It’s hot as usual, but the humidity has not been quite as high and I was fiending to get out, so I gambled on a solo car camp trip.
There are pockets of Florida near springs and creeks that can stay relatively cool and mosquito-free even during peak summer, due to the constantly flowing cold water. Many of these areas have an exceedingly long history of human habitation.
I spent the day wandering over rolling seepage slopes and longleaf sandhills, thinking about what it must be like to live out my days like this instead of looking at screens and answering emails.
Seepage streams babbling, lined with Sarracenia and clumps of Pinguicula primuliflora. Arnoglossum and Mayaca in bloom among a carpet of sedges.
I wandered through the dense vegetation for miles, finally plopping down, exhausted from the heat, in the shade of the pines, enjoying the summer serenade of insects. So many butterflies!
I eventually hiked down to a section of a larger creek to clean up and cool off before settling into camp. The water was swift, cold, and wonderful. I watched a school of darters nibbling on algae.
Hiked back to my truck and was delighted as the air cooled off as the sun set, and still no mosquitoes! Even above the evening chorus, I could hear caterpillars munching on the oak leaves above me, and hear the occasional sound of their frass gently tapping on the leaves.
I sat and read for a while as the chorus slowly changed to the night shift. No cell service. The stars glimmering through the trees. It was great.
#therealflorida #botany #wildlfie #publicland #protectpubliclands #fireecology #grasslands #prairie #plants #nature #camping
Негізгі бет SWEATY SUMMER SERENADE
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