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For ten miles, the road stretches in a straight line through the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest. Multiple trails lead from the road into pine woods, oak scrub and sandhill habitat dotted with saw-palmetto. We stop often to inspect the fine reddish-colored sand to see who has passed in the night. On this cool morning, Wild Turkey prints were abundant. There were also raccoon, opossum, deer, snakes and some we just could not identify.

We often talk about enjoying the silence of the forest. “Silence” is probably not the right word. Especially in spring. Eastern Towhees seemed to be everywhere this morning. From their clear whistled “tow-hee” call notes to the males loudly advising to “drink your teeeeaaa!”, it was non-stop wherever we were. After their winter absence, it was great to once again hear the ascending trills of the Northern Parula. “Churrs” of Red-bellied woodpeckers were puncuated with their hammering on branches. High-pitched squeaks of Brown-headed Nuthatches reverberated among the tops of the long-leaf pines. Fussy, squawking Scrub Jays, whistling Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wrens with a theme similar to the Towhee’s as they repeated seemingly non-stop “teakettle, teakettle, teakettle …“, a Red-shouldered Hawk screams overhead, Northern Bob-Whites calling out their name, the pure whistling of Cardinals.

One song we were hoping to hear materialized just after breakfast by the lake. “Heeeeere kitty kitty kitty.” The uncommon Bachman’s Sparrow is picky about where it lives. Pine forests with open palmetto and/or wiregrass as the only understory and where fire cleanses the area every few years. Icing on our morning cake!

Throw in a few buzzy insects and the forest can be downright noisy! The difference from our daily sounds of “civilization” is stark. Rather than the “silence” of the forest, perhaps we experience “stillness” which one definition describes as “freedom from agitation”. Although, that posing Bachman’s Sparrow created significant agitation as I fussed with camera settings and focusing and trying not to breathe or step on a dry twig or ………

Come on! What’s that over there?

There was no mistaking the pure song of an Eastern Meadowlark. Although we are more accustomed to seeing them in open fields, a bit of gold among the tall grass and pines was just as satisfying.

Fairly abundant in spring and summer, Smallfruit Beggarticks (Bidens mitis) provides terrific splashes of yellow along the edges of the forest.

Gray Catbirds are numerous from late fall through spring. As it becomes time to return to their northern breeding grounds, they form into groups as large as two dozen. This one had no interest in joining a group or worrying about us as it was intent on turning over every leaf in its pursuit of brunch.

Sometimes called hatpins, Flattened Pipewort (Eriocaulon compressum) was a bit of a surprise as it’s usually found near water. Perhaps there was some bit of moisture under the soil which made this dry-looking spot acceptable.

Palamedes Swallowtails (Pterourus palamedes) were busy throughout the woods.

Lots of white flowers waved at us on tall stalks as we enjoyed the beauty of Netted Pawpaw (Asimina reticulata). Soon, the plants will bear plenty of fruit for wildlife to nibble.

Although I took about a hundred photographs of this subject, I’ll be kind and only post one. A singing male Bachman’s Sparrow was the highlight of the day.

Gini thought this Pricklypear looked like a rabbit. Who am I to argue? (Opuntia species.) Looks like a Gopher Tortoise took a bite of the spiny bunny.

The Great Crested Flycatcher breeds throughout our area. And we are happy about that!

Near-endemic to Florida, the bright Florida Scrub Frostweed (Crocanthemum nashii) snuggles up to the Saw Palmetto, where rattlesnakes also like to snuggle.

Today, the woods rang out with the songs of Northern Parula warblers. They tend to be scarce during winter and our “local” birds may migrate to the southern part of the state. It’s wonderful to find so many returning to the area!

Another Florida near-endemic, Four-petal St. John’s Wort (Hypericum tetrapetalum) is a woody shrub which can grow to about three feet tall.

No visit to the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest would be complete without enjoying the antics of the Florida Scrub Jay. They did not disappoint.

Life offers challenges to us all. How we handle the challenges can make all the difference in our overall well-being. Our own hurdles with surgeries and infirmities definitely interrupted our lifestyle routine. We are healing. We are getting “Back On Track”.

Enjoy your search for a natural place and come back for a visit!