Back to the Wacissa River

The water is so clear you can see yourself.

Swimmers love the cool, clean spring fed water.

This air boat can skim over the surface in just a few inches of water.


This Green Heron is fishing, making good use of the thick seaweed along the shore.

Monticello Watermelon Festival and Parade

Let's celebrate the watermelon grown in northern Florida.
When we move into our new house we'll be residents of Monticello, FL
Click to zoom in and see the oranges on the tree behind Terry.

All kinds of arts and crafts booths.

These birds made of PVC pipe are really cute.

Marilyn bought a basket from the flower lady to hang an orchid in.

That's the Jefferson County courthouse in the background
Pretty girls riding in the parade on the Watermelon Queen float.

In Florida young and old get out for a good time.

If it's hot, the horses can ride.

We got our kayaks

Ready to go try them out on the Wacissa River.

Marilyn's is the red Pongo 120 duralite that you sit down in for good stability.

Terry's is the Tarpon 140 that's a couple of feet longer with more space for his fishing equipment. His is called a sit-on-top.

Goes great! Really easy to paddle.

Terry caught a bass!

Got a good look at this Yellow Crowned Night Heron.
We also saw lots of Snowy Egrets and Little Blue Herons which I've photographed and posted previously.

The Wacissa is fairly wide and quiet as it flows toward the Gulf.

The water is so clear and deep where the springs come up that the local kids swing out on a rope and jump in.

Terry put a bed extender on his truck so it's easy to transport the kayaks.

Interesting plant facts

This blog is especially for my Ohio friends who like to garden as much as I do.

In Ohio my mother and grandmother taught me the names of all the flowers and trees.

I remember over 50 years ago my grandmother showed me her backyard flower garden with her favorite columbine blooming. I brought starts of my mother's iris with me and have seeds from the offspring of that columbine and others to plant in my Florida friendship garden.

One of the first things I did after moving to Florida was to buy a good Florida gardening book to learn all the new varieties of plants I could try in zone 10.

That's a pine cone not a coconut. Is it a palm or a pine tree?

It's a sago Cycad. I think I'll plant one behind the sunroom.

What is that?


It's the bloom of a Mimosa Tree.

Crape Myrtle is on my list to plant for summer color.

And of course I want a few Oleander bushes.

We've been exploring the back dirt roads just to get acquainted with the area.

Much of Florida is very rural and wooded.