Brooker Creek Preserve

“That anyone would try to destroy such a place seems incredible; but sad experience shows that there are people good enough and bad enough for anything.” 

                                                                                                                                                 -John Muir

 

Brooker Creek, Friends Trail

 

     Today I took a quick trip to Brooker Creek Preserve. The preserve sits in northern Pinellas County. The head waters, a series of cypress domes, are said to be found in local Hillsborough County.  I typically find myself at Brooker Creek on my day off. It is one of the only places in Pinellas County that affords a hiker great hiking opportunities. No mountains are found here, nor are there rushing streams, instead there are dark cypress domes and xeric uplands that remind you of desert landscapes out west. The preserve is one of the last remaining tracts of upland habitat left in Pinellas County.  This place for me has been a refuge, a wilderness playground so to speak. I moved to Pinellas County so that I could be with a special someone. I am greatful to be here with that person, but I love Florida and what I see happening in this county saddens me. Brooker Creek is an island of green amongst a sea of concrete and angry commuters. Sense of place does not seem to take root here in my experiences, yet there is still some finite hope that it will be found. At a little over 8,000 acres Brooker Creek is by no means a National Park. It is like many local preserves tiny in its relative size, but immensely grand in the ecological role that it plays in recharging this areas local water supply.

 

Black Gum Swamp

 

 

Brooker Creek is by no means a true wilderness. A number of roads pass through it, as do power line easements. The humming of distant traffic can always be heard. Is there anywhere in the lower 48 where you can visit without seeing discarded rubbish or other signs of *Slobvious americanus ( *Edward Abbery )? I hope pristine places are still hiding out there. Though Brooker Creek is not a true wilderness it is a fine representation of a Florida long gone. The preserve does a great job of  keeping the trees, plants, and animals from being gobbled up by local progress. There is plentiful wildlife here. Gopher tortoises dominate the sandy landscapes, while Pileated Woodpeckers make a thumping music amongst the snags found in the pine flatwoods. The place is peaceful. The creatures here big and small all seem content with their existence  and completely unaware of the fate of their home. Little do they know that county commissioners have successfully put through a measure that will develop 2,000 acres of their out -of-doors neighborhood. This measure will forever alter the county’s last wild place. 

     The plans so far are to develop 2,000 acres of the preserve. Not all will be lost, but just a significant chunk. Progress will bring a number of multi-story buildings. The buildings will be accompanied by  reservoirs, pipes, and chemical storage units. I can only assume that they will have to build roads to access this infrastructure. 

     I became aware of the story after reading an article from the local paper. A few individuals have tried to take this measure to court. Unfortunately the measure has passed and it is full speed ahead for the county at this point. Bad news for the animals and plants who are clinging to survival on what little acreage remains in Florida’s densest populated county. 

     Over the past few days I have been trying to digest the news about Brooker Creek. I have always assumed that a preserve was meant to be in place forever. Talking to a friend recently he took the stance that a preserve is simply a preserve because at that moment there is no need for its resources.  In summary he was saying that no wilderness is held sacred when there is a hungry economy to feed. 

     Hiking today I tried to enjoy myself, but forgetting about the imminent threat posed to the preserve remained difficult. I could not stop pondering where I would go to find solitude. Would 6,000 of the original 8,000 acres be enough to meet my hiking needs and the needs of those seeking refuge from an ever increasingly urban world. The answers to such questions do not come easily. It seems likely that a day will come where the county will need to take another incremental piece away from the preserve’s remaining acreage. 

     As of today the preserve was still functioning as a rare ecological jewel. The gopher tortoises were still roaming free across the sandhills and the turkies were still making use of the hiking trails. As for me I was grateful for its existence.

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

 

 

 

Wall Springs Then…Wall Springs Now

 

Wall Springs Then...

 

Wall Springs Now...

These photos were taken a few weeks back. Wall Springs is located in Pinellas County.

Caladesi Island Photos

 

Heart of Palm Well Done

Sandy soils(Florida Snow)

A small bay.

These photos were taken on a recent hike from Clearwater Beach to Caladesi Island State Park. There are a number of trails to explore on this island.

PInes amongst a blue sky.

Lupine

Two pines are better than one.

Philippe Park Photos

 

Tocobaga Temple Mound

View from Temple Mound.

Cruising the Upper Tampa Bay Trail

“What nature provides is scale and context, ways to figure out who and how big we are and what we want. It provides silence, solitude, darkness: the rarest commodities we know.”

                                                                                                                                           -Bill Mckibben

 

A few days ago…

Riding a bike on a cold day is never easy when you factor in wind chill. Today I dressed in a number of layers as I prepared myself for the 14.5 mile bike ride along the Upper Tampa By Trail. The trail is paved so riding my two year old commuter bike was easy. This  bike has been every where. It has laid rubber on a number of paved bike trails across Florida. When I lived in Gainesville this bike was my primary means of transportation. 

