The Yearling Trail, Ocala National Forest

 In my life, I have never thought of myself as a camper, or hiker.  I've done my share of walking in NYC, and on my last vacation.  I enjoyed it, but there is no place to do that where I am now, unless I drive to a park or shopping area, and as we all know, shopping can be dangerous.

There is a trail in the Ocala National forest called the Yearling. I arrived as it was raining, but I could see on the radar the clouds would soon pass. It's just a matter of staying put.

Once it stopped, I  started, the beginning of the trail which is mostly scrub, sand and crushed shells, with charred tree stumps. The forest service does regular burning to clear out underbrush, and sometimes the trees themselves.  Crazy, it doesn't even look like it's Florida.

How is this for a dramatic sky, I'm chasing the clouds away. Get on out clouds!!

Recently, I've started appreciating wildflowers.  They have a mind of their own, and although I've tried to transplant them in my backyard, they really do pick where they want to grow.  Of course now there's a bit of guilt when the lawnmower goes over them, but darn it they're stubborn. Of the eight that were transplanted only 3 survived, must do better next year.

The rest of the trail is mostly low shrubs and wildflowers.. oh and ants, spiders and the occasional butterfly.  About halfway down the 5.3 mile loop is the Long family cemetery. 

These are the remains of the homestead that inspired Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings to write the book “The Yearling”. I’ve never read it but will have a better understanding of hardship when I do. It was a lovely quiet place to be buried, but living here as a settler? No, I don’t think so. This area has bobcats, bears, snakes, deer, raccoons, and I’m sure other critters that could make life challenging. 

On my way out, I spotted a sinkhole, so deep, you only see the tops of the trees from above. I’m glad I saw it before walking over the little terraced ledge. 

Then this little area where someone fashioned a bench and campfire.

Well, now I've been turned around.  It's still early enough to have the luxury of getting lost but not for too long.  I headed down what I thought was a trail and after 20 minutes, you could barely hear traffic, another 10 minutes and there was this sign. Jody's trace, is generous for describing the faint trail that was overgrown with no markings. Now I can relax a bit, but there was another storm heading in, so it would be best to pick up the pace.

 

Enough time had lapsed from the rain that the spiders thought it was a good time to rebuild their webs.  I nearly walked right into this one, she was big. I slowed down a little after this to make sure that didn't happen again.

The banana spider, also known as the golden silk orb-weaver, is one of the most fascinating and recognizable spiders in Florida. Known for its bright coloration and impressive web-building skills, it plays an important role in Florida’s ecosystems by controlling insect populations. Despite it's somewhat intimidating appearance, the banana spider is generally harmless to humans and is admired for its beautiful golden web silk.

At the entrance to the trails there's usually a sign with the different animals of interest.  There is a blue scrub jay, which I hadn't seen, and on the way out, I manage to catch one poorly, but did get a glimpse of his bright blue feathers against the background of the dreary scrub. Just a flash of blue against the green, so pretty.

Sneaky little guy knows how to camouflage himself.

And so concludes the Ocala National Forest trail, enough time to get home and cook dinner.