Skip to main content

Sawgrass - Part 2

Back at Sawgrass Nature Preserve.  Great places to wander and lots and lots of trails.  It is pretty relaxing and very cheap (free) way to spend an afternoon.  Bring some water, however.



Ancient looking oaks with Spanish moss make for picturesque viewing.



Spanish moss does not hurt its host and thrives on air.  Go figure.



View from the lookout.  You can see a great distance from these lookouts, and I always get the urge to mark my territory.  Oh my.  I didn't but I wish I could.  Civility prevents me.  Damn civility!  One of the things I miss about the country.


Spring/summer and everything is lush and green.  It is rather remarkable that of the three preserves I like, all of them are smack dab in the middle of town.  What a wonderful way to escape the bustle of city living and be surrounded by quiet nature.  Like I have said before, much of it looks prehistoric.


This is rather deceptive.  Looks like you would be able to walk over to that pond, and indeed you would.  But you wouldn't stay dry.  All of this is a swamp area and it may look like a field, but it is actually water with these grasses growing in it.  And I'll bet that sumbitch is full of snakes.


No way I'm going out there.  Wet, swampy, bug-infested, this is a true swamp like area, and I wouldn't be surprised that Mom and Dad gator travel around out here too.


Ain't no way I'm going out there.



The boardwalks are great fun and go forever, and keep your feet dry.  


Sometimes it looks prehistoric.


Occasionally you can hear a car up on the interstate, but mostly, it is peaceful, quiet serenity.


You can take several trails in this place and stay out there all day and see new things.


I almost expected to see a T-rex or Steven Speilberg jump out from the thicket.


Those of you planning your winter vacations and coming down to see me should pencil in one of the preserves as a must-see.  Of course biking, the beach and Vinoy are musts, too.






No comments necessary for many of these pictures.  Just click to enlarge and take a walk with me.  Oh and it's free, too.





Oh, and there are few people around.  You can walk for half a mile or more and never see anyone else.  It early is nice.  I'm talking myself into another trip.  The three best preserves are:  Sawgrass, Wheedon, and Boyd.  But there are a few across the bridge I'd like to check out too.









Tomorrow is the day you've been waiting for.  I filmed one of these guys finding and eating lunch.  And, no, it's not the bird.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless.  Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001.  It was one of those things that can generate crime:  two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job.   Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things.  Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold.   But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find.   His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead.  He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds.  He will be paralyzed for life.   None of this is pleasant.  Reading the f...

Philippe Park and The Tocobaga Indian Mound

About ten miles or so north of Bedlam is a place called Safety Harbor.  Its the place that has the 300-500 year old oak that the city tried to kill I featured a couple weeks ago on BFE .  They have a pretty nice park that has some interesting history, too.  Count  Philippe landed here and introduced the pineapple and cigar making to the Tampa Bay area. Today, however, I want to mention something else about this area, besides the really nice scenery.  Phillipe Park was also the home of the Tocobaga Indians.  The Tocobaga occupied the Tampa Bay area from around 600 A.D. to the 1600's.   This is a fairly common view of old stately moss-laden oaks down here.   This shot was taken atop the only Tocobaga Indian mound in the area.  This exact spot is home not only to the Tocobaga until they died out, but then to Count Phillipi who settled the area after the Tocobaga died out.   The place is full of oak and ...

The Mary Davis Home - Part 2

None of these pictures were taken by me,  they came right from the MDH website.  I am posting these so that friends who have never seen inside where I worked can gain access.  After 27 years I have many stories, tales and acquaintances.  But, I wouldn't know how to express them appropriately in a few paragraphs.  I enjoyed 98% of my stay there and hope I made a difference in the lives of a fraction of the kids who entered.  The original MDH at this site was just the front part.  The large red-roofed area in back was added on in the 90's. This is the Jerry Carlton library.  It was unofficially named after one of the counselors who truly loved the place.   He passed away around 2002, I think.  Mr. Farber looks like he is explaining a few things to a client. The classroom. Activity area with the gym behind the windows. Another shot of the classroom. It was a little different area to teach since we had 2 classes and 2 teachers i...