 

Peterson Road Park

 

 

I am very familiar with trails like the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail. Trails like the one that runs from Gainesville to Hawthorne have a less urban feel compared to the Upper Tampa Bay Trail. 

I have quickly learned that Tampa-Clearwater and Pinellas county in general are not comparable to north Florida. PInellas county is one of the densest populated counties in Florida. Condos and waterfront properties are more popular here than hiking trails. I often find the outdoors though. Sometimes it is at Brooker Creek Preserve. One only needs to look on an aerial photo to see the lack of green space in this county. I hunt for nature here and on rare occasions I find it. 

I started my ride near a rural portion of Citrus Park. The park where I gain access to the trail is called Peterson Road Park. The surrounding area seems rural, yet on my drive into town I notice urban sprawl starting to take root. The setting here feels like Florida 50 years ago, the sound of roosters can be heard off in the distance. Sometimes peacocks march around in these parts. 

I start my journey south and to my suprise I see a bobcat dash across the trail. Five minutes into the trail this monster of a cat jumps into the middle of trail, glances at me briefly with little interest, and exits promptly back into the wooded cover bordering both sides of the trail. I am delighted by my encounter and consider myself very lucky to see a creature that makes domestic short hair cats look so tame. I fumble with my camera shortly after the encounter, my clumsy fingers trying to work the camera, but my good luck stops there for the bobcat has completely evacuated the scene. 

A few moments after peddling through Citrus Park I come close to Veteran’s Expressway. This busy toll road has plenty of commuters cruising along its southerly stretch towards Tampa. As I ride parellel to the expressway I can’t help but wonder to myself where these poor souls are going. A number of them are probably heading to Tampa on their daily commute, some dreading what the day has in store, others questioning how much longer they will have a job. The trail continues to wind to the south and at this point I start to come across pedestrians. I say hello to a few, occasionally a small number nod their head. These walkers are bundled up due to the cold weather. The animals and plants seem content on this chilly day. After a while I shed a number of layers due to my exercise and the spring sun making its presence known. 

From the trail it is hard to ignore the water channels that follow the pathway for what seems like miles. Informative signs posted along the trail detail the fact that these channels were dug as flood control. These channels were essentially created  to drain the surrounding wetlands, making the area more inhabitable for condos and houses. The cypress domes and Pileated Woodpeckers who called this place home have moved on, while more terrestrial creatures like humans have continued to inhabit this region. 

 

Old Channels

 

 

I continue past a few more trailheads and before arriving at Alfonso High School I notice a beautiful plant to the side of the trail. Sitting all alone in a open patch of sugar sand is a bunch of Lupines. This fuzzy green plant  has its showy purple flowers on display. These plants are more common in scrub and sandhill ecosystems.  On a number of rare occasions I will see them in cow fields or along the roadside. Stopping to examine a flower I feel like William Bartram for just a second. His interest in flowers earned him the name Puc Puggy. Puc Puggy translates into “flower hunter”. At Payne’s Prairie state park there is a road called “Puggy”( this is where I got the idea for this blog name) I stop to take a few photos of this plant and manage in this botanical experience to get cactus burs in my leg. I always make time for hunting flowers on outdoor excursions, sometimes they fight back. 

 

Lupine

 

 

 Nature sometimes causes pain as I can testify by trying to pick burs out of my leg, but the rewards of nature far exceed my expectations today. On a simple day in nature there is always room for surprises, even if you are only minutes from a metropolis like Tampa. 

 

Curious Avian

 

 

Towards the end of my trip I spot a hawk and he quickly looks at me as if curious to see what my next move is. I get off my bike and walk past the bird so I will create the least amount of stress for the bird. The hawk for some reason allows me to proceed right past him, watching me with piercing eyes as if he is rating my character.  Leaving the hawk I now continue north back towards my truck. The ride back seems to end too soon. 

 

 

 

Sunken Gardens

 

Sunken Gardens, St. Petersburg

This past Valentine’s Day my girlfriend and I paid a visit to Sunken Gardens. This place is rooted in Old Florida.

Going to the market…

There is something special about an outdoor market. Yesterday my girlfriend and I spent our day at the St. Pete Saturday Market. This outdoor market is larger than most, in fact you could probably spend a good part of your Saturday there aimlessly wondering around eating great food and looking at random arts and crafts. Live music will accompany you as you wonder amongst others who are thinking how great a market is compared to the average shopping center. Here your senses are overwhelmed by food and great weather.  After visiting the market take a stroll around town.

 

http://www.saturdaymorningmarket.com/