30 Days in June: Day 8, John Mahon Park

John Mahon Park Kiosk and Trailhead

What do you do if you only have an hour and you want to get away from it all? You go to a City Nature Park! And that's just what I did on Monday. I have a limited schedule this week and so I saved some of my favorite City nature parks on my "must visit list" for just such an occasion. Gainesville is very fortunate to have 20-plus public nature parks.  I discovered John Mahon Park, a sweet little sanctuary just off of a busy road, a couple of years ago when my husband broke his collar bone and had to have a lot of physical therapy. The park is located behind a medical complex, right in the heart of Gainesville, but as soon as you walk through the gates all connections to city fall by the wayside. If you walk slowly and stop to enjoy the inhabitants, a visit to this park can easily fill an hour and then some. But the trail is only about a half mile long, so you can walk through quickly if you want. I enjoyed my past times there so much that I wanted to be sure to go back again. And also, I thought my chances of seeing a Barred Owl there were pretty good because I'd seen them there before. My target list for John Mahon Park was small. I hoped to see a Summer Tanager, an Owl and a Red Tailed Hawk. Things were looking very promising for the Tanager when I saw the sign at the trailhead, but in the end I did not have any luck. I did see Cardinals, Bluejays and Carolina Wrens. Zebra Longwing Butterflies were everywhere, probably attracted to the Yellow Passionflower that was twining all through the woods.

Yellow Passionflower (Passiflora lutea)

A Walk in the Woods

The park honors several people who were instrumental in its creation and in protecting Gainesville's natural wonders. It is named after Dr. John Mahon, an environmentalist and advocate who helped preserve land for Paynes Prairie and San Felasco State Parks. And there are 2 benches in memory of Susan Wright and Dr. Kathy Cantwell, who both fought fiercely to protect the natural spaces in Alachua County from development. I feel a great sense of reverence each time visit the park or see these benches. I sit and look out at the beautiful space and I am inspired to be an advocate and protector, too. When I die, I think a bench or beautiful natural place would be a nice thing to leave behind.

Memorial Bench

As I walked I saw the remnants of spring wildflowers, Green Dragon and Trillium, as well as early summer flowers like Ironweed and Beautyberry. I was surprised to find a flower I'd never seen growing in the wild before--Carolina Scalystem. I have a lot of it growing in our yard, but they are plants I bought at the native plant sale. Thinking back, I seem to recall that my plants were part of a big group that had been rescued during the construction of the medical complex next door, so maybe ours were related to this one! In any case, it was nice to recognize it.

Trillium, or Spotted Wakerobin (Trillium maculatum)

Beauty Berry Flowers (Callicarpa americana)

Carolina Scalystem (Elytraria caroliniensis)

I found a big Carolina Mantleslug on a rotting log. These slugs can get impressively huge but they are mostly harmless, preferring to feed on fungi.

Carolina Mantleslug

Then, walking around a bend, something big and quiet flew low through the trees and up into a tree behind me. A Barred Owl! Hooray! I never get tired of seeing owls. They fly so quietly and rarely make a sound, at least during the day. But then when spotted, it is not uncommon for the owls to just sit and stare back. This owl and I watched each other for a while, until I felt like I had bothered it enough and walked on.

Barred Owl

Near the end of the loop I saw this tree. My first thought was that the gash looked like a funny, open mouth, and then I saw the stick that looked a little like a cigar hanging off the lip. I couldn't help myself and picked up some Sweet Gum Balls for eyes and created a little forest jokester.

Nature Humor

With just 5 minutes left before I had to leave, I walked out of the park to a pond in a sunny open space. I'm not sure what I hoped to see, but I looked up just as a juvenile Red Tailed Hawk flew over. And I caught this dragonfly perched on a branch over the trail. It was a nice way to spend an hour.

Red Tailed Hawk

Great Blue Skimmer Dragonfly

June Bird Count: 79 (80). Natural Places Visited: 12

Sanctuary in the City

I did a little multi-tasking today. I needed to drive my husband to an appointment, so while he was taking care of his business, I took a walk through a City of Gainesville Nature Park. Gainesville is lucky this way. We have about 23 nature parks, scattered throughout the city. They encompass a large variety of habitats and serve multiple purposes--nature sanctuaries, picnic areas, playgrounds, sports fields, and education centers, to name just a few. That's the great thing about urban nature parks. They give people an alternative to sitting inside in fluorescent light, checking email and catching up on facebook. When you have a nature park a convenient distance from you, it is possible to take a quick trip over during lunch or spend quality time while you wait for someone else. A visit to a nature park can give you an excuse to take a walk and get some exercise, a chance to see wildlife and plants close to home, or can give some much needed buffer from the sounds and hubbub of everyday life. In addition, urban nature parks provide important opportunities for habitat amid our growing cities. Pockets of sanctuary for plants and animals gives them a place to thrive and survive amid human development, and gives us a convenient opportunity to enjoy them.

