The Sunny South

Thank God for Florida in winter. No snow, no cold, no mailboxes being lopped off by a raging plowguy. I'm out in the sun every day walking, jogging, or just sitting sucking up the warmth. While there IS a drought going on, there are still things blooming here and there. Leaves are beginning to spring forth on the Cypress trees. I had occasion to take a nice 17 mile bike ride on my mom's beach comber single speed the other day. I rode through Jay B. Starkey Park, which is a wildlife conservation area of great expanse. I saw a Fox Squirrel like the one pictured. HUGE!! Like a small cat. He was oblivious to me, I suspect probably quite tame. He sports a lovely black coat on his back and head, with white underneath. I had never seen one before, so it was a treat. I noticed that along the path the ground appeared to have been rooted around in. Then I saw signs announcing a 3-day special hunt of Wild Hogs. The Fish and Wildlife agency for this area is holding the hunt for these wild pigs through tonight. The hunt is by special permit, maybe like our Moose Lottery. The hunt goes from 4 p.m. -4 a.m., and the trails are closed during this time. Of course the park closes at dusk anyway, which is about 6:45 p.m. down here.
I was wishing I could have gone on this hunt, or at least hang out at the checking station to see the results. Apparently there are too many wild pigs, and they are wandering into the residential areas looking for food. If only there weren't so many residential areas cropping up everywhere, perhaps the hogs might not be such a nuisance.

The soft shell turtles in the pond out back have been eaten by an alligator, but the large Painted Turtles are in abundance here. I enjoy watching them, some very large, like 20# basking on the sunny banks.

I'm hoping that back north the weather is warming, and melting that 2-3 feet of snow in my yard. For now though, I'm basking in the sun which is predicted to continue for several days to come.