Hog Pond Trail - Withlacoochee State Forest

We slept well and woke up after 6 am. We did our morning language lessons and had morning beverages before going downstairs around 6:30. At 7:30, Mark and I drove to Mavis Tire and Brakes. Mark drove Cindy’s Toyota Highlander, and I drove his Ram pickup. The tire shop was unable to repair the tire since the nail was so close to the sidewall, so it would have to be replaced. Since all of the tires were badly worn, Mark had four new tires put on the car. While the car was being serviced, we drove to Home Depot and bought two eight-foot-long sections of ¾ inch polymer quarter round molding and some high strength construction adhesive. When we got to the house, we cut the molding to fit the sides of the shelving on either side of the Murphy bed and attached them with the adhesive. We also used the multi-tool to round the ends of the 2x4 boards on the bedframe in the room where we are staying. While we were working in the upstairs bedrooms, Mary and Cindy were cleaning and dusting, helping us clean up our messes.

We had grilled cheese sandwiches with a slice of ham for lunch, then went back to the tire store to get the Highlander. The four Michelin tires for the car cost over $1300 installed but should last well. I drove the Highlander back to the house and was impressed with the ride of the car.

Cindy & Mary on the Hog Pond Trail

Mark & I put tools away from our morning projects, while Mary & Cindy planned for our April trip to see the total solar eclipse. At 1:30 we loaded the dogs into the Highlander and drove the short distance to the Hog Pond Trail area of the Withlacoochee State Forest where we took a 2 hour 15 minute walk covering what we guess was over 5 miles. The trails were still pretty muddy from the past two days of rain. We didn’t see any wildlife, but there were lots of tracks and signs where wild pigs were rooting up an area near the ponds. We stopped at Twisty Treat for ice cream on the way back to the house.

Mark made pasta with andouille sausage and sauteed vegetables for dinner along with a Caesar salad. Everything was good. After showering and doing our evening language lessons, we watched an episode of Astrid on PBS followed by an episode of Evening Shade on Prime. We were in bed by 9:30.

In Homosassa

We were able to sleep until nearly 6 am this morning, not surprising given how tired we were the night before. We did our morning German lessons then went downstairs once we heard Mark moving. We had our morning beverages and a mini bagel before taking the dogs on a long walk through the neighborhood. It was good to see that little damage had been done to homes in the neighborhood from last year’s hurricane.

When we returned, Mark made biscuits and Cindy fixed sausage gravy. It was a good and filling breakfast. We finished unloading the car and spent most of the time catching up and discussing plans for the upcoming week. We had considered taking a short kayak trip, but there was a strong wind most of the day.

Much of the day was just resting after our long drive south on I-75. As we sat on the back porch of Whittington’s house, we watched a great egret and little blue heron feeding on the canal bank. We looked at the landscaping that they replaced after the storm surge last year that brought saltwater into their yard.

Mary and Mark on the Hog Pond Trail

At 4:30 we took the took the dogs to the Hog Pond Trail of the Withlacoochee Forest for a walk. We were surprised that the four of us and the two dogs fit into Cindy’s Highlander comfortably. There weren’t many people at the trailhead, probably because the Super Bowl would be starting soon. We didn’t see any wildlife on the trail but walked out as far as the ponds, turning around at 6 pm to return to the car.

After returning to the house, we ate pulled pork sliders, pork and beans, chips and Patti La Belle’s sweet potato pie. Everything was very good, and we were quite full. Mary and Cindy played cribbage during the Super Bowl, and I read and did my evening German lessons.

We think that tomorrow will be a day for kayaking, perhaps on the Rainbow River. We hope to be able to paddle all the way to the source spring and back during the day.

Hiking at Hog Pond and Burnt Bridge Trails

Breakfast was sheet pancakes with maple syrup and bacon, which we all enjoyed. We did our morning language lessons when drove the short distance to the Hog Pond and Burnt Bridge area of the Withlacoochee State Forest and Chassahowitzka River and Coastal River Swamps. The area is really beautiful and has a diversity of habitats. There are areas with longleaf pines, some with palmetto and others are open savannah. There were areas where the pine forests had burned, but we were uncertain whether it was a controlled burn or an accidental fire. The area and trails had been closed the prior week because a man was thought to be missing in the area. His car was at the trailhead, but there had been no sign of him for days. Rangers, police and volunteers had been searching for him since his disappearance had come to the attention of authorities. There was a spot along the trail where we detected a scent of a dead animal if the wind was blowing correctly. I took a waypoint of the location with the GPS in case it might be helpful to searchers. We ended up hiking for over 7 miles before we made it back to the trailhead where Mark’s pickup was parked. As we were preparing to walk to the truck, a sheriff’s deputy came to the trailhead so I walked over and told him about the smell. While it could have easily been a dead deer or other animal, he was happy to get the coordinates and said that someone would check the area.

Hiking at the Withlacoochee State Forest

We were all very tired after the long walk. The dogs were especially exhausted, so we gave them water while we cooled off in the shade of the parking area. The temperature had been in the mid-80s and was overcast early in the day, but when the sun came out, we got very hot. We drove to the house and put the dogs in the air conditioning, and we made a run to Ace Hardware for materials to mount the weather station and some blue safety paint. We also went to Publix for a few grocery items since Mark’s sister, Jodie, and her husband, Grant, were coming for a visit on Sunday afternoon. They were bringing a friend, Carolyn, from The Villages as well.

