'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

Juniper Creek Trail--A Chuck-Norris-Yet-Curious-George Kind of Place

I don't advocate eating wild mushrooms, but finding some with eerily familiar shapes on Juniper Creek Trail last week sent my imagination soaring to new heights. The first one you see here looks a lot like a meringue, don't you think? It's only missing those glistening drops that form as the meringue cools after baking.

***********************************************

"To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said

'I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head.

Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be,

Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me!'"



Daughter and SAM spotted this one before I did. It could be a veritable feast in the eyes of a survivalist slowly running out of provisions after weeks in the forest. A chicken for every pot, you say? Who needs meat when there's so much soul-food to find along the trail? As Steinbeck's Lennie would say, you could "live off the fatta the lan' " right here.

And hundreds of voices joined in the chorus:--

"Then fill up the glasses as quick as you can,

And sprinkle the table with buttons and bran:

Put cats in the coffee, and mice in the tea--

And welcome Queen Alice with thirty-times-three!"

Angling for the right to be noticed, this wild Blazing Star, Liatris tenuifolia--a member of the Aster family--grows abundantly along the sunnier meadow portions of the trail, not far from where it begins at the tiny parking area. At this time of year, be sure to douse yourself with insect repellant. Once you leave the more open meadow environment and enter the close woods, the flora begins to change, and the fauna with an appetite for human blood will start to annoy you. Actually, there is no "off" season in Florida for those pesky things. You've got to really love the heat--and bugs--to stay in this kitchen. Of course, there are silver linings to every cloud of mosquitoes. Once in a while, you'll find a delicate wildflower like the Climbing Butterfly-Pea, Centrosema virginianum, to take your mind off your troubles.

Then followed a confused noise of cheering, and Alice thought to herself "Thirty times three makes ninety. I wonder if any one's counting?" In a minute there was silence again, and the same shrill voice sang another verse:--

" 'O Looking-Glass creatures,' quoth Alice, 'draw near!

'Tis an honour to see me, a favour to hear:

'Tis a privilege high to have dinner and tea

Along with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me!' "

You might think the water here is made out of iced tea. It's certainly cold enough, and the tannin that comes from the native oaks gives it a warm gold color, especially on a sunny autumn day. The first inhabitants and then the white settlers who came later found tannin to be quite useful for preserving animal hides and maybe even their own. Mixed with animal fat and some other useful, stinky ingredients, it protected them from stinging, biting insects and too much sun exposure. I wonder what the SPF might have been?

Then came the chorus again:--

"Then fill up the glasses with treacle and ink,

Or anything else that is pleasant to drink:

Mix sand with the cider, and wool with the wine--

And welcome Queen Alice with ninety-times-nine!"


It's kind of sad to think that part of the trail is slowly slipping away, steadily eroding into the river and eventually washing out to sea. On the drive down to the wilderness area, we passed some construction (destruction?) workers cutting trees and removing their stumps from a parcel of land nearby. I hope that whatever they're building is worth the price, and I'm not talking about money. It's hard to say if Florida will ever do a "180" (degree turn) on land consumption. Construction around where we live has almost ground to a halt, which isn't too good for the local economy, but at least the land gets a much-needed shabbath, or rest.

When I zoomed in on the eroded hill, I saw that someone had left his or her mark behind for the whole world to see. I wonder how many years "BJ" will be around for future hikers to find?

"Ninety times nine!" Alice repeated in despair. "Oh, that'll never be done! I'd better go in at once--" and in she went, and there was a dead silence the moment she appeared. Alice glanced nervously along the table, as she walked up the large hall, and noticed that there were about fifty guests, of all kinds: some were animals, some birds, and there were even a few flowers among them. "I'm glad they've come without waiting to be asked," she thought: "I should never have known who were the right people to invite!"

After a long stretch of trail, even iced-tea water starts to look inviting. Not too far past this sand bar where we took off our shoes and waded in, a shelter--built by Boy Scouts--awaits the weary walkers, and there are surprises to be found inside it--no, not the Man in the Yellow Shirt and the girl in the blue shorts.

Curious-George bloggers like to read what other people have to say about this place. What did they see, and what were their impressions of it?

Some thoughtful people are trying to encourage a conversation here.

I hope that Chuck Norris enjoyed our little corner of Florida. I'd like to think that you "Go with God" too, Mr. N--whoever you are--when you walk the trails.