Tag / Florida nature

by Gabrielle McLean

Beach Town

A day in Jensen Beach, FL.

We wove through all these colorful shops – an art gallery, a jewelry boutique, and a plant nursery to name a few. So tightly packed together that you have to walk on the doorstep of one shop just to get to another. Shared decks with colorful mismatched chairs and tables.

Amidst the chaos of the new over-developed and busy Florida still exists little pockets of old charm. Small colorful beach towns with real people and real hospitality. The kind of Florida people come to Florida for.

This state may be my home – the only one I’ve ever had – but I’m not above playing tourist when I can. It’s one of my favorite hobbies.

We took a few turns into a quiet courtyard and tucked into the far corner, we found the Celtic Creamery. The sweet woman at the counter explained that make their ice cream with Irish cream (it was delicious) and we chatted for a while. In a land of ice cream shops sitting on every corner, it was exciting to find one that’s unique.

I won’t give away my favorite beach spot, but it’s not hard to find. Still full of shells and birds. A pathway of grassy dunes and tangled wild nature that opens into the vast expanse of sand and salt water.

After weeks of summer rain, this was a much needed day of persistent sunshine and a couple new adventures mixed with the familiar ones.

by Gabrielle McLean

Backyard Florida

Do you ever see wild animals?

My husband and I live by a nature preserve, so we’re lucky enough to see lots of wildlife. We’ve been witness to a black panther, lots of Sandhill Cranes, gators, and so on. We’ve even seen a handful of wildfires. Yesterday, we found a Roseate Spoonbill right in our backyard.

The Roseate Spoonbill is the only spoonbill bird found in the Americas. While they are not considered endangered in their other native areas, they are very rare in Florida and therefore a protected species here. They used to be hunted for their beautiful pink feathers, so now we are very lucky if we get to see one outside of a zoo setting. This is my fourth wild sighting in my life, though most locals don’t come across them even that many times.