Have you ever visited our sunny state of Florida?  Do you have visions of palm trees and beaches in your head when you think of Florida?  For most of my life my maternal grandmother lived on the Atlantic coast of Florida in Pompano Beach.  Pompano Beach is very close to Ft. Lauderdale and the whole area is very developed.  So, I thought that Florida was condominiums, pools, palm trees and beaches, a whole lot of cement and Highway A1A.  I was not even really interested in coming to visit when my mother-in-law moved down here.  I mean, I wanted to visit her, but I wasn't interested in Florida itself.  But it was the beginning of chilly April in Minnesota and when we stepped out of the airport into 80 degree nighttime air, I knew we were off to a good start. 

At the time, my MIL lived nearer to the beach, so my image of Florida during my two week stay that time was pretty much the same as it had always been.  There wasn't as much development on this side (though that is constantly changing) of the state and it was quite refreshing.  Refreshing enough that we decided to move here.

And then I met the real Florida.

Check out THIS tree that is at the entrance to a nature trail we frequent!  It is TOTALLY covered in Spanish moss!!  Now, Spanish moss is a type of epiphyte which is an air plant that grows on another plant.  Epiphites don't acutally damage the plant they are on unless the plant is already older and if, like this tree, the moss has just gotten out of hand and blocks the light. They don't actually feed off the tree as though it were a host plant, though.  I have a feeling this tree was already dead before it got like this.  Isn't it amazing and haunted looking?

The real Florida actually reminds me a great deal of the landscape of the movie, "Jurassic Park!"  Doesn't it just look like an Apatasaurus would be munching among these leaves?

We noticed on this hike, the damage caused by a fire that went through here shortly after Christmas.  We hadn't been here since before then and the amount of brush burnt away was remarkable.  Even more remarkable to me is the resilience of the foliage.  Tall pines that were burnt nearly all the way up their trunks had bright shoots of green at the tops.

See how spiky it all is?  These low spiky plants are saw palmettos and are everywhere. They grow like weeds!  I took this picture below because the small tree in the middle seemed so stark.

This is a wildflower that was blooming; some kind of honeysuckle I'd guess.  It smelled like artificial cherry flavoring.  Not like real cherries, but like some sort of cherry candy!

Well, thanks for coming on our walk with us and getting a glimpse of the "real" Florida!  Hope you liked your visit!

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Comments

Feb. 27, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Kelli

I had the same ideas of what Florida might look like, so thank you for sharing such beautiful photos with us! What a wonderful place for nature walks!
Kelli
www.kellishouse.blogspot.com

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Feb. 27, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Lilliepad

Your blog is so much fun. I love all the beautiful pictures. One day I'm going to learn to do that! I also love your creativity. It inspires me. The collage on one of your previous entries is gorgeous. I especially like the "outside the box" square as it really speaks to where I'm at in life.

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Feb. 27, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by SmallWorld

Beautiful photos! One of my vivid childhood memories involves a late night in Florida, traveling to visit my grandparents. We must have been parked at a rest stop so my Dad could take a little nap. I remember waking up in the backseat of our station wagon, looking out the window, and seeing this vast forest of trees draped in Spanish moss. It was so haunting but so beautiful.

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Feb. 27, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by amalapert

I love your pictures and the one with the half burned tree - you should submit that to some photo contest somewhere. :) It's a beautiful capture of life after death or perseverance or...something along those lines. Really beautiful. It's nice to see some greenery too!! Everything up here in MO is still dead and cold. We had the great weather last week but it got cold again this week. RE: your comments - I also don't mind going places by myself for just the same reasons - you do have a totally different experience when you're not absorbed in conversation with someone and you can just ingest everything. People used to think I was crazy to go to movies or out to eat or shopping by myself...now I think they just call me 'quirky' between my AP style and extended bfing and homeschooling and... LOL

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Feb. 27, 2007 - I love Floride

Posted by Anonymous

we lived in east Orlando for a year and I miss Florida. I love it down there and my hubby knows that I definitely want to get back down there one day!!!
Aimee

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Feb. 28, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by wadeboysmom

I've never been to Florida - thanks for letting me visit! Not what I would have expected. Beautiful!

I love all your pictures!
Blessings!
Sharity

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Feb. 28, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by PlainJane

Hi Nicole,
Your pictures make me cry - seriously, I have great big tears running down my cheeks right now - I miss Florida so much. Esp. since we are about to get hit by another snow storm - schools are already closing early in southern MN (sun is still shining in Central MN, but that is about to change). I Love the FL sunshine, white sandy beaches, palm trees & ocean. Actually, our girls don't know it yet, but we are coming down there for vacation later this Spring. I really miss all the tropical plants and would love to have a conservatory filled with them (that's if I can't be down there) -- I miss the Live Oaks with the Spanish Moss hanging from them, the Jasmine, the bottle brush trees, and of course the fruit trees. But I don't miss the coconuts dropping on my car. lol Thanks for the memories - now I need to pull myself together before dh gets home.
Thanks for the walk.
Blessings, Jane

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Mar. 1, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Kingfisher

Wow, those are some cool pics.... =D

I always like Spanish Moss, it makes things look more old-ish. ;)

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