Howell Creek is a Central Florida waterway that starts in Lake Maitland in Winter Park and runs into Lake Jessup in Winter Springs. It mainly runs through suburban neighborhoods, but there is a lovely natural area surrounding Howell Creek as it approaches lake Jessup. This can be seen along the Cross Seminole Trail, namely from the Howell Creek Trestle. This old railroad bridge provides nice views of the creek.
I was in Sanford, FL a few nights ago and witnessed this great orange sky over Lake Monroe as the sun was setting...
Contrary to the northern belief, Florida does get cold. On January 22, 2009, Central Florida had one of the coldest nights of the winter. That morning, plants were covered in ice. Grass had a thin layer of frost on it. Icicles were hanging from trees, and the cold pretty much destroyed any tropical plants I was growing, as well as plenty of non-tropical plants in my garden.
Car windshields were also a problem. I don't own any ice scrapers, so pouring a little warm tea on the ice and turning on the windshield wipers did the trick.
Any water that was warmer than the air was releasing lots of steam. Every drain into the sewers was releasing a cloud as well as most lakes. Steam rising off of lakes is very strange in the early morning light. It looks almost prehistoric, like a dinosaur could be drinking out of the water.
Of course, when it's cold like this, it's a perfect time to have a fire in the rarely used fireplace.
I love the cold weather!
I was outside the other day in my yard, and this turtle wandered by. I got my camera and took these pictures:
It was a little hard to tell since I'm not a turtle expert and his shell was covered in algae, but I am going to assume that this was a Florida Redbelly Cooter. Luckily, this turtle didn't end up in any swimming pools, and I didn't see it squished on any nearby roads, so hopefully it got to wherever it was going.
Speaking of turtles and other reptiles, check out this website. I probably spent at least an hour reading about many of Florida's reptiles that I've never come across.
Cranes Roost Park is located in Altamonte Springs, FL, right next to the Altamonte Mall. The park has recently been incorporated into the Uptown Altamonte complex and had a big overhaul and the park saw many improvements. One thing that wasn't fixed was the drainage problems on the central lake that the park is built around.
After the massive amounts of rain that was dropped from Tropical Storm Fay passing over the area, the lake in Cranes Roost Park rose to levels I have never seen. In the past, the lake has flooded, but I've never seen it flood this high. Here are some pictures of the flooding taken on September 1, 2008.
The two bridges that normally provide a trip above the surface of the lake were no longer usable. When Cranes Roost Park has flooded in the past, these bridges do get slightly submerged. I've never seen other sections of the park go under though.
The stage and amphitheater was perhaps where it was easiest to see how high the water actually was. Luckily, the stage floats, but I wonder what happens if the water rises above the pylons anchoring the sides of the stage in place?
As for the bleachers in the amphitheater, there are at least two rows of seats below the surface of the water.
Tropical Storm Fay has stopped pouring liquid into Cranes Roost Park, but it does tend to rain often in Florida, so it may be a while before the water recedes...
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