Florida Flowers Part One

I’m getting a new phone soon. Instead of transferring my photos over, I’ve decided to delete them all. Go one-by-one and decide what I want to do with each one. New phone, fresh start. As I’ve been going through the photos, I’ve enjoyed looking at nature photos from my time in Florida.

Image description: Red berries with green leaves in front of a wooden fence

My time in Florida was strange. I felt like I was just visiting the entire 5 years. I always knew I would leave. There was a lot to like, but I never felt like I was at “home.” Or I should say I rarely felt that way.

Image description: Branches full of white berries and green leaves

Now that I’m in Minneapolis, another place I’m not sure how long I’ll stay, another place I like but that doesn’t feel like “home,” my thoughts on the concept of “home” are changing.

What if I’m at “home” any time I’m around a plant?

Image description: A tall wall of orange flowers and green leaves growing from power lines in front of a house all the way down to the ground

These are orange trumpet flowers. Amazing! Plants and flowers were definitely the best part of living in Florida. Life felt like walking around an art museum where the flowers were the art.

Image description: A close-up of orange flowers and green leaves

Image description: A green tree with lemons against a bright blue sky

A lemon tree! I never ate any lemons off of this tree because there was a little brick wall that kept me from getting to them. But, I loved the idea of fruit being readily available for people to pick and eat. Why aren’t there fruit trees growing on every block in America?

Image description: An orange cat sits on a brick wall behind green branches

My neighborhood in Florida had a lot of street cats in it. I walked my dog every day, often just after someone had gone around dropping cat food in different locations.

Image description: Close-up of hot pink flowers and leaves

Do you recognize any of these flowers? If so, leave a note in the comments and I will update their captions.

Image description: Drooping pink flowers and green leaves

Image description: Orange flowers and green leaves growing on a fence

The way the sun shines through these orange flowers is heartbreakingly beautiful. I could cry looking at these photos.

Image description: Close-up of an orange flower with sunlight coming through its petals

Image description: A sign in plants that reads “WARNING Alligators in lake NO FISHING NO SWIMMING NO WADING”

The alligator signs were fun. As were the alligators. Even more common were lizards–brown and green anoles. That’s probably what I miss about Florida second most after the flowers–little lizards always scurrying around as I walked on the sidewalk.

Image description: Yellow and pink flowers with green leaves

Image description: Purple flowers in front of green leaves

Image description: Orange flowers atop green leaves

I have a few more Florida-related posts coming, and then I’ll be done. Moving out of Florida was the best thing for me, but as the year ends and I reflect on 2019, I realize what a big move it was, and how deeply it’s affected me.

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