Yesterday morning I took a brief stroll around Palm Island Park and adjacent Grantham Pointe Park in Mount Dora. It’s the perfect spot if you’re looking for a short hike along a boardwalk with a good opportunity to view Florida wildlife, including alligators, turtles and birds. In fact, this time out there I saw five Florida alligators and a variety of birds. Don’t miss it!
A hidden treasure tucked along the back roads of Eustis, 136-acre Lake May Reserve is the perfect locale for a nice morning hike. It is open daily from dawn to dusk. You will view lots of butterflies and reindeer moss during your hike, as well as possibly a gopher tortoise or two and other Florida wildlife. Best of all, since the parking lot only holds a handful of cars, you should be able to distance rather well!
“Outlaw Poetry, basically, is a stance against academia and the writing degree establishment. Outlaw Poetry is also a stance against the politically correct in poetry. Outlaw Poetry comes along at a time when the arts in general and poetry in particular are moribund, stale, boring, cowardly, candyassed and dead.” — Todd Moore (1937-2010)
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall
“Losing John Prine is like losing Moses. He stood on top of the hill and he gave us words of wisdom and truth. John Prine and I wrote songs together and made a movie together. We laughed together, and he spent many a lost weekend at my house. John Prine’s name is written in the stars. And we should all be happy that he has left us with such wonderful songs and records, just like Moses leaving tablets, that remind us what it is to be a good person and a great songwriter. ” – John Mellencamp
“John Prine was a hero of mine. ‘Christmas in Prison’, ‘Dear Abby’, ‘Paradise’, ‘Hello in There’ … Prine was one of those artists that really didn’t translate into the Pop Culture, attempts to explain or promote him were clearly painful to him: he wasn’t evasive or mysterious, he was just embarrassed. The genuine article. There goes a good one …” – James Taylor
“Over here on E Street, we are crushed by the loss of John Prine. John and I were ‘New Dylans’ together in the early 70s and he was never anything but the loveliest guy in the world. A true national treasure and a songwriter for the ages. We send our love and prayers to his family.” – Bruce Springsteen
Once again, we’re faced with another ecological tragedy in Central Florida – in this case an idiot developer wants to turn scenic Econ River Wilderness Area, which encompasses 240 beautiful acres in Seminole County (Oviedo to be exact) and is teeming with wildlife, into a bland subdivision. Let’s put an end to the madness! Visit www.saveecon.com to learn about ways you can help save Econ River Wilderness Area before it’s too late …
A trailhead for the 17-mile Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, Boulware Springs Park and Historic Waterworks is the site of a 19th-century waterworks building that provided the water supply for the City of Gainesville back in the day. Believe it or not, Boulware Springs produces approximately 194,000 gallons of water daily that flows into Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park.
The great thing about hiking during times such as these is that it is essentially a solitary pursuit. Of course, more and more people are discovering the awesome wonders of hiking these days, but if you get out there a little in the wilderness you will usually have acres and acres to explore by yourself. Therefore, I’ve been seeking out great places to hike such as Spring Hammock Preserve in Longwood. It’s an amazing place if you can find it!
Back in February, we got the opportunity to head down to Chokoloskee Island on the western edge of the Everglades in the heart of the Ten Thousand Islands and tour the fascinating Historic Smallwood Store. Opened in 1906 by Ted Smallwood, the Smallwood Store served as a vital trading post in the area until 1982 and has since been converted into a museum that features a “time capsule of Florida pioneer history,” according to the official website. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Wandering Florida 