On my days off I’ve been taking advantage of our mild Spring weather (knowing full well that heat and humidity are on the way) by toting my camera around various local parks. Our usual Spring blooms have been muted by the ongoing drought but there were still other signs of Spring.

At Booker Creek Preserve, a Wild Turkey tom loudly strutted his stuff in a nearby fallow field. I was impressed, though it didn’t seem like any of lady friends were. In the distance a pair of Sandhill Cranes were feeding, they likely had colts with them but sadly they were too far away for me to see.

At John Chestnut Sr. Park I was captivated by a squirrel exerting great effort to harvest dried fruits from a bush. I still don’t know what kind of a bush it was but apparently, it produced delicious fruit. While strolling along the boardwalk I had to watch where I put my hands as the park was literally crawling with tussock moth caterpillars. They may look cute and fluffy but those fuzzy hairs are defensive. Reactions to touching them range from irritating to downright painful (and I was not interested in finding out).

At Sawgrass Lake Park a noticeably large squirrel on a tree trunk caught my eye and its curious behavior drew me closer. The squirrel was intently gnawing the bark. After watching, I surmised that she was pregnant and was selectively chewing that section of bark for either the sap or insects inside, presumably needing extra nutrition for gestation.

I never know just what I might see in my local parks!