A to Z Blogging Challenge: J is for Jerkwater Jaunt

J is for Jerkwater Jaunt

It doesn't take long for newcomers to Florida to realize that summer is not the best time for a jerkwater jaunt. What's a jerkwater? It's an American term for a place that's "insignificant and out-of-the-way; so called from the jerking (drawing) of water to fill buckets for supplying a steam locomotive."

By the end of April or beginning of May, it's no fun to spend a lot of time by the water's edge. The air gets steamy. The insects start biting. In early April, you still have time to check out a few trails in the Bear Creek Tract of Lake Talquin State Forest. It's not uncommon to see irises jutting out from the earthen dam.

The chance to capture native azalea beauty justifies a strenuous walk up and down steep hills.

Daughter journeyed a few hours east to spend a few days with her not-so-juvenescent parents.

After a couple of nights tossing and turning on the spare-bed air mattress, she didn't mind joining SAM in a low-back stretch or two.

By early June, the great blue herons inhabiting the area will have this jerkwater jaunting spot all to themselves. This one (a juvenile?) was curious about us but decided to fly away as soon as he noticed my jinks with the camera. It's just as well that the heat and bugs are cranking up and will drive us away. The herons don't need to hear humans jouncing about in the woods all summer long. It's peace and quiet they want--not jarring noises--while feeding, breeding, and nesting in the trees.

Please see A to Z Blogging Challenge for links to more "J's" from Challenge sponsors and other writers.

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.