Shoreline Park

The weather here was springlike again today. Highs reached the mid-seventies before the skies clouded up in the early afternoon. It was great to have such a beautiful day to just be...




I haven't spent much time exploring where I live since I'm always out and about at work. I decided it was time to change that, at least while it's warm enough to enjoy being outdoors.





This is such a peaceful place to live. Sitting on the dock, listening to the water lapping underneath soothed all the raw edges off my too-many-cups-of-coffee-this-morning nerves.



A young girl walking with her mother identified these yellow thorny blossoms as dewberries. I haven't seen them before, so I'm looking forward to seeing the fields in bloom, and tasting a new fruit. They're the same genus as raspberries, so they must be edible!



I don't remember seeing flowers on the raspberry bushes at home as a child, but then, I may not have been looking for anything until the berries arrived. Odd that I do remember seeing flowers on the blackberries...



I can't resist taking pictures of the tree beside my car when I pop out of it. I still don't know what this is, but it's beautiful!

Spring is in the Air

The Krewe of Wrecks and the Krewe of Seville both were in the parade today for Mardi Gras, and it's Super Bowl Sunday. What made me happiest though was seeing all the flowers!

I know it's early yet, and there will be more winter, but this was just the pick-me-up I needed to get through the six more weeks that Puxsatawney Phil predicted Saturday.

So far, I've only seen purples, whites, yellows and pinks.




Since we're in Florida, I know we'll see even more soon!



These little bursts of sunshine always lift my spirits, even when I'm already
happy!

Moving Day

Jennifer left for her new USDA job on Thursday, which left me hanging around for just a few more days. I moved out today to a place in Gulf Breeze Proper. I still think I should just sign a lease and get my own place, but I'm worried that I may leave sooner than planned, especially since my Mom's twin, Paul, had a heart attack on Sunday. I feel a real need to be closer to my Mom in case she needs someone to lean on, or someone to drive :)



I've only met one of my new roommates, but he seems really nice. Everyone's running around today because of the MLK holiday, so it was a good day to move. I didn't know if anyone was here when I arrived and all the bedroom doors were closed, so I tried to move in silently -- it's not as easy as it sounds! Doors slam, books tumble to the ground, over packed boxes break. It wasn't until I'd left and returned with my second (and last) car load that I realized no one was home... I can be overly considerate!



I still haven't finished unpacking -- my largest suitcases are still in my car. At a minimum, I need to put together a few boxes to take to Delaware on my next trip north. Given the news of this weekend, I think that trip will occur as soon as I speak with my boss tomorrow,. No point in unpacking those suitcases just to take them back to Delaware.



Sorry there's no park or nature news here, other than the gorgeous flowers out front of my new home -- it's just a day to move.

Flowers and Trees

I really meant to post this yesterday... I spent a fanastic work day on Perdido Key, doing bird surveys, searching for coyote and fox dens and just having a blast. I took so many pictures! The beach was a symphony of sound and color.

There were cloud-flowers:



and fallen trees:



tree rattles in small groups (these came out a little fuzzy as they were shaking in the north wind):



and in thunderous chorus:



a green "Dr. Seuss" tree:



and sea oat whistles:



Christmas trees:



and Christmas colors:



fields of gold:



and plants of wind-blown lace:




Holly berries:



crashing waves:



and brilliant sunshine.



That almost looks like a well-decorated tree... It's amazing what you see when you're looking up at the skylight instead of down at these feet of clay.

The seven mile beach was practically empty due to the chilly weather, but that made it even better!

Today, I'm going out in the boat with my boss, Mark, to survey hunters on Perdido and Santa Rosa. It's only 42, so it's going to be quite a wake-up call!

Make a wish...

Picture Day

Fall is here, momentarily, the red tide has dissipated, and the day dawned clear and bright. It was still winter weather, for me, til about 10am, but it was gorgeous by 2 -- in the high seventies, with lots of sun, sea breezes and great birds and flowers everywhere. For some reason, I took lots of pictures looking up -- the sky was just stunning. After a week tromping through the forest trimming fire trails and gopher tortoise fencing, it was great to be back on the beach!





