Favor Dykes Park - “I Am the Alpha and the Omega”

 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelations 1:8

Pellicer Creek Paddle Trail - “Encourage One Another”

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 

1 Thessalonians 5:11

 

Faver Dykes Nature Trail - God is Listening

 The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

 James 5:16

"Love Is Just A Cloudy Sky"

 
Cloudy Sky


The Moon she is a pretty girl who lives up in the stars
And that old cloud he's a great old man who loves her from afar
He loves her from afar
When Lady Moon smiles down on him ol' Cloud is all a-wonder
So he starts to sing to her and that's what makes the thunder
Can't ya listen baby that's what makes the thunder
Love is just a cloudy sky as far as I can see
And that ol' cloud up in the sky he got much chance in love as me
And some dry nights she won't come out when she hears him callin'
The tears come streamin' on down his cheeks and that's the rain a fallin'
Don't ya feel it baby hat's the rain a fallin'
Love is just a cloudy sky as far as I can see
And that ol' cloud up in the sky's got as much a chance in love as me
And when the night starts to gettin' light and he can see her goin'
He throws a kiss across the sky and that's the wind a blowin',
Can't ya feel it honey that's the wind a blowin'
Oh love is just a cloudy sky as far as I can see
And that ol' cloud up in the sky he's got as much a chance as me
He got as much a chance as me 
Poem by Shel Silverstein

Pellicer Creek Dock

 
The bottom picture is the view from the dock at Pellicer Creek.  It had started to rain so there was no sitting at the dock for wildlife watching.  There were thunder storms last evening so the dirt road was filled with mud puddles.  It was quiet with no tourist.

Clouds Floating in the Water

Clouds came down to Earth today.  The waters of Pellicer Creek was a reflection of the dark cloudy sky.  If it were not for the greenery against the background, one would not know where the sky was, looking up or looking down.  Clouds floated in the water and moved with the wind.  As Alice Through the Looking Glass, the world can be upside down.

Buena Suerte Plantation - Once Upon A Time

 

Faver Dykes State Park was originally part of the Buena Suerte Plantation granted in 1817 by Spain to General Joseph Hernandez.  During the second Seminole War, the area was occupied by U.S. Troops.  A lot of Florida history dwells here.

"Clouds that Gather Round the Setting Sun"

Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood

By William Wadsworth (1770 – 1850)

 

THERE was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Apparell'd in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.         
It is not now as it hath been of yore;—
Turn wheresoe'er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.

The rainbow comes and goes,  
And lovely is the rose;
The moon doth with delight
Look round her when the heavens are bare;
Waters on a starry night
Are beautiful and fair;  
The sunshine is a glorious birth;
But yet I know, where'er I go,
That there hath pass'd away a glory from the earth.

Now, while the birds thus sing a joyous song,
And while the young lambs bound  
As to the tabor's sound,
To me alone there came a thought of grief:
A timely utterance gave that thought relief,
And I again am strong:
The cataracts blow their trumpets from the steep;  
No more shall grief of mine the season wrong;
I hear the echoes through the mountains throng,
The winds come to me from the fields of sleep,
And all the earth is gay;
Land and sea  
Give themselves up to jollity,
And with the heart of May
Doth every beast keep holiday;—
Thou Child of Joy,
Shout round me, let me hear thy shouts, thou happy  
Shepherd-boy!

A Crooked Little Bird in a Crooked Tree

Hiking the nature trail at Faver Dykes, this bird kept his wings spread as if he was going to launch into flight.  The tall pine tree was lending and its branches had grown crooked in a very unusual way. It remind me of a Mother Goose poem. 

 

 "There was a crooked man,"

By Mother Goose

There was a crooked man,

and walked a crooked mile,

He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;

He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,

And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

 

"There was a crooked Bird"

By PL Fallin

 

There was a crooked bird,

Who flew a crooked mile,

He found a crooked branch against a crooked sky,

He caught a crooked fish, which caught a crooked bug,

And they all lived together in a tall crooked Pine.

 

'All Day I Hear the Noise of Waters" by James Joyce

All Day I hear the Noise of Waters

All day I hear the noise of waters
Making moan,
Sad as the sea-bird is when, going
Forth alone,
He hears the winds cry to the water's
Monotone.

The grey winds, the cold winds are blowing
Where I go.
I hear the noise of many waters
Far below.
All day, all night, I hear them flowing
To and fro.

James Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941 / Dublin / Ireland)

Pogo:"We have met the enemy and he is us"

The animal characters Walt Kelly created for his classic newspaper comic strip Pogo were known for their seemingly simplistic, but slyly perceptive comments about the state of the world and politics.

None is more remembered than Pogo the ‘possum’s quote in the poster Kelly designed to help promote environmental awareness and publicize the first annual observance of Earth Day, held on April 22, 1970:
“WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US.”
In the poster, under the quote, Pogo is seen holding a litter pick-up stick and a burlap bag.
He appears to be getting ready to start cleaning up the garbage humans have strewn over Okefenokee Swamp, the part of the planet where he lives.
Kelly used the line again in the Pogo strip published on the second Earth Day in 1971.
The words poignantly highlight a key concept of environmental stewardship: we all share part of the responsibility for the trashing of planet Earth, so we should all do our share to help clean it up.

Pellicer Creek at Faver Dykes

We took a trip to Faver Dykes during Octoberfest. The camp ground was full and people were crowding the parks.  I don't know where all the campers went but Pellicer Creek was quiet, calm and serene.

'Little Girl Lost' by William Blake from Songs of Experience

The Little Girl Lost
By William Blake from 'Songs of Experience'

In futurity
I prophesy
That the earth from sleep
(Grave the sentence deep)
Shall arise, and seek
For her Maker meek;
And the desert wild
Become a garden mild.

In the southern clime,
Where the summer's prime
Never fades away,
Lovely Lyca lay.

Seven summers old
Lovely Lyca told.
She had wandered long,
Hearing wild birds' song.

'Sweet sleep, come to me,
Underneath this tree;
Do father, mother, weep?
Where can Lyca sleep?

'Lost in desert wild
Is your little child.
How can Lyca sleep
If her mother weep?

'If her heart does ache,
Then let Lyca wake;
If my mother sleep,
Lyca shall not weep.

'Frowning, frowning night,
O'er this desert bright
Let thy moon arise,
While I close my eyes.'

Sleeping Lyca lay,
While the beasts of prey,
Come from caverns deep,
Viewed the maid asleep.
Continue Reading: http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/blake/little_girl_lost.html

Under the Shade

A quiet place to sit and enjoy Pellicer Creek under the shade.