Florida World Nature

🌿🛶🐊🗺️👣📍 What March Carried In

March felt different. Softer… but somehow deeper. Like something was quietly shifting — did you feel it too?

Hiking 10+ miles through Seminole Forest: I stumbled on something unexpected out there. The kind of discovery that makes you stop and think — how did I not see this before? Do you ever find places that feel like they were waiting for you?

A full week camping in the Everglades: Miles of paddling. Endless горизонты. No rush, no noise — just wild nature setting the pace. At some point I stopped checking time completely… When was the last time you felt that free?

10+ miles in Orlando Wetlands: Birds everywhere. Alligators watching. So alive it almost felt overwhelming. Beautiful… but also emotionally intense. Do you ever feel overstimulated by nature in a good way?

Upper Juniper Springs — kayaking + abandoned trails: There’s something about abandoned places… Not scary — just full of presence. Like they hold stories you can almost hear.
Are you drawn to places like that too, or do you avoid them?

Bulow Plantation Ruins — and beyond the trail: I wandered off the obvious path again. Found silence, animals, hidden corners of something older. No crowds. Just life, existing quietly. Honestly… what’s better than that?

March didn’t shout. It pulled me in — deeper, quieter, more real. Now I’m curious…

What was your March like? Calm or chaotic? Closer to nature or stuck in routine? Did you discover something new — or something about yourself?
👇 Tell me one moment that stayed with you.

#exploremore #intothewild #naturelovers #adventureculture #getoutside

1 month ago | [YT] | 5

Florida World Nature

March. Spring. Officially. No more “cold.” Florida, we survived.

Yes, I know — spring doesn’t technically start until the equinox. But after that surprisingly chilly February (let’s take a moment of silence for the brave subtropical plants we lost), I’m declaring it: spring energy only from here on out.

Fun fact for the first day of March: March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII. And the name “March” comes from Mars — the Roman god of war.

Because in ancient Rome (and in many other territories before Christianity arrived), the year actually started in March. Spring arrived, roads dried up, armies marched out to conquer lands. New year, new campaigns. Very dramatic. Very Roman.

Language is a time machine. You say “March,” and you’re accidentally invoking a war god.

But here’s the twist: not all months are named after gods. The Roman calendar was part mythology, part politics, part accounting spreadsheet.

January comes from Janus, the two-faced god of doors and transitions — looking back and forward.

March — Mars.

May — possibly from Maia.

June — likely from Juno.

And then the Romans basically said, “Let’s just number the rest.”

September — from septem (seven)

October — octo (eight)

November — novem (nine)

December — decem (ten)

Which is funny, because now they’re months 9–12. Why? Because when the year originally started in March, those numbers made sense. Then reforms happened. Most famously under Julius Caesar, who reorganized the calendar and later got July named after him. His successor Augustus made sure he got August too. Subtle. Kings have always wanted to stay remembered through the ages… even if now no one really thinks about them, we still use their names every day.

February isn’t named after a god at all. It comes from februa — purification rituals. Basically, ancient spiritual spring cleaning before the new year began in March.

And here’s the delightfully boring reason January 1 became New Year’s Day: in 153 BCE, Rome moved the start of the civil year to January 1 because that’s when newly elected consuls began their terms. Government scheduling. Administrative convenience. Fiscal clarity. Not fireworks. Not resolutions. Just bureaucracy doing what bureaucracy does.

Only much later — especially in the last few centuries — did January 1 turn into the glittery global celebration we know now. Confetti, champagne, fresh-start energy. Humans are very good at taking accounting deadlines and turning them into mythology.

So today, March 1, feels a little closer to the ancient idea of a new year anyway. Nature waking up. Light stretching longer. Even in Florida, where “winter” is mostly relative… but this year, it definitely had opinions.

Here’s to warmer mornings, surviving plants, and the quiet reminder that even our calendar is a layered story of gods, emperors, math, and tax policy. History is rarely neat. It’s patched together like a staircase built over centuries — and somehow, we’re still climbing.

What’s your favorite sign of spring? 🌸☀️

#HelloSpring #FloridaBloom #MarchVibes #SpringAwakening #springishere

2 months ago | [YT] | 3

Florida World Nature

🌊🛶🌿🗺️👣📍 What February Carried In

February brought cold mornings, long paddles, and quiet moments to breathe.

Kayaking along the Alafia River to warm Lithia Springs.
The cold bites, but the paddle warms you, and the springs restore you, body and soul.

Paddling through the Blackwater River in Seminole Forest.
The water is impossibly dark, the air still chilly, yet the beauty of the forest and laughter of the group made it a perfect day.

Hiking along empty ocean shores in New Smyrna Beach.
Birds overhead, salty air, deserted beaches. A rare chance to be alone, listening to the ocean before the crowds arrive — a reset for the mind.

