EcoGlimpse

Bright sails on a bright day!

This week, I am sharing a summary I wrote for the South East Volusia Camera Club (SEVCC) monthly newsletter about our Club’s outing April 04th to Mt. Dora, Florida.

The day of the SEVCC field trip to Mt. Dora dawned with bright sunshine and no predictions for rain. It was as if we knew that this would be the one perfect day that week. Fourteen members and guests arrived at 9:00 AM at Gilbert Park, the loading and launch site for the annual Mt. Dora Sailing Regatta.

The picturesque setting became more crowded and lively as the 12:30 PM race time approached giving us ample opportunity to photograph the crews as they rigged sailboats of many shapes, sizes, and colors before setting sail on Lake Dora.

In addition to sailboats, we photographed the park lighthouse, a nature garden, birds, interesting structures, a sea plane (landing and taking off), each other, and yes, even some snakes. Although warned by a sign that a hungry alligator lurked near the shoreline not far from the dock, the reptile did not make its photo shoot.

Antiques and history were on the agenda after lunch – antique shops, an antique car show at the Lakeside Inn, historic buildings and the Royellou Museum downtown set up in an old jailhouse. A few ventured off around Lake Dora to Tavares, where skiff races provided shots of different kinds of boats.

Thanks to Andrew Mullen, President of the Mt. Dora Historical Society, for providing an informative and entertaining tour of the Royellou Museum.

Thanks as well to Tommy Stevens, VP Administration of the Mt. Dora Yacht Club, for helping us to plan the visit.

No doubt many of us will return to Mt. Dora again, as there is so much more to see and do in this charming Lake County town. Lyn

When I received an invitation from the Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP) to join a guided hike in the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary, I quickly reserved a spot! Who could turn down a chance to walk through a preserve with such a delightful name?

Would participants, all graduates of one or more modules of FMNP, be put under a magic spell by our guides, Jay S. Barnhart, Jr., M.D, an expert on mushrooms and native plants and Joannie Faulls, Sanctuary Steward? Or, would we be entranced by nature as we wandered along trails through several different habitats: oak scrub, mesic and hydric hammocks, wet prairie, and pine flatwoods?

Sunday, March 29 dawned with overcast skies and a prediction for rain. Both the rain and I arrived at the Sanctuary in Titusville at the same time. But, FMNP graduates are undaunted by a little rain, and off we went, raingear protecting us from the elements. Drizzle and dark skies seemed only to enhance the potential for spell-casting as we hiked from open sandy sites into lush forest vegetation.

We stopped often to identify species of plants and fungi and learn more about human use of the area, including a tale about the uncompleted Addison Canal. The 1912 plan to drain agricultural land into the Indian River Lagoon was thwarted by an unyielding coquina rock ridge in the Enchanted Forest. Perhaps forest spirits hexed the digging equipment?

How could I capture should lush vegetation on camera? A forest floor blanketed with ferns gave me one opportunity for a shot, but then the forest closed densely around me. Birds darted in and out of trees – only their calls provided identification.

Switching to macro gave me the opportunity for pictures of different types of fungi, epiphytes, and a newly sprouted hickory tree bud.

Ah, so this was the spell – the dense forest growth had charmed me into looking at the little things.

Our knowledgeable leaders safely guided us out of the Enchanted Forest after a very enjoyable hike. But was the forest following us as we left? Maybe it is my (active) imagination, but what would YOU say about the final photo? Lyn

When I heard about Azalea Days, March 14 and 15, at Ravine Gardens State Park, I was off and running. I enjoy taking day-trips in Florida, and this is a park I had not seen. Azaleas and a Ravine? I was intrigued!

The Park brochure explains that the Gardens were developed by the City of Palatka, the Federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) and the Works Project Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression, 1933-1938, one of nine New Deal Parks in Florida. Some of the surviving structures include the main entrance, amphitheater, suspension bridges, stone terraces, and the Court of States with an obelisk dedicated to President F.D. Roosevelt.

Azaleas are the theme flower of the park. By 1934 over 95,000 had been planted by Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) workers. In 1999, the park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Although Azaleas can bloom from January through April, I arrived to find that (sadly) most of the Azaleas were past bloom, but I still photographed some lovely examples. (See the pink and white and bright pink azaleas included on the previous blog entry.)

