'Iceland! Greenland!': The Peaks and Pitfalls of Living and Hiking in Northwest Florida

Beautiful but deadly Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) at Bear Creek Educational Forest

When I was a young lass long ago, about Middle School age (we called it Junior High back then), a friend of mine and I--we knew somehow that we were Misfits, aka Nerds--thought that we could transcend the Difficulty Du Jour by aligning it with either Iceland or Greenland. Simply put, if the temperature in winter-time P.E. class was bone-chilling cold, we would exclaim to each other, "Iceland!," hoping that the warming geothermal properties of that region would make themselves felt in our parallel universe (Illinois). As you can imagine, "Greenland!" could just as easily make our sweat-soaked, late-summer school days seem cool and spring-like. It might be the remnants of nerdity in me, but I still find this "Opposites or Negatives Attract the Positive Effect" useful or at least interesting in certain situations.

For example, on Friday afternoon, SAM and I were thinking that a hilly hike along Bear Creek Trail on our way to Tallahassee this weekend would be a great way to unwind from a fairly flat week. It was a much warmer day than we had anticipated, but as we were approaching the exit from I-10, I told him that I was at least more than happy to not be bothered by ticks in all of our forays into the forest (so far) in Florida. There I was, as usual, patting myself on the back and pleased as can be.

Humongous fungus in Bear Creek Educational Forest, late April 2013

Then, as we took to the trail, I stopped along the way, as usual, to take a few pics of fascinating things like this humongous fungus. Apparently, Opposites or Positives (thinking we were finally immune from ticks) can also Attract the Negative Effect. This must be a law of some kind, I'm sure, and not to be trifled with. As you can imagine, all the way home, even a day after the hike (ticks can and do hide and wait for you in vehicles), we were picking off ticks and pushing them out the car window or dropping them down the rest area toilet as we found them feasting on various body parts.

Every time I sent a tick sailing through the air or flushed away to Septic Paradise, I thought to myself, "Iceland! Greenland!" A simple stress solution from childhood. Not a bad idea even now. Oh, and keep moving while hiking in Florida. That's an even better idea.

NN/SOTS: Break Free Through the Looking Glass

"The piece I'm going to repeat," he went on without noticing her remark, "was written entirely for your amusement."

Alice felt that in that case she really ought to listen to it; so she sat down, and said "Thank you" rather sadly,

"In winter, when the fields are white,

I sing this song for your delight--

only I don't sing it," he added, as an explanation.

"I see you don't," said Alice.

"If you can see whether I'm singing or not, you've sharper eyes than most," Humpty Dumpty remarked severely. Alice was silent.

"In spring, when woods are getting green,

I'll try and tell you what I mean..."

(from Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, Chapter VI, Humpty Dumpty, 1871)

I know that many of you are still digging out of the ice and snow. If you manage to break free, make sure to visit Northwest Florida this Saturday, March 6, so you can participate in the annual Forestry Conclave and Lumberjack Festival in Milton on the Pensacola Junior College campus. It truly is one of those participatory festivals, even if the only thing you can do is tap your foot to the bluegrass music, cheer on some of the lumberjacks in the various competitions, or smile and say hello to one of the volunteers making it all happen. Yours truly will be (wo)manning one of the booths for part of the afternoon. I'll let you guess which one it is. Hints: It's a natural extension of something I love to do, and try as I might, I'll never be a master at it.

The two photos on this post--don't you just love a brevity break?--were taken while hiking the Bear Creek Trail and Ravine Trail on the Bear Creek Tract--part of the Lake Talquin State Forest--near Tallahassee last weekend. It's a fascinating place with many habitats and woodland features to explore. SAM and I liked it so well that we visited it on Saturday and Sunday. I took this second picture on Saturday which was cloudy and cold. On Sunday, as you can see from the first photo, the sun broke free of the clouds and at least gave us the impression that warmer days are ahead. That tree, named musclewood for obvious reasons (although this site calls it "hornbeam"), gave me the impression that I need to start lifting some weights again. 

Please visit Ramblingwoods.com for another Nature Notes/Signs of the Season post and make a point of visiting the various bloggers who have participated this week and added a link.

Spring's Repeat in Florida

Spring's Repeat

Some violets in the woods

I only saw these two

They stretched their hairy necks

To show their heads of blue

They did not like this winter

So cold and wet and long

But now it's time to show themselves

And charm us with their song

You did not know these flowers sing

A song that ears can't hear?

Oh, yes!

They tell the woods and us to live again

Again this time of year

(A poem by Walk2Write, March 3, 2010)

Photo of Florida Violet, Viola sororia (V. affinis, V. floridana) taken at Bear Creek Trail near Tallahassee