Candid Florida

Moon shot at Dicerandra Scrub

Growing up in the Space Age, it’s always been a joy to stop in Titusville and admire the view across the Indian River Lagoon of the hustle and bustle of Kennedy Space Center.

It saddens me that the wind-down of the Space Shuttle program will have a ripple effect on local businesses, such as the Clarion Inn at the end of SR 50 that just recently closed. But there will always be the moon.

Space View Park is an excellent place to see the starry skies over the Indian River Lagoon, but I lucked into this daylight shot in Titusville at Dicerandra Scrub Preserve, no tripod, with my Nikon D-80. Perhaps the stars were in alignment?

Florida’s largest live oak is just south of the tiny town of LaCrosse in rural north Alachua County. Known as the Cellon Oak, it’s so expansive that the cover of “Big Trees in Florida” shows 30-some-odd people linking hands to approximate the width of the tree’s crown. It’ll help you put yourself in perspective!

Making a late trip to Micanopy, I arrived at Paynes Prairie State Park mindful of sunset’s approach. A wander along Lake Wauberg to the symphony of Archie Carr’s favorite frogs brought memories flooding back of gentler times before the gators chased the swimmers away and the parking lot was still full to overflow. I settled onto a bench to watch the sun shimmer across the waves until it was time to leave, caught in a cascade of memories. Savoring sunset from the boardwalk at US 441 made a fine close to the day.

Sunlight illuminates each strand of a longleaf pine’s wiry crown, dappling the lawns and mulch with patches of shadow and light. There is an earthy smell to the air, cast up by the rumbling fountain before me that masks the sound of road noise beyond. Crows quarrel in the treetops. This is a quiet retreat for many, a garden I left out of my latest book – perhaps accidentally on purpose? Everywhere I look, people are striding along the concrete paths through cultivated gardens and natural habitats. I come here to remember, to honor, and to find peace. Sholom.

It’s a blue moon tonight. I couldn’t help but pull off the Tamiami Trail at Kirby Storter and bask in the glow. I wanted my parents to be here, to savor the mystery of the swamps brushed by moonlight, the cypress domes aglow, the night air filled with chirps and squawks and the occasional bloodcurdling scream of a limpkin. There is no better place to be on a blue moon than in the heart of Big Cypress.

Lake Mills

One of the first Florida Trail Association events I attended was a picnic at Lake Mills Park in Chuluota, almost a decade ago. It was a delight to return and wander the lush forest – where Florida rhododedron were in bloom in the uplands, and the fern forest a deep green in the cypress floodplain – and enjoy a stroll along the lakeshore. This Seminole county park is an off-the-beaten-path favorite of mine because of its eminently appealing campground set in the shade of a scrub forest; I’ve camped here several times, and always enjoy being tucked away in the woods with a good bathhouse nearby. Large picnic shelters, lakeside shelters, and a playground round out the high points of the park.