On Tuesday, the 12th, and today, the 14th, I went on a series of walks. The first one was to Princess Place Preserve (seen above) one of my favorite local parks. Today, I hit North Peninsula State Park and a chunk of Bulow Woods (from the road north to the canal.

All of these parks have received a certain amount of clean-up after our local hurricanes, Milton and perhaps a touch of Helene, especially at Princess Place, which is further north than the other two.

To illustrate what some of the clean up entails:

These very old oaks make a mess when they fall. They’re quite gigantic as you can see from the size of the sawn up trunks. It takes heavy equipment to move those logs and they were just pushed off to the side of the trail.

The walk at Princess Place was uneventful other than this fool playing with his airboat. If you’ve never heard one, they are LOUD!

Even for mid-November the temperature was warmish and humid. I was comfortable in a T-shirt and shorts.

On the next walk, I headed out to North Peninsula State Park. This little park is relatively undeveloped although it has a small picnic area, a restroom, parking lot and 2.25 mile trail system.

I started out on the trail and immediately came upon a gate keeper. The high tides had crept over the lip of the nearby lagoon and onto the trail. I had to negotiate a 3.5 inch puddle of cool salty water. It wasn’t a problem as I was wearing a pair of ancient Keen water sandals. Then, hordes of mosquitos began their attack. I drew out a secret weapon and applied my “natural” bug spray which contains citronella among other things. It worked amazingly well.

One of the native hollies was showing bright red berries in preparation for winter festivities. This native plant makes a good tough drought tolerant addition to a yard in the Deep South.

I finally saw some Garberia in bloom. According to my brief research, it is rare to find, although we have some in our neighborhood woods at the edge of the pines. It’s very pretty in a tough rubbery sort of way. Here’s some information on Garberia:

Based on the provided search results, the Garberia plant name in Florida is Garberia heterophylla. It is a shrubby plant endemic to Florida’s north and central peninsula, and is listed as a threatened species in the state.

Here are some key characteristics and facts about Garberia heterophylla:

• Family: Asteraceae (Daisy/Composite family)
• Genus: Garberia (monotypic genus containing only one species)
• Common Name(s): Garberia, Garber’s
• Distribution: Endemic to Florida, specifically in northern and central counties
• Habitat: Prefers acidic soils and can tolerate drought
• Growth Habit: Low shrub, 4-8 feet tall
• Leaves: Dull grayish, viscid, obovate, and alternately arranged on stems
• Flowers: Lavender pink, late-season, in terminal corymbs
• Fruits: Small, inconspicuous achenes
• Similarities: Closely related to Liatris, but distinguished by its shrubby habit and different karyotype

I do love it when I can identify a new plant!

Another find was a local species of Golden Rod:

I just love Goldenrod wherever I find it. My resource book for local plant identification is Wildflowers of Florida Field Guide by Jaret Daniels.

Upon returning to the beginning of the trail, I found the tidal flood was even higher. I chose to go out via the service road and walk back to the parking lot via the road. I stayed a bit drier that way, although it was a slightly longer route. Apparently the tide was really high mid-morning. Now I know I can’t get across nearby Cedar Creek (Bulow Woods) because the bridge is flooded at high tides, too. Even when I drove along High Bridge Road, I was driving through some puddles caused by the high tides. The water in the Bulow Creek – Halifax River marshes was very high, nearly lapping onto the road. This ancient roadway is closed during heavy rains due to the flooding.

Now, I completed my walk for today at the middle section of Bulow Woods Trail, from Boardman Lane north to the canal. Here I was checking on the status of the Bulow Woods Trail, whether or not the northernmost section repair was completed. It was not; the bridge is still out of commission:

Even more debris has fallen on the railroad rail frame of the old bridge thanks to Hurricane Milton, which affected some of the area. Still, the park guys had done a lot of clean up on the trail so I could make it this far. It’s a mile from Walter Boardman Lane to the Cisco Ditch (canal), so a 2 mile RT.

This is another handsome native shrub I sometimes see growing in people’s gardens. I forget the name right now…

I was rather tired by the time I made my way back to the Kia, but pleased with the outing.

I hope you enjoy my photos (taken on an older Nikon L830, digital camera).

Eliza Ayres

https://sunnysjournal.com

P.S.

Another potential hurricane, now Tropical Storm “Sarah” is lurking near Honduras and may impact Belize and Mexico this weekend or early next week. It has the potential to restrengthen and move into the Gulf of Mexico next week…