How dramatically the seasons can change! The seasons do change in Florida, but more subtlety and are discerned better perhaps by local eyes than by tourists or part-time residents. What marks the arrival of Central Florida’s Fall?

The temperatures start to cool down a bit, high in the 70s, lows in the 50s this month, although October was above average this year.

The wet, tropical summer pattern is being replaced by our “dry season” which lasts until late Winter. (In honor of this change, residents can water lawns only once per week now, instead of twice per week.)

The ocean is getting colder and Northeast winds can make that morning or evening stroll on the beach seem a lot less inviting.
We still track hurricanes in October and November, but the peak of hurricane season is traditionally in the months of August and September. (As I write this, however, Hurricane Ida is “out there” and may produce some wet weather next week.)

Fall migration brings not only birds in their non-breeding plumage to Central Florida but also birders – ecotourists! The State’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has established a program called the Great Florida Birding Trail, with 489 sites in Florida, 135 of which are in the Eastern section where I live. I hope to visit several of these over the next several months!

But what about Florida’s Fall Foliage? I have been noticing some changes. My lawn is browner as it slips into dormancy. Have a nice sleep, grass plants and summer weeds! See you next Spring!

Some grass finds itself harvested and rolled up in hay bales.

Fall blooming flowers add color to the landscape. For example, I see yellow flowers and red or yellow leaves on shrubs and trees where I did not see them before. A quick perusal of the Internet shows that many plants, both native and horticultural, add splashes of color to the Fall landscape here.

But the true measure of Fall anywhere may be the decreasing hours of sunlight each day. After all, changes in the amount and intensity of sunlight are what drive seasons in both hemispheres. This is compounded by the fact that daylight savings time ended here on November 1, and night falls much “earlier.”

No worries! Fall festivals abound, the night will soon be lit up by cheery December decorations, and I need to practice my night photography anyway.

Hope to get some fun shots at the Volusia County Fair this week– the animals, the fall produce, and, of course, the gaudy midway lights after dark.

Stay tuned. Lyn

Ampitheater Stage

Stairs to Suspension Bridge

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.)

Fountain and Garden

Bridge over pond

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

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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