Outdoors and Nature
Our Outdoor and Nature experts, Sandra Friend and John Keatley, travel around the region exploring the fabulous springs, rivers, trails, and hidden treasures that make up our ten county Natural North Florida region.
Find Your Home-Away-From-Home at the Old Fenimore Mill!
By Tamara Herchel What a beautiful weekend in North Florida! Sunny skies, not too humid, a breeze sweeping through periodically to whisk away the occasional mosquito. We stayed close to home this weekend and found ourselves wading through creeks searching for sharks’ teeth, but had we planned ahead for the perfect weather, we’d have headed …
Take a Boat Tour of the Withlacoochee River at Yankeetown with Osprey Guide Services
Long-time Yankeetown fishing guide and Captain Rick LeFiles has added a very nice pontoon boat to his fleet and is now offering tours of the lower Withlacoochee River on a regular basis. Osprey Tours operates a 1-1/2 hour trip from Ike’s Old Florida Kitchen (formerly the Isaak Walton Lodge) on Riverside Drive in Yankeetown. The …
The Blue Trees are in Gainesville
One of the coolest public art projects I’ve seen in a while is going on right now at the University of Florida campus. Last year UF Fine Arts decided to start celebrate each October even bigger and better than before since it is National Arts and Humanities month. You might have noticed the Seward Johnson …
“Cedar Key Everlasting”–See This Interactive Book About Shellfish Aquaculture
Cedar Key Everlasting is an interactive flip book that tells the story and significance of shellfish aquaculture in Cedar Key through vivid photographs and articles written by journalists and experts. Statewide Shellfish Aquaculture Extension Agent Leslie Sturmer contributed to the book along with Florida Sea Grant marine economist Chuck Adams.
CEDAR KEY GUIDE–Comprehensive Eco-Tourism Guide!
Take a look at this! CEDAR KEY GUIDE is the most comprehensive Eco-Tourism Guide to Cedar Key ever published–anywhere! You’ll find information on kayaking from “Tom Yakker” Tom Liebert and on-the-water information from Capt. Doug Maple. There’s also information on local marine life, events, maps and links to information about this “gem” of a coastal …
Crane Viewing at Payne’s Prarie!
Now through the end of February, head out ot Payne’s Prarie to get a glimpse of Florida’s real “snow-birds”. Thousands of migratory sandhill cranes are making their winter home right outside of Gainesville on Payne’s Prarie. The best times to go are at either sunrise or sunset, as you’re likely to see the most birds …
Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve
See one of Florida’s most unique, and most threatened ecosystems at Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve. Scrub habitats are easy to spot, because they look like a patch of beach or desert even though you’re nowhere near the water. Scrub habitats resemble mini-islands, because when Florida was still mostly underwater, these bits of scrub are …
Camping at Shell Mound State Park
With the cooler weather on its way, October is the perfect time for camping in Florida. Shell Mound County Park in Suwannee County is a great place to camp out. Aside from the fishing, boating, biking, and birdwatching, the park is right next to the Shell Mound Archaeology Site. The shell mound is the largest prehistoric shell midden site …
Wait, what? Wheat?
When most people think of America’s wheat fields, they picture those amber waves of grain in the midwest. Turns out, the birthplace of American wheat was in Natural North Florida, where it is still grown at Barnhart’s wheat farm in Monticello. Monticello historians David Ward and Jack Carswell discovered that the first wheat ever planted …
Your Gateway to the Wakulla River: T-n-T Hideaway
You’re not supposed to stand up in a kayak, but ever since seeing stand-up paddleboarders in action, I had been eager to try paddling from a standing position. I asked my guide from T-n-T Hideaway first. I knew if I did a header over the kayak and wound up wriggling around in the Wakulla River, …