(thirteen) or flora & fauna

Florida, like any state, has it’s problems (if you’re feeling brave of heart – TW death/murder/rape). But, I do need to give it credit- it has beautiful natural landscape.

One of my favorite things to do when I’m home is just to sit and look at the nature around me. It may sound cliche, but when I’m home I’m really looking to relax and unwind, and nothing does that better for me than a light breeze and a nice view.

One of my favorite places is the everglades, which is proudly the largest subtropical wilderness in the USA. Because of it’s unique geographical position, the everglades is home to endangered plants and animals. It also is home to a vast history of indigenous peoples (for example, the Seminole Tribe, who are the only tribe in America who has never signed a peace treaty)

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Alligator spotted!

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It’s honestly beautiful. Luckily for me, I live right on the edge of this wilderness, so in the mornings I can drive to the docks and watch the waters. Sometimes, its hard to tell where the horizon begins and the sky ends. Those are my favorite moments- catching the world at a paradigm shift.

Usually, you’ll see alligators. It’s really funny to see tourists wave their hands at each other excitedly, pointing out this jurassic beast, far enough to run away if needed. Locals reel in their lures, muttering something along the lines of, “G*d D****t this is the fifth time today, that gator is going to scare away all the f*****g fish!!” This is normally when I leave the docks, and head around the back of the settlements in search of peacocks (I have no clue how they got here to be honest, but the everglades parks are full of them)

I’ve grown up with the everglades, learning about them in elementary school. Once, we took a field trip Slough Slogging through the everglades. For those of you not familiar, it’s when you literally walk through the waters and pray to god that nothing is swimming below you. Normally, you walk along a naturally raised path on the floor of the everglades (so the water comes up to about your knees, depending on your height), but if you mistakenly step off the path, you’ll fall into 9 foot deep waters. Luckily, you have a guide who shows you the cool flora and fauna, and also kindly reminds you to stay away from certain areas, and to not touch anything unless they tell you it’s ok first. My third grade mind vividly remembers a friend of mine who suddenly dropped below the surface of the water, having accidentally stepped off the path. I’m pretty sure because of that incident that was the last time my school went slogging, but I’m not sure.

Another beautiful part of Florida would be the beaches. Again, being me, I tend to prefer the quieter beaches to the more popular ones. I much prefer Hollywood beach (don’t let the name fool you, it’s mostly retirees and couples with young children ) because it’s quiet  IMG_8990and it also has a protected area for turtles on the end of it. Although I’ve never seen a turtle lay its eggs or give birth, I feel like that is a common bond that South Floridians share with one another. It’s just one of those things, like Jaxsons Icecream or finding a pair of dentures washed up on shoreIMG_8991

All is all, Florida is teeming with natural beauty that, luckily, lets me forget about the other wild things that are happening in the state.