The Spanish Bayonet is in bloom at Fort Pickens. It's rare to find it, and there are several in a clump by the old fort. It's so much fun to wander around there now -- most of the post-Ivan repairs are complete, but the road is still breached in two places so few visitors venture out to the fort. The 14 mile round-trip hike is a little much, even in the cooler fall weather. Here's some of what they're missing:




I don't know what this is, but I seem to be attracted to yellow flowers. Maybe it's my constant need for a pick-me-up, to try to see the brighter side of things. I need it especially now that my job is ended (thanks GWB...). Somehow, things always work out for the best -- and sights like these help me believe it when things seem scary.



I think this may be a variety of holly. There are two in the region -- the thorny American Holly that's a Christmas staple, and the unthorned Yaupon Holly, which is abundant in the sandy forests of the south. Legends indicate that native Americans used holly berries (Ilex vomitoria) to poison their enemies -- if you eat enough, you can get quite a bellyache!



The birds were out in force today too. A few days ago, I announced, to no one in particular in the office, that I wanted to see an avocet. Today, I saw six! There were black bellied plovers, sanderlings, and assorted other peeps in attendance as well.




As always, the stately Egrets and Great Blue Herons stopped by as well... I can never resist taking a picture when they're around. Wish it were a more attractive marsh, but it's a new wetland, courtesy of Ivan and Dennis, that's still maturing. Hurricanes can help maintain wetlands, prevent them from being developed, and create habitat for all these lovely animals.



It's wonderful to see how well the shorebirds and migrating waterfowl utilize the new habitat. I wonder what will happen to them when the road re-opens.

Sunday

The day dawned crisp and clear, fall in Florida. It's amazing how quickly I can leave the nightmare of this past week where it belongs -- in the past. Such a strange conjunction of events! It's left me rather tired, worn out and ready for a nap. I'm enjoying just being at home, watching the wind play in the trees, the birds flit about the feeders and butterflies fluttering through on their migration. Nothing major, just a little sun, some distance from the beach, and a good cup of tea. That's what Sundays are for, right? I'm new to the whole 'weekend' thing -- we don't usually get them; as field biologists, we work 24/7, so these two days are quite a welcome habit.

I'm searching for smiles today -- a need to pick myself up from the deluge of this week. Even these straggly weeds in the yard add some sunshine to my day. How is it that I can appreciate the imperfections in nature and in others, but not in myself?

Explosions of Color

It's back to work today after a nice weekend away. I've never really had weekends, so it's a change for me -- it's like a mini-vacation every seven days! I never know quite what to do, so I find more work though I do try to stay away from the office. Simply doing something different, like working on my book, provides a great mental break and leaves me refreshed for a new week in the field.


I spent most of the day repairing the guideposts on what passes for a road at Fort Pickens. After Hurricane Ivan, the asphalt road was replaced, and washed away again by Hurricane Dennis. Now, there are two sections that still breach with every full moon high tide, and miles that are underwater if something tropical swings within 1000 miles. The sandy corridor is impassable, even to 4WD if it's really windy, so we're the only ones with access to the park via our ATVs just after a storm. I'll try to post a picture of the road next time I'm at Fort Pickens -- I totally spaced on that today! The picture above is road on high ground that wasn't destroyed.


There are two significant gaps along our seven miles of asphalt in this section of the park. The breaks have been good for the wildlife, and the severely decreased traffic has allowed for a lot of shorebird nesting and feeding. The new wetlands are full of migrating shorebirds -- semi-palmated and piping plovers, several species of herons and egrets, ospreys, brown pelicans, black terns, sandwich terns, sandpipers and peeps galore. It's a circus out there; this week, the migrating monarchs are joining in the fray.







It's great to see the animals back in the park, but the land itself is still in disarray, three years post-Ivan. Sometimes, there's an unexpected jolt of color that lifts the sombre scene. I love finding flowers like these growing in the midst of all the rubble. After a day spent staring at dusty grasses, burnt gold sea oats and grey, salt-killed trees, this impudent burst of sunlight tickles me to no end!


Here's another unexpected splash of color... Normally, I try to avoid these! They are truly graceful 'swimmers' for gelatinous water bags. They wash up with the tides from time to time and leave jelly flowers in the sand.
>


It's amazing how beautiful it can be out here if I just slow down and look, without being driven with an insatiable urge to get to the next task. Sometimes, I really do have to stop to smell the roses. If I don't, I'll miss the world around me and I won't know or care enough to protect the resources we all share.