Arthur R Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge Canoe Trail

This is one of my favorite places to go kayaking.

The trail is 5.5 miles, and takes a few hours by kayak. Longer by canoe.

You can rent a canoe or kayak here. We like the double kayak.

Feels great to be back on the water.

Here's my brother, Steve.

You need to keep your eyes out for these - alligator crossing ahead.

They are also basking in the sun by the side.

We always see beautiful birds - here's a wood stork.

And a heron.

So much fun!

Gopher Turtle

My Native Plants class took a trip to Jupiter Inlet, near the lighthouse, to see more plants that grow in the Florida Scrub.

We came across this gopher turtle, which is on the endangered species list primarily due to loss of habitat. He let us take his picture, then scurried away. The gopher tortoise belongs to a group of land tortoises that originated in North America 60 million years ago, making it one of the oldest living species.

We saw lots of sable palms, the Florida state tree.

This area is all sandy, even though it is a ways away from the beach.
The love vine covers up everything. Behind it is blue saw palmetto and more sable palms.

Whats in Bloom - Mounts Botanical Garden

These are a collection of photos I took as part of a nature photography course held at the Mounts Botanical Garden.

South Florida Fair

I went to the South Florida Fair for the first time this year. Since I love fairs in New England I thought I'd check out a southern fair to see what it was like.


There were lots of 'shows'.

Our favorite was the Chinese Acrobats.

Elaine, my little sister, wanted to see the pigs race.

They didn't move too fast.

There were lots of 'vehicles' to have your picture taken with.

And even an alligator show.

Look who I found to 'clown around' with.

A visit to the Florida Scrub

I'm taking a course on Florida's native plants at Palm Beach Community College with Dr. George Rogers, the notable plant ID expert. Each week we go on field trips to look at plants in their native habitat.



We started with plants in the Florida Scrub habitat. Much of the scrub has been lost to development, and as you drive along, you see patches between the strip malls and high rises.



Two of the largest areas of remaining scrub are found on the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, which runs parallel and in close proximity to the east coast of Florida. We saw Myrtle Oak, Chapman's Oak, Dwarf and Saw Palmetto. (We also saw about 50 other types of plants).

We parked at Loggerhead Marine Life Center in Juno Beach.

It is a sea turtle hospital.

After class I went across the street to the beach.

This pelican was just hanging out enjoying the warmer weather. Definitely a fun place to visit.

Tillandsia (air plant) in bloom

My air plant is blooming! I bought it a few years ago, and hung it in my silver buttonwood tree.

It is usually grey, but right before it bloomed it blushed (changed colors). Air plants are members of the bromeliad family, and don't need soil to grow in. Its looked like this for a

few weeks.

Freezing in Florida

Right now it is 38 degrees here. Brrr.... feels like New England. I covered my impatiens and brought in orchids, begonias, and succulants. I hope we don't get a frost here.



I get to wear my beautiful scarf Judy made me.

The houses are made with cinderblock construction so you have to bundle up inside.

Emily is happy with this weather though!

From weather.com: The lizards become completely immobile in temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (four degrees Celsius) as their cold blood stops flowing, and have been filmed this week falling out of perches in trees.

I haven't seen any of them around for awhile - maybe I should check the trees.