A Brief Stop For A Bit Of Calm.

Whew! Can you tell it's Homecoming Week at my little school? You haven't see much of me at your sites, and poor Pure Florida was not refreshed as is my schedule.

Homecoming week plus knucklehead's birthday has kept me running from event to event. Tonight was the big "pre-homecoming" show on the football field, with some hilarious games between the different classes. Very wacky and messy. I double as our yearbook photographer so I was busy avoiding flying chocolate syrup, marshmallows, mustard, ketchup, and relish as I took pictures of the craziest game of twister I've ever seen. Then there was a tug o'war, a frozen t-shirt game, and well, I'm not sure what that last thing was, but the Freshman class won the night.

Tomorrow night is the big event. Our tiny football team will do their thing, Emma will be in the running for Homecoming Queen as was Katie last year. I think it's tougher to run after your big sister won the year before, but she's my queen no matter what happens. You should see her in her dress ... sigh.

Anyway, to say it's hectic is to excel at understatement. I did pull into Devil's Hammock Preserve on the way home recently and found a few quiet moments.
















This millipede was scurrying across the road and I scooped him up for a pic. He wasn't very cooperative for such a youngster.














The Waccasassa river is a tiny stream here near the headwaters. Quiet, tea clear, and in no hurry, it flows over a bottom cobbled with tiny mussels about the size of your thumbnail.













Ironweed blooms along the Waccasassa's banks. As I focused on this blossom, a swarm of fire ants were moving over my ankles waiting the signal to all attack at once. I did the fire ant slappy dance for a few minutes until I had swept them all off. They are so vicious. If you've never seen fire ants in action, it's amazing the way they literally boil up out of a disturbed nest.

I could only spend a few moments "off schedule" in the swamp, and then I had to leave. It worked though. By the time the JEEP's tires hit the paved road again, I was feeling a little less harried and ready for whatever it was I was supposed to be doing wherever I was supposed to be.