Florida Master Naturalist Class

Florida Master Naturalist Classroom (above) and Field (below)








































































It was delightful to spend 5 Wednesdays and 5 Sundays with a naturalist guide, several presenters, and 14 outdoor-loving Floridians. We kayaked, tromped, researched, and traveled to preserves, rivers, marshes, swamps, and lakes. I completed one of three segments which are offered through the University of Florida, wetlands. For my final project another student and I, with the help of a volunteer videographer, put together a video kayak tour of the lake at the Savannah Preserve State Park. This will be available for viewing at the nature center in the State Park and possibly on the Florida State Parks website. My intent is to complete the other two segments of the Florida Master Naturalist Program, coastal and uplands.

Growing Like Asparagus

Winter has passed and spring has sprung. Well, actually I am still watching it spring. I read today in a botanical magazine that asparagus can grow 10 inches in a day. Wouldn't that be a fascinating experience, to spend a whole day as witness to a single plant's 10-inch lengthening? I want to set up my life so that I would stay put outdoors in one spot for 21 days from the 1st of May. Being. Asparagus!

My "being" has been enriched by many wonderful things in life the last few months, but not in one spot. Simplified, January I spotted myself in southeast Florida where I completed a Florida Master Naturalist Program on wetlands. In February I used the knowledge gained through the coursework to lead nature walks on the other side of Florida at Cayo Costa State Park. March was punctuated with a kayak trip in north Florida on the Suwanee River where I happened to find myself floating in the 500 year flood, or maybe it was just a 100 year flood. Whatever, it was a hell of a lot of rain! These showers gave way to April and May, and the joys and challenges of water gardening in Ohio.

Like the asparagus, I have grown substantially this year, but it's not easy to be. Asparame!