As I hiked back along the loop trail at Shark Valley, I put my hat low to keep the sun out of my eyes. Here the land is as it would have looked a century ago. But I began to think about how it might have been different. I think about the small changes in the stream that ebbs–moving slower than a quarter of a mile per hour south–through and under the tall grass and sapling cypress and the rocky soil.
The overcast sky rises above this oak and pine bordering the perimeter firebreak at Yamato Scrub Natural Area. The moss is nearly the same color as the sky. 
This one snowy egret was perched for a good while, when it’s partner came down for a landing. It was a lively landing, as the pair figured out the living-room arrangements. 
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Local bird sightings as reported to eBird:
“In wildness is the preservation of the world.” — Henry David Thoreau.
