Caladiums galore

Wow, I had no idea what these flowers were called for we have them growing almost wild in Jamaica and place little value on them.

Section of a caladium farm outside Lake Placid.

However, with my Meet Up group led by Jennifer Weis, we had a wonderful day in Lake Placid, dubbed the caladium capital of the world, where they take this plant seriously as it provides quite and income for them.

Lake Placid is a pleasant little town with a population of just over 2000, situated in Highland County (I learnt yesterday that Florida has 67 counties. I had no idea it had so many). It is quite some distance away (over 130 miles)  from Broward County in which I live but was worth the trip which took us through scenic farm country and charming little towns.

To get there, we traveled through Palm Beach, Martin and sections of Okeechobee counties.

We didn't just go "flowers looking" though as we stopped on the way at the Hickory Hammock park area to make sure we got our usual Saturday morning exercise, a trek of almost 3 miles.

Hickory Hammock is I understand, sometimes a hunting area for those who want to shoot deer and wild boar and we saw lots of evidence of the presence of wild boar, although none in the flesh. But they clearly were around as our fearless leader pointed to the huge holes in the ground where they furrow to get their protein, worms and bugs. 

Hickory Hammock is a pleasant place to walk during the hot summer days in Florida, because of the shade provided by the huge oak trees of various ages and sizes. It is also very rustic and scenic in its own right with lots of palm, blueberries and other flora. (We were able to find a few ripe blueberries to nibble on).

Nine of us started on the hike but when we returned to our vehicles, we found a late comer waiting to accompany us to the caladium fair.

It was about a half an hour drive from Hickory Hammock to Lake Placid.

Lake Placid as I said earlier, is a pleasant little town but it is made even more attractive by the proliferation of beautifully painted murals on almost every street in the section where the festival was held.

A lovely mural on one of the buildings

This was the 24th annual Caladium festival and I was really overawed by the variety and sizes of the flowers, both those laid out for sale and those used for attractive decoration all around where the festival was held.

At the fair, you could buy both plants and bulbs and as festivals are, there were booths offering all sorts of craft, foods and other items for sale. There was even a booth giving out water which had a sign saying "Free water for the body. Jesus provides water for the soul".

I guess this might mean Lake Placid is a fairly religious area, I don't know. Just assuming. (But what does assuming mean?

Making an ass of you and me lol.) 

It was a nice day but being Florida, it was interrupted by a downpour of rain, but it did not last long.

We took refuge at a craft store which appeared to be run by the community and we actually saw some students working on their craft skills in a classroom there.

After a tasty and pleasant lunch during which it rained again, it was time for the long, tiring drive home.

But it was surely a day well spent.

Alligator mating call

I heard an alligator mating call and believe me it was the most bone chilling sound I ever heard.

Storks all over the trees

 It was almost, I imagine, how it sometimes sounded when disnosaurs were roaming!

We were walking in Wakodahatchee Wetlands. This is a park in  Palm  Beach County on Jog Road close to Delray Beach and it is managed by the water resources people. I had gone there with our fearless Meet Up leader, Jennifer Weise in late May or early June.

At this reserve you find a wide variety of Florida's flora and fauna. However, it is best known for the proliferation of birds and you see bird watchers with their cameras prowling as they wait patiently for the shot of a lifetime.

We went there a bit late that day so the only birds that were still around in their numbers were storks, mostly white and of every size.

They literally took over every tree from top to middle and really made a literal mess for the other birds or anything that must survive on the bottom branches and under those trees!

The only animals we saw that day were a few rabbits, a couple of iguanas and as we approached the boardwalk, we saw a lone alligator lurking among some trees.

We did not pay him much attention but after we had passed the area and gone about 100 feet, we heard a loud blood-curdling sound and lots of action in the water. I had no idea what was happening but although Jennifer said she had never heard the mating call in real life, she recognized it from what others had told her.

We went back to watch him for a while and like this photo I found on the wetland's fb page, it was as if he half rose out of the water and was just shouting or shrilly growling and splashing in the water with his huge tail, for quite some time.

Even after we walked away, he could still hear the eerie noise, though fading, thank heavens, as we got further away.

It was not the type of sound I liked hearing and for his sake, I hope he found a wife, for if he didn't, maybe he is still there creating a racket. 

Worse yet, he could have died from a heart attack for the way he was exciting up himself, he must have been putting quite a strain on his heart!

ANIMAL KINGDOM FOR ME

I just spent the most wonderful four days at Disneyworld, my first visit in over 30 years. And what a time we had.

The last time I went there it ended in tragedy as my daughter who was then probably ten years old, was running away because she said we wanted to visit the haunted house.

Unfortunately she fell, had to get two stitches and we had to leave. I hardly remember anything else from that trip except that there were lots of long lines and Epcot center was great. (We had gone there first.)

Because of the memory of that accident, my daughter built up a bias against the theme park and thirty years later when  I suggested we take her daughter there this summer, she balked. However not only did she and everyone else end up having a wonderful time, but also when she told an attendant at one of the souvenir stores about her last visit, she sent some beautiful souvenirs to her hotel (Art of Animation) as a surprise. A wonderful gesture.

My granddaughter of course was in her element meeting her cartoon characters and even dining with the princesses.

We also visited Universal studios and all the parks, and while we all had a ball everywhere, my big favorite was Animal Kingdom.

When my grandson was around five, we visited Disneyland and I really don't remember their animal kingdom being as amazing as this one in Florida. As to the safari, (probably the only one I will ever be able to afford)  it was so exciting with huge African elephants, white rhinos a lion and lioness....all roaming in an environment similar to their own natural one.

Then we went to the lion King musical and all I an say is it was equal to the one I saw on Broadway.

This really was a fabulous vacation and I hope to repeat Disneyworld again soon and certainly Animal kingdom if nothing more.

The thing I need to remember for the next visit is to make sure to register for the meal plan as the food selection at all the attractions is really great and you can save a lot by pre-registering.

Incidentally an amusing sign we saw at a covered area with a few tables for eating on the run was this one below. It couldn't have come out of the blue so they must have run into some youngsters trying to overnight there or using it as a love nest!;

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