A Trip to Florida 2022

~ melaniereynolds

Greeting Nature-Led Friends!

Suprise! Last week I was in Florida! I have now returned to my boggy delight that is the Pacific Northwest, but not without bringing you all some sunny pictures of interest, education and ominous warnings about where not to swim.

Footprint in sand

As one of my favorite Tom Waits songs goes, “We made feet for children’s shoes.” This one is now a youth size 5.

Swamplilly Spp unknown

This plant is dressed for a party.

Palm roots

I scared this Tolkienesque palm tree Ent from walking away.

Bleeding Glory-bower

Another party plant having a ball!

Eeek, a spider!

Golden Silk Spider

The biggest spider I have ever seen in my life in the wild! It’s as big as my hand, and my hands are not small! Consequently, I just read this article from National Geographic about another similar spider that is making its home on the Eastern shores of the United States, the Joro spider (similar to this one, but more cold-tolerant.) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/these-large-invasive-spiders-could-spread-throughout-us

Swim with Gators? No Thank you.

Nope, definitely not going in that water.

Maybe when you go on vacation you like to relax, but to me, relaxing is a foreign concept I just can’t seem to gasp. It is my curious nature to always be on the prowl for new learning experiences. As part of my enjoyment in traveling to new places is to support the local work of fellow nature lovers. Here are two places I like to support every time I go to Florida:

Loggerhead Marinelife Center https://marinelife.org/

This turtle rescue organization is currently going through an expansion and remodel. There was only one sick turtle there at the time of our visit. I would assume current sick and injured turtles are being cared for elsewhere.

Turtle Hatchling diorama

Cast of Turtle skeleton

Busch Wildlife Sanctuary https://www.buschwildlife.org/

Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata

Sleepy young fox, everyone quietly say, “aaaaah”, so cute!

Cypress Knees

I love the phrase “cypress knees.” I don’t know why this one in the foreground looks like it’s giving me the finger though. Rude!

That’s it folks! I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Have a great rest of your week!

Do you have a favorite picture?

16 thoughts on “A Trip to Florida 2022”

  1. That spider is of the Nephila sp. Harmless to humans. And, yes , the webs have been collected for “silk” But that seems unfair to the spiders! Anyone interested can google spider silk used in clothing.

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    1. Thank you, Dinah! I was wondering if anyone had actually tried to use it for silk. This spider was in a good place where I could appreciate it without worrying about running into its web. We get some pretty large brown house spiders and sometimes they run at you (to hide in your shadow) but its a bit unnerving.

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  3. Hooray for your trip and all those very cool experiences. I really loved that footprint photo, and then there were just a whole bunch more cool images. Now you have me saying “cypress knees.” HA

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  4. Wow, I’ve never seen anything like those before – the plants and the spider! Amazing!
    The Florida plants really do seem like party animals, lol. We see nothing like those here in the u.k.
    Thanks Melanie, fabulous post.

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    1. Thank you, Schingle! I think time moves differently in Blogland. I didn’t even miss a posting, but the last few weeks I’ve been so behind on visiting other blogs. It’s impossible to keep up!

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