OK so I bought an RV

I still feel a little guilty about it even after enjoying it for almost a year now.  We bought it from a nice couple in Homossasa Springs.   It's a 2007 Eco 718FD  by Skamper but actually built by Dutchmen Mfg. who makes many brands.

Basically, its a 16 X 7 ft box on wheels packed with utility systems.  We like the funky paint job.  Someday it will look good as an old retro camper.  As you may suspect (or know) there is not much that is ecological about  it.  The Eco is one of the earlier models that reduced (I won't say eliminated) the use of  formaldehyde.  Best to buy a used RV that has aired out.  

 Here is our setup in March at Suwannee Springfest 2011.  Our first trip in the bungalow.  We've named it the bungalow.  Before this we had tent camped at Springfest for three years and in 2009 we got rained on pretty good.  (my girls did not like it!).  In 2010 we decided to try renting an RV which resulted in maximum good hair days, good sleep and exceptional hygiene.  We liked it.  Below is our Springfest setup with auxilliary tent for kids and outdoor shower.

   Another of our practical plans for the bungalow is to be able to spend time with our family in Ormond Beach.  We've stayed at Tomoka State Park twice now with bungalow working much better than a motel room or a fold out couch. 

This is campsite 38 in beautiful Tomoka Satate Park.  It has water access so I can wake up, catch the sunrise from my kayak while Jean is sleeping.  Perfect.  the pic below is from the lagoon looking through the woods to campsite 38  (37 is good too.)

One chilly morning at campsite 19  Janet, Janine and Chocolate stopped in for blueberry pancakes by the fire.

For me,  the best part of camping in the bungalow is that Jean is relaxed, at ease and comfortable while I, at the same time, can venture outside and and stalk the mystic light of the morning.  And . . .   We  can share blueberry pancakes with hot coffee when I get back.  We can bring the bikes.   We can sit by the fire at night. We are going to try to bring the dogs next time.    But most importantly,  Jean can sleep like this  . . . . 

There's no place like the right time

Being there is and being ready for anything is my method for photography.  Lacking the technical skills of photographers I admire -  I rely heavily on an artistic concept known as the "happy accident."  Another of my inclinations for capturing moments in photo comes from my friend John Moran, who says, "Focus yourself then focus the camera."  Recounting these inner precepts takes me back to one foggy, foggy day on the gulf coast.  I was alone, as usual, the visibility was very low as I hiked out into the estuary to meet the coming sunset.   I was hoping for the best as I set up and the fog soon began to clear.

The air is damp and thick.   I am setting up quickly and getting a little excited because I am fortunate to capture this spooky beauty. The sun is dim and cool.

The air clears a little and I can see the sky.  I am again lucky in my patience to capture a flock of birds.

The light warms as the sun sinks; I am staying focused and being still.  It feels good to be chasing after something (the light) and catching it.

The sun lets off a last spark of brilliance and the colors begin to cool.  I remain still focused, standing on top of my ladder in the cold.  It's beautiful. The effort is great.  My attention is fixed.

An all engrossing event such as this is a blessing to one with a wandering mind like myself.  Immersion  in pursuit of beauty seems to me to be the best of a meditation for me.  Being there is fully its own reward.  Special thanks to Donna the Buffalo for the title of this blog entry.

The Fairchild Oak

A large and stately  Live Oak tree near Tomoka State Park. 

As with all trees that are several hundred years old  this tree has seen some changes. The stories this tree could tell are a little different

 The tree sits in the yard of an old historic land sales office which is the reason it got preserved.  Seems a little odd but it is what it is.

The citizen support organization for this little site has lovingly cared for the Oak.  It's a big 'un.

The amazing and notable feature that makes this tree special are the branches that bend to the ground having taken root.

It's a typical growing habit of the Live Oak but I never see it played out to this degree.

I guess I'm easily amused/amazed but the little park is free and it's really worth a visit if you are near Tomoka.

Assigning human characteristics to wild life

Is easy to do . . . when they are so cute.

Camping with the family at Gamble Rogers Memorial recreation area just south of Flagler Beach.  I got up early as always to take pictures .

 I had a nice time with  a group of very animated Snowy Egrets who were snatching fish from the falling tide. 

Even though I knew their actions were aimed at getting food (or possibly mating)  I swear they were cavorting.

 I can almost see the thought bubble above their heads.

I was fully entertained and amused

Trying not to put words in their mouths,  but having my imagination get the best of me.

I followed them for what seemed like a long time as the sun rose in a beautiful morning sky.

 Hey!  that's my fish -  I saw it first!

these two are close friends -  maybe family.

 this one is being sneaky -  probably hoping another doesn't try to steal the precious catch.

Really its all about the catch  the rest is just my humaness spilling over. Attaching human emotions to wildlife is not a bad thing but not reality either.  Through the process we might learn somthing if we can reflect a little .

This is my fish, so get outta here!

The Humble Manatee

The Manatee inspires from a different place than other facets in nature.

It is to me that the Manatee is a big, humble and loveable underdog

Slow, quiet and unassuming - they are defenseless in a fast paced world. 

Many of the lumbering sea cows are scarred as a result.

