Flower Hunting 4/26/09

 

Magnolia grandiflora

“seems silvered over with milk-white flowers… so large, as to be distinctly visible at a distance of a mile or more.”

                                      William Bartram

 

John Muir Day April 21, 2009

“…Some of the days I have spent alone in the depths of the wilderness have shown me that immortal life beyond the grave is not essential to perfect happiness…”

 

John Muir

 

     Today is John Muir Day. John Muir Day is unlike most traditional holidays. It is a peaceful and simple day. John Muir Day has no set rules or traditions like Christmas or Thanksgiving. This day will cost you nothing if you choose to celebrate it by hiking. 

     I drove this morning to Brooker Creek Preserve to celebrate this day. Muir was a strong advocate for preservation and with out his vision and foresight there would probably be very few wild places left in America. I manage to hike nearly six miles amongst the pine barrens and occasionally a haunted cypress dome.

     Today is a lesson in simplicity, a value most of us have long forgotten. Finding simplicity in today’s setting is increasingly harder. We live in a world of instant gratification, where bigger is better, our ties to the natural world are distant. In a world of genetically modified foods and virtual reality it is often hard to stay human. Our senses are often confused by the synthetic world. As I look around I see alot of people who are numb as a result of  their senses being overstimulated.  I often wonder why we are going in the direction we now find ourselves? Some say that progress brings convience, but I think this logic needs to be questioned. We are told that the economy must grow for us to be happy, yet the majority of people seem burnt out. 

     John Muir’s writings taught me long ago that life is worth living, in fact, it is quite an adventure if you seek the wilderness as your refuge from society’s ills. I have come to love nature’s simplicity. I have come to admire Muir for his ability  to show others the  the joy and simplicity that  the natural world brings to those who seek it.

J.B. Starkey Wilderness Park…4/3/09

“I had this advantage, at least, in my mode of life, over those who were obliged to look abroad for amusement, to society and the theatre, that my life itself had become my amusement and never ceased to be novel.”

                                                                                                                                                  -Henry David Thoreau

 

Salad On the Go

 

Thoreau was often noted as feeling that a day was wasted if it did not involve a 3 to 4 hour walk. On most days I feel the same way. 

 

Giant Live Oak

 

 

Today I drove about 17 miles north into Pasco County in search of a good walk. My destination today was J.B. Starkey Wilderness Park. This wilderness park and the surrounding tracts compose approximately 18,000 acres of land (the Serenova Tract and Anclote River Tract are included in this total). It is my understanding that J.B. Starkey Wilderness Park is a joint management between the water management district and the county. The SW Water Management District describes the preserve in their recreation guide in the following manner…”The Preserve is the culmination of foresight and cooperative spirit. ” If not for this preserve I assume most of the 18,000 acres would have already been converted to single family residences, some of the gated communities may have even displayed names like ‘Cyrpress Tree Preserve ‘or ‘Pine Tree Estates’. I am grateful for both the foresight and cooperative spirit because as I drive down River Crossing Blvd it becomes evident that western Pasco county has seen extensive urban growth in recent years. The neighborhoods flanking the preserve all have signs that warn the driver of potential animal crossings.

 

Minnow Hunter

 

 

I hiked today through a number of natural communities. Pine flatwoods and scrub were the dominant upland communities. In addition the upland communities on display, the park contains around 6,000 acres of wetland habitat. 

 

Florida Land Beaver?

 

 

A short nature trail leads down to the Pithachascotee River. Along the trail I am amazed by the redwood-sized Live Oak that borders the trail’s edge. The oak before me has a dominating presence amongst the surrounding wild coffee plants clumped amongst the understory.  The trail continues to decrease in elevation as I near the river. When the trail started I was amongst slash pines and saw palmettos. After leaving the giant oak I walk a few hundred yards to what is left of the Pithlachascotee River.  A few shallow pools of water remain in this river’s floodplain. Towards the end of this trail there is a giant tree that has fallen over the river bed. I climb onto the tree with little effort, as I do so I gain a new vantage point of  activity taking place in the pool of water below me. A small snake is splashing around in pursuit of about a dozen minnows who are held captive by the drying pools of water. I stand on the log for what feels like a brief eternity.  At this moment I hear the silence that comes with solitude. Silence is sometimes the only healing factor that remains in our hurried society. Silence  as it often happens in my current setting is interrupted by a passing plane making an aerial ruckus. Sometimes it feels as if there is not 10 minutes that passes in the wilderness where you have the luxury of not hearing a combustion engine or a honking horn. I spend the rest of the day exploring other segments of the park. 

 

Pithlachascotee River

 

 

Before returning home I make one last stop at Key Vista Park. I was rewarded with picture perfect views of the gulf (minus the smoke stack to the south). 

 

Key Vista Park