, Ospreys on the river, statues at Brookgreen Gardens. Today was different!

That’s right, I’m a bird! (Little Blue Heron)

We headed over to Huntington Beach State Park, right by where we were yesterday. I just love this place. Thank goodness Anita got excited by how many beautiful water birds were there. By the bridge were many White Ibises, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, a Tricolored Heron, an Osprey, and way in the back, Roseate Spoonbills.

Next we wandered over to the nature center, where there are always songbirds. We saw Red-headed and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a female Painted Bunting, a hummingbird, and more. The boardwalk was closed, but that’s okay. We also enjoyed the fish, snakes, turtles, and other marsh life on exhibit.

We then headed over to the beach to check out Mallard Pond. There were lots of birds in the trees, but not many around the pond. It was full of dead fish. Because of the drought, the water has become too salty for them, I was told by a park worker. I did find some interesting flowers, and the elusive Seaside Sparrow (lifer).

There was one more stop at the state park, where the birder/sales guy told us to go. It’s a lovely walk between two ponds Mrs Huntington had built for shorebirds.

Were there birds in the ponds? Oh, yes. And beautiful American lotuses, too.

We had to walk very quietly, because there were many juvenile birds everywhere, darling Common Gallinules, White Ibis, and best of all, a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron! Look at all the cuteness!

I had a good talk with a park worker and his son who were working to create a rookery area. They were carrying water in buckets for new trees. It looked like they were succeeding, since dozens of Purple Martins were surrounding some pine snags in the area. I learned a lot from my conversation.

I managed to delete my Martin picture. Darn.

We were tired, so we stopped for a cold beverage at the park store. It was so relaxing to sit on a bench and enjoy our photos while cooling off. But, we did have another stop to make.

Yes, we returned to Brookgreen Gardens, because we had missed some of the glass art yesterday. Our passes lasted a week, so why not? Anita had left hers at the condo, as we hadn’t originally planned the stop, but the worker let us in. That pleased Anita a lot!

We quickly found the indoor exhibit, read about the artist, and enjoyed all the colored glass.

As we were leaving, we had to look at more glass art, as well as some cool bromeliads and unusual white flowers

This is a dandelion seed—they are hidden throughout the garden

What I did not expect to find were more birds, but they were lurking everywhere, unlike yesterday. The Little Blue Heron was right in front of us when we were looking at the glass water lilies.

Whew. We didn’t have energy to get pedicures or eat out. I miraculously managed to fit all my stuff in my luggage, too! Back home tomorrow.

How’s that river doing?

Yep, we have a twofer today. Lucky us. In today’s travel adventures in South Carolina, I felt compelled to show Anita the Waccamaw River and its glorious birds and gators. I’ve already shown you hundreds of photos of the river cruise, since this was my fourth trip, but of course there’s more!

For example, I’ve never showed you an alarmed Southern Toad before. The preteen girls who sat near us found it. They were really into the nature.

This year we saw many Ospreys and their nests, many with large juveniles about ready to fledge. I’m extra glad I brought the good binoculars with me! There was fish drama, feeding behavior, and much more.

We saw lots of other birds, some of which I photographed. There were also Purple Martins everywhere, and more Swallowtail Kites, too. There were plenty to satisfy me.

And of course there were alligators, many young ones and a few adults as well. It’s always fun spotting them.

I took my usual abundance of plant photos. Here are just a few.

It’s just so pretty floating down the tidal river that is still so natural in many places!

After we left the tour, we motored down past Murrell’s Inlet, Pawley’s Island, and such until we hit Georgetown, another place I have been to with Lee before. I knew Anita would like the old houses and cute downtown. We browsed the shops then had lunch at a pleasant bistro. It rained a while, so we stayed there until it stopped. They need the rain here! We enjoyed ourselves anyway.

Back at the condo we watched the beach come to life after the rain. We enjoyed some interesting wine from our travels, and ate pasta that Anita cooked. Mostly we laughed at odd internet stories like back in the old Austin days.

Little joys for girls and boys

Today was pretty darned pleasant. I got some items on my to-do list done, and enjoyed a day of less bad news surrounding me. Woo hoo!

The knockout roses Lee bought that I thought were doomed are both blooming. One little joy!

I went with Lee and Chris to Lowe’s to pick up supplies for the pool house project behind our house. I remembered to ask them to get a new air conditioner for my she shed, which will certainly improve horse feeding this summer.

I also finally remembered to get an American flag to go by our front gate. I’d been intending to do it for quite some e, but I rarely go anywhere that would have one these days. I want to be clear that everyone on our property has hopes for a better future here, no matter the details of our beliefs.

When we got home I hurried to do barn chores, and the flag was up by the time I got finished! What a joy.

I met an interesting man who builds furniture mostly out of 2x4s at the checkout line at Lowe’s. I enjoyed looking at his creative ideas and techniques. He reminded me very much of the creative builders in my family!

After Lowe’s Lee and I went to the pet store and got some “rosy red minnows” to put in the horses’ water troughs. That’s another to-do item I kept forgetting to do. I didn’t remember to take any pictures before I put them in. Let’s hope enough of them survive to do mosquito and algae control.

Apache and Spice always are fascinated by fish. Let’s hope these hide under their cement blocks well.

We got canna lilies to plant near the pool, too. The variety name cracked me up. My mother’s first name was Canova. Close. No humans by that name are authorized in this property, but innocent sale bin plants are.

Plus, I gave my nails a rainbow manicure and finished May on the temperature blanket. April and May were fairly pleasant. June is rather red so far. Red is over 90°, wine is over 95° and hot pink is over 100°. I’m hoping for very little hot pink this summer.

I wish you little moments of joy and much peace. Thanks for reading.

It’s My Favorite Week of the Year

What week is that? The week the Mexican plum and redbuds start to bloom in this part of Texas! This means a whole bunch of pretty flowers will be here any day now!

I saw many wild redbuds on the drive from Cameron to Milano.

I’d been afraid I’d miss those trees this year, since I no longer drive there three times a month. But, hooray, today was the day to go out to my friend Carolyn’s to make plans for a field trip to her place to look at the unique wildflowers they have.

Our fellow Master Naturalist, Terri, joined us. She’s been working on a map of the property and its trails and wanted to refine it. She’s also going to make signs to help navigate the trails. She’s so talented!

We had lots of fun looking at the plants that are coming up and finding places of interest to share with visitors, like where the puffball mushrooms are.

I always have so much fun with Carolyn. I promised I’d visit more this year.

We found more than plants! The resident armadillos were wandering around, we saw a deer, and we got to watch AD feed the big catfish in the ponds. Plus, the cattle followed us around hoping for treats for quite a while. They’re very friendly.

Note the petting going on in the background.

It was fun to find a wetland that’s developed between the fancy pond and the well. It should be beautiful in a few weeks, too.

I think the people who go on the picnic will have a great time exploring the property, and I know it will mean a lot to Carolyn to have us visit. Before that, we still have work to do to get ready! Here are some more photos.

What a great way to treat the first official week of wildflower season.

In other news, our much-needed new washer and dryer came and were successfully installed. That impressed me, because I didn’t think we had all the parts, but we did! Our menfolk can work miracles.

Sorry about yesterday’s downer post. I think I’m just rundown. My “glands” hurt and ears are sore. I’ll have to take it easy tomorrow!