My Own Backyard (...and just beyond)

MY OWN BACKYARD

(...AND JUST BEYOND!)

Sometimes you don't have to go any further than your own backyard to get a show from nature. The day started out perfectly: I didn't have to go to work and the sky was a bright blue without a cloud in sight. I knew I wanted to do something outside, but I didn't know what. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be kayaking. I was cleaning up the house while pondering where to go and what to do. I took some cardboard outside to the backyard to the recycling bin, dropped it in and turned around to walk back inside. A loud noise startled me to my right and as I looked to see what caused the disturbance, I was surprised to see a hawk with lunch in its grips. It flew to a nearby tree and stood on the branch with its catch. I contemplated whether I should just stand there quietly, or try and walk past it to grab my camera. I decided to walk quietly past it and once inside the house I ran and got my camera. I just stood on the porch and snapped away while it ate what appeared to be the leftovers of a frog. 

It's amazing how often we can be in our own backyards and never really notice what's around us. I sat on a bench and looked around while enjoying the gently blowing breeze and saw dragonflys, butterflies and an assortment of birds.

 

The day wasn't getting any longer, so I made an executive decision to check out the trail that leads to the bridge over the Econ River, better known as The Flagler Trail South, a Florida National Scenic Trail. As many times as I've kayaked the Econ, I've never been to the bridge via walking so I was curious how people get there. Plus, it was a hop, skip and a jump from my backyard!

I managed to bribe one of my kids to accompany me. We probably walked a total of 6 miles through a canopy of trees. The start of the trail is narrow and there are many houses along the way. 

Eventually you are surrounded by forest on either side. As you get closer to the bridge, there are many "swampy" parts. 

As tempting as it was to stop and sit at one of the benches we came upon, we resisted the urge and trudged on. 

Along the way we saw some other people walking or biking. My son was trying to get out of the way of a family of bikers and when he stepped aside, he almost stepped on this snake! I'm a Florida native, but don't ask me to identify poisonous snakes because I still have NO idea between the "good ones" and the "bad ones." I generally stay far away from them and that seems to work out well.

We finally made it to the bridge! Wait...there's more than one bridge? Just before the first bridge we saw this turtle steadily making his was to the woods.

We made our way past the old railroad bridge pilings and found a seat on the white, sandy beach to eat our lunch. In the distance, some people had their horse in the water to cool it off.

 

The water was extremely low. The last time I kayaked this river the water was so high we had to paddle AROUND the bridge! It really shows how rain dependent this river is.

It was time to make our way back. I was hoping a bike would magically appear for me to ride, but none did. Actually, it was quite a nice walk. 

Though I prefer to be kayaking, this was a nice way to spend the day.