Spring is forcing its way out of the frozen earth, bursting from bud to blossom.
Just in time for the amazing Azalea Day (today) where 95,000 multi-colored hand-planted bushes were installed during the Great Depression, in a 146-acre park created in, and around the 130-feet deep ravine, will be viewed by "bookoo" visitors. The Ravine has been around yonks (eons) gradually forming as underground springs eroded the sandy soil.
We, my dog Basher, schlepped the two-mile paved roadway yesterday, to beat the crowds, We avoided the hiker-paths (and ticks) and suspension bridges across the sulphur-ozoned natural springs; alligators lurk under lily-pads where Basher would gladly become "Splasher".
The relaxing nature of the ramble still stimulated the brain.
During American Civil War days, when Florida was officially on the side of the Union, southern soldiers from the Confederate
side raided this appendix to the body politic dangling in isolation. The Ravine's natural springs, dense undergrowth, and easy access to the up-side-down flowing St. John's River and transport shipping, was a Sherwood Forest to marauders.
Gotta be a story there
ooOoo
ps: Think the wilderness is tamed - check out the warning!
Basher doesn't look very keen on being there.
ReplyDeleteInteresting shape in the tree trunk. Alligators - no thanks. It will be months before we see any flowers on our azaleas.