Spring is truly in the air here. The black cottonwood perfume permeates the air. Red-flowering currants brighten the forest understory with their shades of pink. Fresh bright greens are popping out everywhere. and I planted the first of the greens for eating in my little raised bed- 2 kale types, 2 lettuce types. shallots, and shelling peas. My body is quite tired as I also planted other plants around the yard and moved 15 bags of compost around to reclaim an area around the bed so I can build another one and maybe erect a small greenhouse. Whew am I out of shape!
I also made a quick trip to the WDFW wildlife area on Eide Road. Probably the last snowy owl of the season was there. I also saw several northern harriers, a rough-legged hawk, lots of great blue herons and green-winged teal. Oh and these guys checking out a hole in an old piling.
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| tree swallows |
The view today was spectacular.
So the week of March 15-25 I was mostly enjoying a bucket list trip to Florida. What an amazing place! Here's our itinerary-
March 15 fly, stay in a really crappy Travelodge near the Orlando airport.
March 16 Travel to Titusville and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
March 17 Merritt Island NWR and Canaveral National Seashore (Atlantic Ocean)
March 18 Blue Springs State Park and a long drive south to Homestead Florida
March 19 Everglades National Park- the road to Flamingo
March 20 Everglades NP and Big Cypress National Preserve
March 21 Ding Darling NWR and Sanibel/Captiva Islands (Gulf of Mexico)
March 22 Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
March 23 Gatorland! And pack
March 24-25 Travel- It took me 2 days to get home due to a tornado at the Orlando airport! I've never been so thankful and happy to be home.
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| Merritt Island waters |
At the Travelodge Motel as we were leaving i did see my first new bird flitting in a tree. The first of many Palm Warblers. We saw Ronald McDonald's sister enter a McDonald's drive through and laughed our way to our motel in Titusville. Merritt Island NWR was a great place to start the trip. I saw my first alligators, armadillo, and a myriad of bird species. I have a new favorite bird- the reddish egret. Most egrets and herons slowly stalk their food, maybe tap their foot in the water or use their wings to cover the water and attract their little fishy prey. Not the reddish egret. They dance! It's the craziest loveliest funniest thing I've seen in real life. (I've watched a lot of nature shows) I can't describe it. Go to YouTube and look for a video of it. It is a marvelous combination of wins up, wings over, head cocked one way, then the other, move sideways, run fast straight, and on and on. here are a couple of photos of this amazing bird.
I saw my first alligator in the wild and here it is-
As the trip progressed I got much better and closer photos. here's one that's quite impressive from Gatorland (and the boardwalk above them)-
Enough for now. There are plenty more stories to tell just of the nature variety without even going into the travel to and from Florida and within Florida.
Florida is a land of contrasts and beauty not seen in other parts of our country. May we protect what's left because much has already been lost.
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