A 1.8 mile loop trail encircles the ravine; visitors can either drive or walk, stopping at several parking / observation areas along the way. I hopped aboard an open-air wagon hitched to a truck, with a dozen other guests. A park ranger narrated as we slowly wound around the loop, providing an overview of the Park’s natural and human history.

I learned, for example, that the ravine was created over thousands of years by water flowing from the sandy ridges on the shore of the nearby St. Johns River. The park is actively managed to prevent erosion, to maintain the historic architecture, and to control invasive, exotic plants, such as air-potato and Chinese tallow. (For more information, see the Park’s Management Plan.)

After the informative tour, I explored on my own both, visiting the formal gardens and fountain near the entrance and the amphitheater, located half-way round the trail. I looked down into the ravine, and climbed down the stairs to the bottom, enjoying perspectives of vegetation, ponds, suspension bridges, plants, and wildlife, including a brief glimpse of a soaring swallow-tailed kite.

What a treat! I will surely visit next year, hopefully when the abundant azaleas are full-bloom. That must be a glorious sight! Next trip… Mt. Dora. Lyn

I have had a life-long love of flowers. They pull me to them as surely as if I were a bee seeking nectar. They feed my spirit.

As a child, I wandered outdoors on my own seeking nature’s secrets. I picked wild flower bouquets and brought them home to my mother. I adorned myself with garlands made by threading clover flower heads through slots carefully pierced with my fingernails in the stems.

I was a fairy princess and nature was my realm. The fairy prince sought me because I was beautiful and good.

In those dreamy days, time moved slowly. I could sit happily in a tree for hours hidden from the world and secure in an imaginary world. This world was full of magic, contentment, and certainty. The inhabitants were kind; they never argued or spoke cruel words. No one cried or left.

Flowers arrived when the time was right, following nature’s rhythms. The buds opened, and the flowers shared their beauty and fragrance with me. As petals from one species withered and dropped, another bloomed in seamless progression.

As I grew, my studies led me to a scientific understanding of plants and nature. Theories, analysis, and research satisfied my analytical mind.

I came to know flowers as perfectly fashioned reproductive structures whose form followed function. They are part of a living organism, and not a culmination of its life.

Still, within the scientist, remains the child who wandered freely, enjoying nature’s wonder without conscious thought. After fairy princes and princesses faded when faced with reality, flowers still speak to me about ephemeral beauty, unabashed sensuality, and yielding to nature’s plan.

Happy Vernal Equinox, Lyn
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As field trip coordinator for the South East Volusia Camera Club (SEVCC), I write a synopsis of our Club field trips for our monthly newsletter. I am that sharing that here as well.

March 07, 2009 not only commemorated the historic sack of St. Augustine (1668), but was also the date that twelve SEVCC “Raiders” stormed the city, cameras at the ready.

The group gathered first at the Colonial Spanish Quarter in Old Town. There we found an encampment site set up by colorful Sack of St. Augustine reenactment participants (Searles Buccaneers) dressed in period costumes and displaying historic weaponry, utensils and other gear.

Then the enthusiastic SEVCC group set out in various directions and spent the rest of the morning exploring historic sites in Old Town, Tolomato Cemetery, St. George Street, Flagler College and Memorial Presbyterian Church (built by Henry Flagler), to name just a few.

So much to see! Finding ourselves at different locations around lunch time, some dined at the picturesque Mill Top Tavern while others enjoyed a hearty meal at a Drug Store Museum / Restaurant.

A group of four tireless explorers, including me, remained through the afternoon. First, we visited the serene grounds of the Nombre de Dios Mission where we found an old cemetery, religious statues, and a vine-covered chapel.

The last stop was the Fountain of Youth Park, home to resplendent peacocks, both colored and pure white. Although all four of us drank the rejuvenating waters, only one reports any change in appearance. (Scientific evidence is still pending on that claim.)

Reports from the field indicate that hundreds of shots were taken by the dauntless SEVCC raiders, some of which I happily share with you! Lyn