The place I went to today is called John Mahon Nature Park. It is located off of a major street that runs right through the heart of Gainesville. It is on 10 acres, tucked in between a busy medical complex and a blood bank, next to the road. On the way in, you pass a storm water retention pond, where I was greeted by two big frogs. Maybe River Frogs or Pig Frogs--I have a hard time telling. There was a pretty meadow in in the pond area, which will probably be submerged when we get more rain. Lots of dragonflies and butterflies flew around in the sunny area. I walked down the road leading to the actual park and found nice picnic tables and an informative kiosk. Inside the gate, I came to the trail which is a loop through the woods, maybe a half mile long. I walked it twice to make sure I didn't miss anything. (It seemed like a great place for owls, but I didn't see any.)

Dragonfly Watching Me

American Painted Lady on Spanish Needles (Bidens alba)

Pond Frog

Thick, Dark Woods

It was thick with trees and pretty dark. An interpretive sign explained that the habitat was once fire dependent upland pine forest, but now that it was surrounded by homes and businesses, burning is no longer possible and the forest had become overgrown with oaks and vines. Another interpretive sign gave information about the responsibilities of living around a nature park, such as cleaning up after pets and controlling invasive exotic species. Unfortunately, many urban nature parks in the area are plagued by invasive exotic plants such as Coral Ardesia, which I saw all along the short trail. Plants escape from landscapes and end up where they do not belong, choking out native vegetation and decreasing the natural diversity of an area.

Tell-Tale Red Berries of Coral Ardesia

Walking the loop I heard some Cardinals, Carolina Wrens and Chickadees. I saw several Zebra Longwing butterflies fluttering around. They prefer shady areas. There were only a few flowers growing in such a shady place and I could see the leaves of flowers that would bloom later in the season, such as Elephant's Foot, Hammock Snake Root, and Iron Weed. I was pleasantly surprised to find an abundance of Green Dragon plants. They are related to Jack in the Pulpit and have a similar shaped flower. There was also a small bed of Trillium. And a whole lot of poison ivy!

Carolina Wren Singing in the Woods

Green Dragon Flower (Arisaema dracontium)

Trillium (Trillium maculatum)

Leaves of Three, Leave it Be! Poison Ivy

With so many trees and vines it was fun to look closely at the shapes and textures all around me. One tree looked like a huge animal paw planted in the ground, while a Cherry Tree branch had beautiful stripes. Giant Grape vines hung across the hammock, sometimes twining around a branch and squeezing it until it bulged. The Greenbriar vines were prodigious, with many as thick as my thumb and lacy green ferns were scattered among the Saw Palmettos. On the second trip around, next to a big tree root that I thought looked like an animal den, I found a pair of Five Lined Skinks.

Big Oak Trunk--Doesn't it Look Like an Animal Paw?

Cherry Tree Bark

Vine Wrapped Around a Branch

Lacy Fern

Skinks and Their Den

Off in the distance I could hear people doing construction work on houses nearby. I passed a couple with a baby who were walking their dogs. Otherwise sights and sounds of most of the human activity were absorbed by the trees. It was like stepping out of the city for a moment. I spent less than an hour in the park. Then it was time to leave. Sanctuary in the City.

Little Snake Shed on Green Briar Vine (Smilax sp.)

Thanks, I needed that!

My husband had a bike accident last week and broke his collarbone. He's healing well, but I've been doing a short stint as his caregiver since the accident and thus have not been able to get outside as much as I'm used to. So it was a welcome treat when I was able to swing by Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park after dropping him off at work today. I had to renew our annual State Park Pass (great deal!), so I went to the main entrance of the park rather than La Chua Trail, where I usually go. I decided to check out the area around Lake Wauberg, by the Puc Puggy Campground. It was late morning by the time I got there, so I didn't think I'd have much chance of seeing Otters and Eagles, but it was still beautiful. I have not been especially taxed as a caregiver. My husband is able to take care of most of his needs. He's in pain, which is hard to see, and he's very uncomfortable. And he can't lift anything, or do his contact lenses (I hold his eyelids up). But otherwise, my work is relatively minor. Still, I've been tired and tense, and the cool breeze through the big oak trees felt so good. It was great to step out of the car and hear the "cheer, cheer, cheer" sounds of the Cardinals and the White Eyed Vireos chattering about "beer, Jack".

