Springtime

   There's a beach I like to go to that's about twenty miles east of here, called Indian Pass. It's a beautiful beach. And for the most part, there's very few people ever on it. But it has one characteristic that I don't like.    
    People are allowed to use the beach as they would a regular street. No kidding. It's not unusual to be out there enjoying this beautiful place and have a Honda Accord pass by. It's very strange. And originally this post was going to be about Indian Pass. But when I walked down the short path to the beach and saw all these flowers blooming along the way, I couldn't help but stop, to take a closer look at them.

Yellow Button

   St. George Island, along with the entire panhandle of Florida, is far enough north that it has a springtime. The only difference is that the flowers that bloom in the spring. will be around for most of the summer. At least until either a storm surge, or the colder temperatures of winter get them.
   They won't necessarily bloom constantly,  but they'll bloom on and off through the whole summer. So seeing all of these flowers blooming at the same time,  made me take notice.

Beach Morning Glory

  There's no doubt I can identify shells a lot better than I can the flowers in this area. Living in Kentucky for so many years, I'm not familiar with "beach flowers" at all.
   But seeing all of these in such a small area, peaked my interest in the flora here. So, I plan on learning a lot more and I'll be sure to share what I see, and what I learn.
   One of the newest flowers I've discovered is the  Florida Pitcher Plant. It doesn't grow on the beach, but I saw it when I went kayaking at Owl Creek, which is not far from here. There was  this large clump of yellow trumpets in a marsh that really stood out. Because of their color, and the large size of the flower,they're easy to see. Unfortunately, at the time, I didn't know I was going to be writing about the flowers in the area, so I didn't take a picture of them. What makes them so unique is that they don't so much need water to survive, but bugs. On the same lines as a Venus Fly Trap. 
     The leaves are very slippery with a sugary substance. The bugs are attracted to the scent on the leaves and can't get off of them. They then slide into the trumpet part of the plant where they're digested. The more bugs, the healthier the plant. Next time I run across them I'll take a picture.
    All the plants pictured here grow out of the sand, and mostly by the beach. And there's many more.. But to have all of these, blooming  at the same time, on such a short path, was wonderful.


"Spider Lily

                                From now on I'll take more time to stop and see the flowers! 
.