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Real Florida for Real Thanks Giving #RealFlorida #Nature #Photography

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This Thanksgiving my husband and I went on a walk at the St. Marks Headwaters Greenway which opened in late January 2018. It was our first visit, but it won’t be our last. [Note: elsewhere I’ve referred to this area as the St. Marks River Preserve State Park. Eh, technically the Greenway is separate from the state park. My bad.]

We were on our own for the day of feasting since we don’t have family nearby, which–to be honest–is okay with us. We’re happy to just take a long walk, me snapping pictures with my iPhone, my husband waving around his butterfly net, hoping to find some interesting insects.

[Aside: I called my mom later that evening and we both noted how people probably think we’re boring but at least we’re not bored.]

At an absolute minimum, the sky never fails to surprise me.

Thanks to friend, poet, and historian Merril D. Smith, I often have my eyes on clouds. This configuration is new to me!

This post is all about the “real Florida,” not that paved ugliness often mistaken for progress. We were out in the mid- to late afternoon on a sunny day. Light and shadow were playful.

I do miss the true explosion of color that is fall in the northeast, but …

In Florida, this is what we call a “riot of color.”

… we’ll take what we can get here. Fall colors in Florida are nothing like the fall colors I grew up with in New York, but after 30 years living here, I have to say this is pretty colorful.

I hope you enjoyed these photos. For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you had a wonderful holiday. For those of you who don’t, I hope you still had a wonderful day.

Categories: Nature

Tagged as:

Marie A Bailey

Writer, blogger, knitter, cat lover, and introvert.

25 replies ›

  2. It looks like a lovely, relaxing day–and a wonderful place to walk. Thanks for thinking of me!
    True conversation the other day between me and my husband early in the morning:
    Me: Is it cloudy outside? It looks overcast.
    Husband: I don’t know.
    Me: But you went outside to get the paper. Could you see stars?
    Husband: I don’t know. I didn’t look up.
    🙂

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  4. Beautiful shots on a beautiful day. We’re the same way–always a long hike on the holidays, weather permitting, of course. The outdoors is one of the top things we’re thankful for!

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    1. Indeed! As I’m getting older, I’m feeling less inclined to move to a more urban area. It was about a half-hour drive to get to this spot … not bad but given all the development going on in this town, the drive will get longer and longer … ugh.

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  6. Thanks for showing me more of Florida that is infinitely likable! Sadly, in Pittsburgh this fall we did not get our usual riot of color. Drat! BTW, people would call us boring, too, but it’s a rare thing that we are bored. Go us, right?

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  10. What beautiful fall colors, Marie. So glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving walk. In 2018, some friends and I went to a state park to celebrate the holiday. We took a wonderful walk before the meal, which was served in a lodge.
    The bisected cloud in the first photo is amazing!

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  11. I hear you about fall colors. I always thought Mississippi was more interesting in the winter when it had yellowed grass and black limbs and orange broomsedge—the summer was just so much green. You’ve captured the colors well.

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  12. Marie, what a discovery of Florida. The Florida I know is Disney World, beaches, golf courses and shopping malls. I loved your line: People probably think we’re boring but at least we’re not bored! Lovely photos and the photo of the clouds is amazing! ❤

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    1. Thank you, Carol! I truly appreciate your visit here. Yes, there is so much more to Florida although it is getting overrun with golf courses and shopping malls. It takes us twice as long as to get “out of town” as it used to because of the sprawl. Makes me even grateful for these parks and preserves.

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