Ocala, Florida Sunny early, 80 degrees. Afternoon rain
As our season comes to a quick close we are making more effort to do things rather than just loaf around the park like snowbirds. My work schedule as become so chaotic I have it plugged into my Google Calendar so I know what branch to show up at and what time on a given day. Those days are numbered as well as I plan to end my winter gig around the end of March.
Julie and Chuck, hosted a Sunday afternoon Ice Cream bar at their site last weekend. As we sat around ruining our dinner appetites with bowls of ice cream top with everything imaginable, thanks to Julies gift of hosting, we talked about our departure dates and things we all wanted to do and see before our flights north. Perhaps the best part of the day, and the best part of this lifestyle for that matter, was our friends Kathy and Charlie called that morning and said they were going to be in Ocala that afternoon. They showed up just in time to join us for ice cream and have a chance to meet our winter friends here in the park. It was a perfect afternoon for an ice cream social, heavy on the social and hot fudge.
Keith & Karen from Texas 
Julie and I 
Julie, Kathy and I 
The gang, digging in 
Terry from UP Michigan and Champs fellow gearhead.
A rare weekday off today was spent at Silver Spring State Park after changing plans for the day several times. The original plan was to return to Weeki Wachee and go kayaking with Rhonda and Ben. But, alas, a minor repair that turned into a major project on their camper, and iffy weather foiled that plan. We talked about heading to Plant City with Barb and John, where the Strawberry Festival is getting ready but again the threat of rain inclined us to blow that off. As I sat looking out the window at the clear skies, eating an apple and seeing that the radar was predicting rain around 1:00 pm we decided to jump in the car and make the short 30 minute drive to Silver Spring.
I went with dual motives. After some very tense days at the credit union dealing with difficult customers and an even more difficult staff at a branch they sent me to this past week, my soul was crying for some outdoor time. The park didn't disappoint. As we entered we saw a wildlife safety warning sign. As I approached I figured it would be about snakes or alligators. I was surprised to find it was warning us about wild monkeys who could be aggressive.
It wasn't long before we encountered them. The females were running about obviously in heat and we saw several young monkeys. I couldn't blame them for being less than thrilled about the humans traipsing through their yard. A couple of males were running along the railing of the boardwalk style path that went through their habitat keeping an eye on us. But we turned back and gave the female sitting on a rail across from where several young monkeys were frolicking about in the palms. We were able to watch for a bit but when we tried to pass her to proceed down the trail, she screeched and took a very agressive stance. Rather than end up with a protective momma wrapped around my head we backed off and went to explore the rest of the park.
You're in their yard. Beware! 
We still haven't seen one in the wild 
Males keeping an eye on us 
Momma keeping us from getting to close 
Rhesus Monkey 
Yellow Belly Sapsuckers 
Lilies along the Silver River 
Florida Red Belly Turtles Sunning 
Anhinga watching for fish 
Anhinga swimming/fishing 
Posterior view Anhinga 
Abutilon Red Vein Indian Mallow
As we strolled along the path we came upon two people working on a flower bed that we knew from experience were likely volunteers. We stopped and visited with them. They have been volunteering for Florida State Parks for 11 years and were more than happy to take a break and visit with us about their experience. They gave us the name of the Ranger Volunteer Cooridnator, and left us with " maybe we'll see you in volunteer village some year" We explored some more and saw a couple of new birds, to me. The Anhinga, also called the 'snake bird' because they look like snakes in the water. They hold their bodies below the surface and swim with their long neck and head out of the water. Good thing we found that out or Champ would have been ready to leave if he thought the water was full of snakes! We watched the birds fish and swim along the Silver River while I took some pictures. I was also treated to another pretty bird that is new to me. The Louisana Waterthrush as ID'd by my Merlin app. I watched them for awhile for the binocculars but the vegetation was too dense to take a good picture. I guess I can't have it all some days. We are both really taken by the stunning beauty of the water in the springs and rivers in Florida.
On the way out we were able to track down Ranger Craig and talk with him a bit about coming back some winter as resident volunteers. With his card in hand we left with instructions to email our resume' and set up a time to come back and talk further before we leave Florida in April.
As we drove away before the rains moved in I had satisfied both objectives. My heart was happy from being out close to nature for a few hours and we left with a solid contact for a possible return to Florida to work camp. Hopefully someday I'll be writing about taking care of these beautiful gardens or leading glass bottom boat tours down the river and educating visitors about the history and natural wonder of the springs.
As this winter has proven, one never knows where the road of the full time RV Volunteer will lead.
Until next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment