Summer Shots

The porch at a bed and breakfast in Gainesville Florida.

Summer in north Florida looks beautiful and feels prehistoric.  Heat and giant bugs contrast with the dark shelter of  live oaks dripping with Spanish moss the way that a cool glass of ice tea (no plastic, please) sets off the the heat of barbecue bought at a gas station lunch counter.  Pearl’s BBQ in Alachua County , FL

The following photos are random shots from a recent trips  to Gainesville, Florida.  It’s a place that contrasts the energy and dreams of students at the University of Florida with the heat and history of the South.   Just to the west near the tiny town of Archer, FL is Bo Diddley’s grave which is a monument to a

musician and artist that changed the sound of rock n’ roll forever. Wikipedia says Archer, FL.  I say Bronson, FL.

Payne’s Prairie, a one-of-a kind state park that includes gators and some awesome scenery.  These gator tracks–along with bison, deer and wild horse tracks–were spotted on a hiking trail at the park.

These are a few visuals of the part of Florida I’ve visited most frequently. I live in South Florida  where the North American continent ends.  As the ocean rises and the tourists visit (and I grow older), the rhythm of life picks up pace. The past starts in 1950. In this part of north Florida, the lack of airports and the overriding presence of the interstates that keep funneling visitors to central and south Florida keep the lifestyle slow with a sense that a deeply southern  and sometimes bloody history is just below the surface. Of course, that’s another blog post.