September 09th, 2024

What do you say, we start the week off with a Photo Safari Report?  Feels like that's a way to start a new week on the right foot!  (tha'ts me on the left and  Joy on the right by the way)

This photo safari report will be the twice as nice hike.  You will see why very shortly.

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We began the hike at Lemon Bay Preserve.  It's a local place, very pretty and since it's no where near the Mayakka River which seems to be responsible for flooding most of our other hiking spots, we had high hopes.  And it started off really well too.  In fact, at one point Joy remarked that we didn't need to hike, we could just continue to stand in one spot and take pictures of everything flying our way!  The air was filled with all  sort of  birds!  (of course I only captured these 3 but still)

AND, because  there was a fierce storm the night before, there were loads of beautiful water drop pictures to be had:

To say nothing of this very acrobatic squirrel who was doing a high wire act for us:

Then, eventually, we walked on down the path and around a corner only to find:

Well dang.  Now what?  I mean we are fairly intrepid, sometimes even to our own disadvantage. But this isn't just muck and a little puddle or stream we can hop over. We cannot even build a frond bridge over that. And it appeared that the wet just continued so...end of the hike?  Nah, we dont' give up that easily.

Instead we moved on to the Urban Forest which is a wonderful and relatively new place to walk and wander just off island.  It's a forested area which has been created solely by volunteers right alongside the ICW (Inter Coastal Waterway) and the riding/walking trail that follows it.  The Urban Forest is literally only a few feet away from the trail and the waterway but it might just as well be miles. It's a whole other world.  In a word, it is amazing.

I'll start with the botanicals because they were legion!  These flowers are sprinkled throughout the forrest and to our surprise, at one point, there was a specifically designed Butterfly Garden that was loaded with their intended prey along with bees a plenty.  In fact, there was one of the Urban Forrest voluneers hard at work in the butterfly garden as we walked through.

And there were other birds, different from what we saw at Lemon Bay - nice bonus eh?

AND did any ask about insects?  Yeah we got those.  And a bonus snail too!

On our return, for a time, we actually crossed through the urban forrest and came out along the hiking/biking trail to see an entirely different world!  It was almost jarring. But I did take some photos:

It was an unusual hike (for us) but still a good one and I think we got some good photos to go along with a nice hike a good company.  The only question that remains is, where will we go this week?

​Hope you enjoyed the Twice as Nice Hike!  I'll post again soon :)  Hugs all 'round