May Adventures

April showers are bringing the May flowers for sure. You may have noticed the coreopsis blooms beginning across the state. These flowers bloom in great abundance in pine flat woods, but they can be found just about anywhere. Florida has twelve native species of coreopsis, and they are all Florida’s state wildflower. Myakka state park has huge blooms of coreopsis in late spring every year. Be sure to go check them out. If you’re lucky, you’ll see deer traipsing through the wildflowers.

Happy Mother’s Day! Sending love and wishes for a peaceful and happy day to all of the mamas out there!

A little plug here for the portrait side of things. If you’re looking for a special way to tell Mom you love her, consider a portrait session with Robin Hagan Photography. You can find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RobinHaganPhotography.

May Photo Walk and Guided Hike

This month’s photo walk will be at Lover’s Key State Park at 7:30am. We’ll be walking the Eagle Trail. Sign up on Meetup here: https://www.meetup.com/rh-photo-adventures/events/285039583/ At the time of this writing, there are five slots remaining.

Gopher Tortoises

Let’s talk about my favorite reptile for a minute. Okay, so it’s tied with the alligator for my favorite, but let’s talk about the gopher tortoise. Gopher tortoises are a keystone species. This means that their existence helps other species exist. In fact, their burrows can house around 350 different species! Among these are the burrowing owl and the Indigo snake, rabbits, mice, gopher frogs, tons of invertebrates and many others. Their burrows are generally fifteen feet long and six feet deep. These guys can live upwards of sixty years. Because these tortoises are a state protected species, it is illegal to pick them up or harass them in any way. The only time it’s acceptable to touch one is if you’re helping to move it out of danger, such as when it’s crossing the road. Grab the tortoise gently but firmly from the sides and always move him in the direction in which he was originally traveling. And remember, tortoises are land animals so never, ever put them in a body of water.

Our Guided Hike this month will be at Shamrock Park, and we’ve had an overwhelming response. This hike is currently full. I’m considering offering a second and perhaps a third guided hike each month. I’ll continue to offer a two free hikes per month – a first Saturday photo walk, and a third Sunday guided hike. Additional hikes will be offered starting in June for a small fee of $5 per person. There will be a weekday hike and a weekend hike. Stay tuned for more information on these.

This month I’ll be participating in the REinspired Boutique’s second Saturday Courtyard Market. Please stop by and say hi if you’re in the Bradenton area! It will be on Saturday, May 14th from 10am to 2pm at 2801 Manatee Ave W, Bradenton, FL 34205. There are many other women owned businesses there selling a cool variety of items.

The Environmental Conservancy of North Port and Surrounding Areas is looking for volunteers.

Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park
6968 Reisterstown Rd, North Port, FL 34291

Meet behind the main park pavilion along the Creek next to the footbridge to the camping area.
 
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Email NPconservancy@gmail.com or call/text 941-218-9775
 
Bring a chair and pack a snack/drink and come out to meet us in person to learn more about the volunteer positions we are looking to fill.

Volunteer Applications and a Volunteer Wish-List will be available on site to include: 

• Land Maintenance Equipment Use experience (chainsaws, polesaws)
• Social Media experience (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)
• Event Volunteer experience (crowd events)
• Accounting/Bookkeeping experience
• Administrative experience (Excel, Microsoft Word)
• And more! 

 Both weekday and weekend volunteer availability is needed.

If there is a place you’d like to see a guided hike offered, please let me know and I’ll do my best to get it into the rotation. As always, Happy Adventuring! See you on the trails!