12 Oakdale

Since we have forsworn tent camping, I am pursuing staying at cabins in all the Florida state parks that offer them and visiting all the parks I’ve never seen, especially the new ones. First up: 2 nights at Lafayette Blue Springs State Park (became a state park June 1, 2005) near Mayo. (I did have to cancel our original first night so we could stay home and see UM’s heartbreaking loss to University of Indiana of the national football championship, 21-27, on an interception in the final seconds. Just like my Ga Tech did in the PopTart Bowl. Ah, well.) We were the only people in the campground for the 2 nights we were there. Nobody else in the other 4 cabins, no one in the 10 walk-in tent sites, not even the campground host around. Eerie, but nice. The second morning, back from our walk, we did see a park employee working on cabin stairs and said hi. There was also a car parked which I think belonged to the kayakers we saw off in the distance on the Swanee. We drove to the north entrance...

I was thrilled when a female yellow rumped warbler took a bath in our birdbath. She was light enough to be able to stand on the floating solar fountain, occasionally having a bidet experience when she turned her back on the spouting water. Two days before, a grackle had taken a drink of water from it. The next day a blue jay did too, then a dove landed on the edge, although that was just a stopping place until it went to the ground to search for seeds under the bird feeder. We’ve had that dang birdbath since friends gave it to us when they retired to Hawaii. In Fort Lauderdale and here, I’ve kept it filled and clean, just to be completely ignored. Finally it might be loved.  The house finches are eating the seeds off the tropical sage, grackles and red-winged blackbirds are at the feeder, with occasional red bellied woodpeckers.  My Haikubox is hearing ruby crowned kinglets, one of which I saw when I lured it in by playing its call. Yes, I feel guilty. I finally saw the great ...