Big Oak Trees

I walked over to the short boardwalk on Lake Wauberg and saw an Anhinga that had just caught a fish. There were scores of Dragonflies in the Pickerel Weed. After many tries, I finally caught a shot of one mid air. I saw a Catbird in the blackberries and a female Blue Grosbeak perched on some Dog Fennel, and watched a pair of Osprey successfully fishing. The Fish Crows were Ca-ha-ing from the oak trees. The Green Anoles blended in perfectly with the water plants, taking on green and yellow backgrounds. Squirrels rustled in the tree leaves and scolded me as I walked along.

Mid Air Dragonfly

Blue Grosbeak

Hiding Anole

Wary Squirrel

I continued to the short Lake Trail, through the magnificent Oaks. Just past the Oaks there was a clearing and I could see a Gopher Tortoise walking towards me on the trail. I tried to speed up to get a closer look, but the Tortoise saw me, turned around and practically ran to its burrow! I caught a couple of shots of it tearing through the grass, and one more as it dove into the opening. I felt a little bad and selfish about scaring it, but I hadn't seen one for a long time. Right across from its burrow was another burrow that also looked active, but it also looked as if something had been digging in front. I suspect that something dug up and ate eggs that were buried in the apron of the burrow. I couldn't tell from the tracks what did the digging, but I suspect it could have been armadillos.

Gopher Tortoise Trotting Along

Turns Around and Runs Away

Tearing Through The Grass

Whoosh Down Into the Burrow

Digging--Maybe An Egg Thief?

I continued along the trail, passing fields of cactuses in bloom. Years ago, I thought it was odd when I first saw cactus in semi-tropical Florida. But I understand now that many Southwest desert species, including the Gopher Tortoise, Florida Scrub Jay, Burrowing Owl and Cactus have ancestors that migrated to the Southeast a million or so years ago.  It's our funny connection to the West where I grew up. The butterflies were excited about the early spring blooms of the Cactus, Tread Softly and purple Heliotrope.

Flowering Prickly-pear Cactus (Opuntia humifusa)

Tread Softly (Cnidoscolus stimulosus) with Visitor

Clasping Heliotrope (Heliotropium amplexicaule) and Fiery Skipper

As I walked I looked down and noticed that the sandy road was covered in animal tracks. I saw tracks from Raccoon, lots of birds, squirrels, armadillos, lizards, deer, some sort of canine, and huge bird tracks that I figure were probably Turkey or Sandhill Crane. I looked for signs of snakes and bobcats but didn't see any indication. It's always interesting to look at tracks to see what animals have been in the area . This road was very busy!

Armadillo Tracks (See the Funny Feet and Tail Marks)

Birds Hopping

Raccoon Tracks on the Left and a Lizard Tail through the Center

Big Bird Track (Turkey or Crane?)

Intersecting Lizards

Critter Hoe Down!

On the return trip a Great Crested Flycatcher flew down and took a dust bath in the road right in front of me, while a Red Bellied Woodpecker thrashed around in a Palm Tree looking for good bugs. I watched a White Eyed Vireo catch a big bug, maybe a dragonfly, and feed it to its chick. The Cardinals called from every corner, and the Crows chased an immature Bald Eagle away from the lake. Back at the boardwalk, I saw a Common Yellowthroat and a Northern Parula looking for bugs in the bushes, and a Spider web sparkled in the woods on the way back to the car. It was all so soothing and pleasant and much appreciated.

Great Crested Fly Catcher Takes a Dust Bath

Red Bellied Woodpecker in the Palm

White Eyed Vireo

Cardinal Peeking Through the Leaves

Immature Bald Eagle Flies Away from Crows

Sparkling Web

Which got me thinking. Luckily and thankfully, my stint as a caregiver will be short and relatively easy.   My husband has the hard part. But many people do this difficult and important work every day for loved ones with serious, ongoing conditions and get little respite from the caregiving. Wouldn't it be nice if those caregivers could get away for some mind-clearing, soul-healing Nature Therapy? A little time outside gives you new energy and perspective. Here's an idea: If you are a caregiver, take a mental health day and go for a nature walk! If you know a caregiver, give them a restorative gift. Help them to take some time--a morning or afternoon, or even a whole day--to get away and go outside. Tell them to find a park, listen to some birds, watch the butterflies and breathe some fresh air. It will make a world of difference!

Nature Therapy