It's in Our Nature

Santa Fe River Sink.

North Florida’s karst topography makes from some rather interesting formations, such as river that suddenly disappear below ground and reemerge after a few miles. 

Winter in North Florida

An old pier.

Don’t drain the swamp.

Open pines give way to an expansive salt marsh and tidal creek that lead to a palm lined gulf beach. 

A 3rd magnitude spring along the Florida Trail in St. Marks. I love the springs on cold mornings, the stillness of the surrounding hammock as steam dances across the water.

A bobcat patrolling the salt marsh. On my recent visit to St. Marks I saw an abundance of wildlife; 2 bobcats, dozens of alligators, 4 bald eagles, 1 river otter, and much more. 

Cathedral of Palms

Florida National Scenic Tail

Pines, blackwater, alligators. 

Golden light, blackwater

Scenes from Nature Coast. 

I love the views of low tide, exposing maze of oyster bars, mud flats, and coastal hammocks. When seas were lower in the last ice age this area was tall dunes, built by prevailing winds. As sea levels rose this unique landscape was created. Change is the only constant here, the tidal creeks are always shifting and one hurricane might rearrange the whole coastline. This area frustrated early mappers who struggled to pin down where the land ended and the sea began. 

Cabbage Palm Hammock

Tillandsias growing in a cedar. One of my favorite things about Florida is the number of epiphytes, or air plants that can be found on the branches and trunks of trees. Tillandsias don’t hurt the trees they grow on, they simply anchor on and get all their water and nutrients from the air.

Mangrove Swamps and Salt Marshes, the common wetlands of North Merritt Island. The wetlands here are unique due to the lack of tides or current in this part of the Indian River Lagoon. The salinity of the water also varies depending on the rainfall, at times it will be much saltier than the ocean. I remember times when I would be walking home after fishing the river and my shorts would become stiff with salt as they dried.