Yet they put up with us humans as we invade their space and endure us the best they can.

Case in point -  I took the picture below seconds before the giant swoosh of a huge and powerful tail flipped my kayak.   Yes,  I was standing in the boat as this manatee passed under me while also coming up for air.  When I saw it approaching, I'm ebarrased to say - I was frozen. 

The unexpected swim killed my camera . . . Doh!

So now I try to tell the story as often as I can to get my money's worth.

Still, they go about their lives in the midst of a complexity they were not designed to fathom. 

I see them as though they are a modern day Job.  They are hassled, hit and sliced from every direction.  They must feel terror as they hear the boat motor getting louder and louder - closer and closer, knowing the danger but unable to move fast enough to avoid it. 

 Yet, they are not repelled by our presence. 

 With all we do that upsets their world, They remain filled with curiosity and affection.

On my last birthday several friends and I had an manatee encounter to cherish.

This lone manatee, scarred as it was, repeatedly approached us - getting very close. 

So I kissed it!  Why not?  You had to be there.  I was obviously feelin' the love.
(photos of me and manatee by John Moran)

Manatees inspire us in such a different way. What an magical experience,  . .

 . . .  when you love nature so much and it reaches out and actually loves you back.

The Manatee Abides

(No Manatees were harassed  in the making)

The swallow-tailed kite

As I started this blog I wrote that I will often wonder what it will become (1st entry).   Thus making an honest admission that I didn't know what I was doing.  I didn't have any expectations or a plan, but I did have something to say.  I was curious to see how I would express it. 

For now, my blog has become an commentary on the features within the natural world that I feel have a certain magic.  As with most, if not all, nature writers I hope my contributions inspire a greater reverence toward a deeper stewardship of this beautiful world.

That being said,  the swallow-tailed kite provides the magic of which I speak  in an undeniable fashion.  

I take pictures of the kites everytime I see them in the sky;  Lots of pictures - good ones, bad ones, better ones.  One day while driving I saw a group of about 10 kites working a field together.   Almost startled by them, I quickly pulled a u-turn coming back to an aerial ballet.  Here are some of the images from that 30 minute spellbinding experience. 

They were after a swarm of bugs or something in the grass; swooping about and diving toward the ground.

For me, at this point , spellbound is not an exageration.  The ease at which the kites carve a path through the sky is an amazing ability.  Just a tiny, almost impercebtible, tilt of their adept tail sends them on a significant course alteration - as if by a natural and very real magic.  (where is the video BDay??)

  Amazing, they are -  truly, truly the otters of the sky.

To torque that tail and jet after your quarry -  swoosh!   These maurauders snatch their food on the fly.  Biologists use the term "gleaners" to categorize their feeding habit.  After the snatch  they eat on the fly too.   

The swallow tailed kite -  a truly inspring creature.  Remaining suspended in flight for long periods with no perceptible movement.  Radically changing trajectory as if by commanding the wind to adjust.  So adept, so quiet, so agile within the stillness of their effortless grace.  A person need only stare at them in flight for a few moments be fixated on their grace.  Making self-evident that the affairs of humans are not the sole, central theme of our time here on earth.   Rick Scott can you hear me ?! 

 
   

The crookedwood tree

One of my favorite trees is the crookedwood, Lyonia Ferruginea,  Rusty Lyonia, also sometimes known as stagger bush.  I had to do some research to discover the proper name.  ( I had always wrongly called it devilwood).  My friend Bruce had tried to (helpfully) correct me so I looked it up.

The tree -  is in a word beautifully graceful.  It curves and flows in the most amazing shapes that can only be found in the random rhythms of the natural world.  Images of the tree often confuse the eye.

Crookedwood is at home in the scrub. I took all of the pictures here in the Ocala National Forest which is near my home in Ocala, (FL).  

The literature indicates that the crookedwood tree reaches 10 to 20 feet so this is a full grown tree.

It is the growing habit of this ballet dancer of the forest that fascinates me.  Graceful.  Crookedwood tree trunks are a valued forest product in the fake plant industry.  Trunks are harvested at 4 to 6 feet long then wired up with plastic leaves.   The trunks can't be massed produced so crookedwood cutting has become a resource extraction industry.    Selective cutting probably has minimal ecosystem damage

What forces of nature guide the pattern or the path?  Random?  Functional design?  Who knows?  Again I wonder if it's a little strange that I have a fixation with the lowly lyonia.  If you took a hike with me I am pretty sure I could make you understand.

hummingbirds

I was paddling one beautiful afternoon along the Silver River taking pictures of those cypress knees and I got sidetracked at a special place.  I landed my kayak by a  cypress stand with a field of Cardinal flower  lobelia cardinalis.

Knowing that cardinal flower is a favorite source of nectar for hummingbirds I decided to sit still for awhile.

 

It wasn't long, or maybe it was (I lost track of time)  before I was rewarded with a visit from the little magical birds.  There were several buzzing each other and flitting about from flower to flower in a ballet all their own. 

The flowers were sparkling like swamp jewels in the sunlight.

Time had been suspended and I sat for what seemed like a long time as the cypress swamp was pulsing with life.  Just like the otters,  hummingbirds know they are cool and can back it up.