84 days till Paintout!
12/01/08 15:24
84
days till Paintout!
In all of our craziness; we're thankful to remember why we're doing all of this!
Driving South down SR 441, on the new Heart of Florida Scenic Trail out of Gainesville; I'm crossing the Prairie with its elegant wintery colors and textures. Patterns of russets, violet grays and golds as far as I can see.
This Prairie is our defining body. It changes all the time like a lake edge or seashore. It gives us urban dwellers the luxury of wide open breathing space. A savannah, a primal place where we humans are not necessarily the top of the food chain...seriously.
We love our wild, mysterious Prairie with its alligators, waterbirds, SNAKES, deer, assorted small mammals, wild horses and its mythical herd of Buffalo.
It literally marks the place where the American Hardwoods meet the Southern Tropicals and the low palm studded fields and hillsides to the south look less like the U.S. and more like the Africa... to which 'la Florida' once connected. 'La Florida', land of Flowers.
I roll down the car windows and breathe.
The prairie also marks the beginning of an area where Alachua County has conserved approximately 60,000 total acres of this exotic land.
We are part of the land. We want to keep our wildness and mystery intact. We want land which lives, is alive. So much of the state is now dead. We know we must be proactive to preserve as much as possible.
The tiny hamlets around the lakes in this area are home to many small working farms. They want to stay working farms. They teach us the value of our rich rural heritage. We want to do what we can to help them to prosper and remain stewards of the land. The communities of Micanopy, McIntosh, Cross Creek and Evinston are each so important to our lives. We've gained immeasurably by our time spent getting to know them.
The Sand Hill Cranes are here for the winter season. Thousands of them arrived just before the holiday vacation and for a week, the skies were filled with their beloved heralding calls. Now we see them regularly in the cow pastures. Many species of birds are here for the winter...and the bird watchers too. The Great Florida Birding Trail winds its way through this region and into the Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park.
How lucky am I!
Annie
Sandhill Crane Photo by Sean Dowie
In all of our craziness; we're thankful to remember why we're doing all of this!
Driving South down SR 441, on the new Heart of Florida Scenic Trail out of Gainesville; I'm crossing the Prairie with its elegant wintery colors and textures. Patterns of russets, violet grays and golds as far as I can see.
This Prairie is our defining body. It changes all the time like a lake edge or seashore. It gives us urban dwellers the luxury of wide open breathing space. A savannah, a primal place where we humans are not necessarily the top of the food chain...seriously.
We love our wild, mysterious Prairie with its alligators, waterbirds, SNAKES, deer, assorted small mammals, wild horses and its mythical herd of Buffalo.
It literally marks the place where the American Hardwoods meet the Southern Tropicals and the low palm studded fields and hillsides to the south look less like the U.S. and more like the Africa... to which 'la Florida' once connected. 'La Florida', land of Flowers.
I roll down the car windows and breathe.
The prairie also marks the beginning of an area where Alachua County has conserved approximately 60,000 total acres of this exotic land.
We are part of the land. We want to keep our wildness and mystery intact. We want land which lives, is alive. So much of the state is now dead. We know we must be proactive to preserve as much as possible.
The tiny hamlets around the lakes in this area are home to many small working farms. They want to stay working farms. They teach us the value of our rich rural heritage. We want to do what we can to help them to prosper and remain stewards of the land. The communities of Micanopy, McIntosh, Cross Creek and Evinston are each so important to our lives. We've gained immeasurably by our time spent getting to know them.
The Sand Hill Cranes are here for the winter season. Thousands of them arrived just before the holiday vacation and for a week, the skies were filled with their beloved heralding calls. Now we see them regularly in the cow pastures. Many species of birds are here for the winter...and the bird watchers too. The Great Florida Birding Trail winds its way through this region and into the Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park.
How lucky am I!
Annie
Sandhill Crane Photo by Sean Dowie