Natural Notes

This awesome plant (orchid?) has bloomed about three times this summer.  It, and several like it, are growing only from the bark of the cabbage palm trees…I can’t find this plant anywhere else in this park.  The flowers bloom for about a day and rapidly close and fall off.

The pics aren’t the best for lighting and such, but were taken on a cloudy day with my iPhone.  And a small miracle happened a few moments ago..I figured out that I could log on to my blog from my phone and upload the pictures! What wondrous technology.  But I digress…

At first I thought this was a cactus because of the leaves, but now I’m not so sure.  An orchid maybe?  If anyone knows what this is, I’d love for you to let me know.  No one I’ve asked seems to know…..

The first day of fall in a couple of days, and I’m fully expecting to wake up to a brisk, 60-degree morning!  Yeah well, one can fantasize.  More likely it will be a moment of high 70s, high humidity, and rapid increase to the mid 90s. I’m not complaining, mind you…when I moved out of the NJ winters to sunny FL,  I promised never to complain about the heat again.  I’m just making observations.  I’ll still take this over snow any day.

It’s the Peace River, but it’s a different park..this one in Wauchula.  And the River is flooding due to the heavy rains and storms we’ve had.  I’m here for two weeks..if my site doesn’t flood. The water is about 30 feet away…and some RVs whose owners are away are not faring so well.  I’ll stay as long as the water behaves.  We are NOT flooding a brand new RV.

I only unpacked the most necessary items, and the river did crest and recede, so all was well for the first week.  Once the water started to recede I was able to walk some of the trails, though they remained pretty soggy for days.

This is a beautiful park, with some interesting old oaks and vegetation.  It has all the usual amenities if you are in to that sort of thing..I always tend to head for the woods rather than the pickleball courts..though I did observe that pickleball being played…when heard at a distance and through the trees..sounds a bit like wild turkeys.

Old Old Old Oak at Peace River

Old Old Old Oak at Peace River

There are a lot of campers here who are grumbling, but Mother Nature is Mother Nature and there’s not a whole lot one can do to stop a river from flooding.  Hunker down and take your chances, move to higher ground, or leave the area.   I’m very happy I decided to stay, though I must admit I was up frequently during the night to check the water levels.

The water is going down…but it’s not quite there yet.  Today I watched kids riding bikes and wading through the flood waters…not a smart thing to do, especially in Florida.  We have a lot of dangerous critters here – alligators, snakes, and fire ants, just to name a few.  Fire ants can survive balled up in floodwaters.  Alligators and snakes can be displaced and aggravated, just like people.  Granted, the flood waters here were coupled with temperatures a lot colder than what gators and snakes like or tolerate, but why take the chance?  Not to mention sewage and other nasties that can be carried in flood waters.

After a whirlwind move, and spending the first few days parked in my brother’s driveway while I repacked and sorted, I decided my first camp would be Lettuce Lake Travel Resort, near Arcadia.  The main reason for this choice was they had sites available.  Finding available sites in Florida in snowbird season can be nearly impossible, so I considered myself lucky.  Anything near the coasts or Disney are booked solid until April..unless you happen on a cancellation.

Lettuce Lake is actually a tributary of the Peace River, and the park..though crowded..still had some nice quiet areas near the water.  Since this first trip was more about getting acquainted with my new home, I think I would have been equally as happy anywhere that had full hookups and didn’t wipe out my bank account.

Spending the week here sorting through all the stuff that was randomly thrown into the RV to facilitate the move.  I think there are some things I will never find.

Stump Pass Beach State Park, located in Englewood Florida, ranks high as one of my all-time favorite spots in the Sunshine State.  There’s no camping..but for a day visit and a wild beach..it’s awesome.  The park is at the southern end of Manasota Key, with the Gulf on Mexico on one side and Lemon Bay on the other.

On a recent visit there, I came upon this gopher tortoise enjoying its lunch.  The tortoise was a bit of a ham and didn’t mind being photographed while it ate.

Stump Pass is a great quiet beach, only 60 or so cars are allowed in the parking lot and if you don’t mind walking toward the tip, you can find yourself on a very private and quiet spot either on the Gulf or on Lemon Bay.  The hitch is the Ranger closes the park gates immediately after sunset..so if your car is left behind, so are you. Best to check at the gate for park closing time and plan to be there.