Kayaking back into the red mangroves, it gets quieter, the water a clear green. But the seven o’ clock breeze is what we really notice. It comes every few minutes and moves through us. The sky is a light blue, opaque in the west where a few puffs of clouds gather, and the sun is making its descent.
The rain began. Sprinkles popping on the table umbrella above as I continued to write. I was trying to finish up a scene in the latest chapter of the novel. I hadn’t written much lately, and a writer can’t walk out on productivity too early. So I kept on writing. That’s when I got some company. She did a backflip from the top of a telephone pole straight down onto the perch of my birdfeeder in the backyard. In the light rain, the Red-bellied Woodpecker reached up from the perch to peck away at the bird feed.
Red-bellied Woodpecker
We picnicked under a Sea Grape tree, sipping wine and feeling for an afternoon like we were on our own Green Estate.
I came to a quick stop and looked up to the big Great Horned Owl perched atop a tree, squawking her alarm. She stared down at this invader with a look of incredulity, then took off, big wings flapping the cool dusk air. Less than a minute later, an Osprey was circling above in a big loop that made it look like the bird was flying straight into the clouds. The Everglades is an amazing place at sunset.
Sunset at Loxahatchee
I headed to the Southwest corner of the smaller lake at West Delray Regional Park, where a trail loop shaded by Pines awaited earlier today. Here is a GPS MAP of my exact location.
I was sick for ten days, and the whole time all I could think about was getting better so I could lace up the hiking boots or clip into the bike pedal. Today was the first day I felt somewhat normal; I think I was about seventy-five percent recovered, which is good enough for a little hike around the nearby nature preserve.
The Miami City Commission approved the master plan for Virginia Key, including construction of mountain bike trails on North Point, to be done gratis by volunteers. This great decision by local officials saves a biking project that at several points seemed doomed.
If you have an outdoor blog you want to share, or you just want to say hey, please drop me a line.
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Local bird sightings as reported to eBird:
“In wildness is the preservation of the world.” — Henry David Thoreau.