Long paddles toward Rodman Dam, from Eureka West to Ferry Boat Ramp.
Untouched beauty gradually gives way to human-made scars. Cold, unsettling, a reminder of how fragile nature is.

Returning to familiar Ocklawaha River routes, from Gores Landing to Eureka West.
In winter — same river, new perspective. The quiet power of nature changes with the seasons.

Exploring a 10+ mile loop: French Landing → WWII Tug Tiger → Hontoon Island → Dead River → Snake River → Canal with bird houses in St. Johns River → Blue Springs State Park.
Birds, manatees, fish, alligators. A morning drizzle gave way to calm waters and sunlit skies. History and wildlife intertwined, nature relentless and patient.

Snorkeling with manatees in a hidden spot.
Ice on the car, bitter morning cold, but the water was magic. Kayaking and hiking afterwards under the warming sun — the first taste of spring.

Paddling the second part of the Rodman Dam reservoirs.
Scarred by human hands, witnessing the scale of impact firsthand. Yet life persists: giant alligators, birds, fish, and hidden springs still trying to cleanse themselves.

February didn’t roar. It whispered, carried quiet lessons, and reminded me to pay attention.

Where did February carry you?

#WhatFebruaryCarriedIn #PaddleAndHike #NatureMoments #RiverAndCoast #OutdoorReflections

3 months ago | [YT] | 3

Florida World Nature

No permit needed: Executive order issued by FWC regarding cold-stunned green iguanas

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is allowing people to remove live, cold-stunned iguanas from the wild without a permit and bring them to one of its designated offices.

FWC said you can bring any cold-stunned iguana that you find to designated locations in the South and Southwest regions.

They disrupt local ecosystems by outcompeting native wildlife.

www.gulfcoastnewsnow.com/article/executive-order-g…

#floridawildlife #greeniguanas #fwc #invasivespecies #floridanature

3 months ago | [YT] | 2

Florida World Nature

New video

3 months ago | [YT] | 0

Florida World Nature

New video

3 months ago | [YT] | 0

Florida World Nature

This elegant three-color heron posed perfectly for me, showing off its graceful beauty in the wild.

#threecolorheron #wildlifephotography #birdsofnature #naturebeauty #elegantbird

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3 months ago | [YT] | 6

Florida World Nature

January, out in the wild.

This month didn’t start the way I planned.
On January 1st, I slept through a hike I was really looking forward to.
Instead of being upset, I went exploring something else — the ancient sugar mill ruins in New Smyrna Beach. I walked through history, read what time had left behind, and let the day unfold on its own terms.

A few days later, I paddled the Peace River.
Cold water, quiet banks — and the thrill of finding shark teeth and ancient fossils, reminders that this land has lived many lives long before us.

Gemini Springs followed — by bike and on foot.
Clear springs, a winter-dry wetland full of birds and animals, unexpected finds: rare plants, a turtle shell, small quiet details you only notice when you slow down.

Then came the Ichetucknee.
I paddled the entire river with one purpose — to see the proposed springs protection zone with my own eyes. Springs, caves, limestone formations, water so clear it almost feels unreal. It’s impossible to be there and not agree: places like this must be protected.

Mid-month, during drawdown, I paddled the first 14 miles of Rodman Lake — from Eureka West to Ferry Boat Ramp. This stretch already reveals the damage: an abandoned canal, a lock, a dam — and two stunning springs that somehow managed to partially cleanse themselves from the stagnant, foul sediment of the reservoir. What lies ahead is even harder to look at.

I spent a day at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, driving Black Point Wildlife Drive. The winter wetlands are noticeably drier this year, but life is still everywhere — birds, alligators, movement, watching eyes. I came home with memory cards full of feathers and stillness.

One quiet stop was Blue Spring State Park.
Not for adventure — just to say hello to more than 800 manatees hiding from the cold. I learned more about the park’s history and felt genuine gratitude for Jacques Cousteau, who once helped the world notice these gentle creatures — and quite literally saved them from disappearing.

The month ended back on the Ocklawaha.
An Ocklawaha River drawdown cruise from Kenwood Boat Ramp — a place where beauty and damage exist side by side. A river shaped by human ambition, and slowly, stubbornly reclaimed by nature.

That was my January.
Just time spent outside, paying attention.

February is already forming — quietly.
More water. More distance. Fewer words.
I’ll keep following that pull.

If you feel like it, tell me —
where did January take you?

#naturejournal #kayaklife #floridasprings #protectourwaters #outdoorstorytelling

3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 3

Florida World Nature

New video

4 months ago | [YT] | 1

Florida World Nature

New video

4 months ago | [YT] | 1