Mark and I masked some of the areas around their driveway and garage with steps in the concrete. I painted the edges of the steps in the front of the house with the bright blue safety paint. We hoped that this would make the steps more visible and reduce the chance of someone falling. As we were cleaning up, we noticed that the charcoal grill starter that we were using as a solvent for the oil-based paint had a familiar smell. It smelled exactly like the distillate that comes from a bourbon still.

Siding damage from strong wind

The Ferrells and Koehlers met for an outing at the Cincinnati Zoo today, and it sounds like everyone had a good time. We asked the Ferrells to stop by our house on their way home to check the damage from Friday’s wind. Ian sent photos of the siding loss, but there didn’t appear to be much other damage. We felt fortunate to have avoided as much damage as others in the area.

Surveying the menu at Marguerita Grill

We went out to Marguerita Grill for dinner. Although the restaurant was busy, we were seated right away and the service was good. The restaurant is owned by a very conservative older man who has the interior and exterior decorated with posters for military branches and right-wing political movements. We opted for a table outside since the evening had cooled off and the weather was nice. Mary had the seafood platter, Cindy had spanakopita, Mark went with steak and shrimp, and I had the fish basket. We split a pitcher of margaritas and enjoyed sitting on the deck.

Once we returned from the restaurant, we watched a couple of episodes of Swamp People Serpent Invasion on their Roku. I was very tired and went up to bed before 9:30. Mary and the others turned in around 10 pm.

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

We took the dogs for a long walk through the neighborhood early in the morning. Mary and Cindy saw an otter running across the road not far from the house. Mark made excellent breakfast burritos after we got back from our walk.

Since we were unable to get into the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park on Friday because of the huge number of school buses, we decided to arrive at the park when it opened on Saturday. Our first stop in the park was the spring which brings fresh water up from 80 feet underground. A large school of crevalle jack fish were circling in the water. There were also some large snook and a few other smaller fish. Several large manatees were swimming in the relatively warm water, escaping the colder salt water of the Gulf. We went below the observation deck to the underwater viewing area and watched the schools of fish swimming among the manatees.

Manatee in Homosassa Springs

We walked along the stream flowing from the spring and saw hundreds of manatees in the shallow water. There was an area where tour boats were taking snorkelers to interact with the manatees. There was also an area where injured manatees were held for recuperation. It held several manatees including one that was huge.

T

Black crowned night heron

he park has displays of flamingos, herons, egrets, pelicans and other waterfowl, shorebirds, and wading birds. There were barn owls, barred owls, ospreys, and bald eagles. Enclosures held a wolf, fox, otters, and a Florida panther. All the birds and mammals at the center have been injured and are unable to survive in the wild. We laughed because a lady was at the park photographing birds and had an app playing bird calls. Several times we thought we were hearing a wild bird when she walked by us. We left the park around noon and returned to the house for a lunch of the leftover chili and cornbread.

White form of Great Blue Heron

In the afternoon we repaired the latch on the gate between the house and garage. The screws weren’t holding in the hollow plastic posts, so we had to run to Ace Hardware for an all thread to drill through the post with locking nuts on each side with an aluminum backing plate.

We also checked the crab trap and pinfish trap in the canal. The crab trap was in bad shape and needed to be trashed, but we baited the fish trap with some rib bones to see if we could catch baitfish.

We decided to drive the short distance to the Withlacoochee trailhead that we visited on Friday. We hiked the shorter Hog Pond Loop taking us to three deep flooded quarry pits. We saw several large bass swimming in the clear water and considered returning sometime to fish. We saw a man with his dog fishing in a quarry pit. He told us that he caught at least 50 fish within an hour the day before. Today, he said was slower with only 6 or 8 fish per hour.

The sun was starting to set as we were leaving, but the trail back to the truck is only about a mile, so we got back with no problems.

Mary, Cindy, and I took the dogs for a short walk while Mark made rigatoni with Italian sausages and cherry tomatoes. A garden salad was on the side. As always, everything was quite good.

After dinner we streamed a few episodes of Last Man Standing then turned in early since we have an early departure on Sunday morning.

Burnt Bridge Trail

We slept until 6 am and has a cold cereal breakfast before taking a long walk in the neighborhood with the dogs. We walked nearly three miles by the time we got back to the house.

We left for Homosassa State Wildlife Park around 10 am and got there quickly since it is very nearby. When we arrived, we found that there were several buses of elementary students from Citrus School District and the parking lots were filled with parents. We unable to find a parking place and were nearly unable to get out of the parking area.

We decided that we would probably be better going to that park on another day, so we drove the short distance to the Homosassa section of the Withlacoochee State Forest. We walked on the Burnt Bridge Trail and in the Chassahowitzka River and Coastal Swamps for over seven miles. The area had tremendous diversity of habitats from cypress wetlands to upland meadows to long leaf pine forests. We were very tired by the time we returned to the truck for the drive to the house. We stopped at the Tastee Treat for an ice cream cone before having a lunch of cold cut sandwiches.

Odd tree growing from a stump

In the afternoon Mark and I put a PVC post on the front light. Then Cindy decided that the outdoor light fixtures should be repainted, so we went to Ace Hardware for spray paint and hollow wall anchors to repair the downstairs towel racks.

Mark made roasted new potatoes and warmed the pulled pork from earlier in the week. It was all very good. After dinner we watched the rest of “And Then There Were None” on Acorn.