Day 7: A morning of exploring nature

Another lazy morning, quiet time hours are a bit different here, 10:00 pm – 9:00 am.

10:00 pm is not too unusual, but 9:00 am is way later from the usual 7:00 or 8:00 am.

I actually slept until almost 7:00 am today.  What a lazy bones and very unusual to the usual 4:30-5:00 am timeframe.  We have a bunch of photos for you and even a little movie!

Anyway, we were missing our previous jungle so much we decided to head a wee bit north and take a short hike through Guana River Wildlife Management Area.  Others reported to have seen a 7-8 foot gator in one of the reviews, also sighted were armadillos, raccoons and various birds.  Signs in the area warned of the dangers of getting too close to alligators, esp. for your dogs. Boaters must be extra careful of the local manatees, special instructions included, and a warning of a tortoise crossing ahead.

We took the Orange Trail which was not very long, but long enough to get some nice mosquito and no-see-um bites.  They love me and mostly stay away from Paul.  

Along the path we saw some beautiful trees covered with moss. 

Besides hearing and spotting woodpeckers, cardinals, goldfinch and other little birds, our first encounter with other wildlife was a very long and slender bright green snake.  Right in the middle of our path! 

We stopped to take some photos of it. The snake was very obliging, it stay put for as long as we needed and in the end we walked around it to continue on our way.   I googled long thin green snake in Florida and the description and photos of the Rough Greensnake fit perfectly. So we’re going with that and not some scary green viper sort of snake.

Then after a bit more walking a teeny tiny green frog jumped into our path, then quickly jumped for cover. It had super jumping powers for its size. Once it was again in the underbrush it disappeared and, unlike our friendly snake, it was no longer visible for a photo session. 

The sounds in the jungle forest were lovely and relaxing. The birds calling back and forth through the treetops or moving along the forest floor. The sounds being broken only by the occasional planes or helicopters above.  Along the pathway, you could see little foot and tail prints of other unseen critters using the path.

As we walked further along, we heard rustling sounds in a small clearing near a crossroads in the trails.  There, pushing through the thick underbrush beneath palms, was a very nice armadillo making their way, burrowing with their snout and doing some light digging as they moved along.  We watched for a very long time while they moved closer, creating a great photo and video opp for us. Eventually, they turned away and headed back to some deeper and more fruitful foraging location.  (video below)

Just as we were nearing the end of the trail, a very large white egret flew up out of the marsh and landed a bit further away where the water was deeper. And, one last little green lizard appeared out of a hole up in a tree branch.  Did he live in there or was he investigating for yummy bugs inside.  I guess that will stay a jungle mystery.

It was getting pretty hot out there so we headed back to the car.  On the way out, I spotted one of their tortoises, just out of his barrow, maybe checking on the weather, so we took some photos of them, too.

Temps are 84 high today and also some high humidity especially in the morning.

We have spent some time prepping for an excursion into the city of St. Augustine. The places that must not be missed, little cafes, restaurants, historic sites, etc. We got hungry doing that so we decided to try out the restaurant (Aunt Kate’s) along the river side at the end of our campground. While waiting for our table we grabbed a photo of a pelican on the dock. The sunset was really pretty tonight.