The Empty Basket Series - Give Peace a Chance

Find this sign and the trailhead sign below

Take the left side of the Loop Trail.

Pass through the fence which runs on both sides of the trail.

When you reach this rustic looking bench, stop and take a break.  Then, look around you. 

See!!!  My lovely assistant, Three Flamigo's is looking around!

But you don't have to look as far as she did.  Just look for the tree which is directly to your right as you are sitting on the bench.

Carefully check in the palm fronds behind this tree.

Then, after you stamp in, take a walk a little further to the observation deck.  The morning we were there it was foggy but it was still beautiful.

 While you are walking, take note of all of the deer moss along the trail.  Three Flamigo's introduced me to this lichen so I did a little research and found this interesting info.  

"In parts of Florida you will see grey-green, cloud-like clusters of deer moss on the ground. Deer moss is a very slow growing lichen and large mats may take decades to develop. Fire kills this lichen, so if you see large carpets of Cladina, it is an indication that the area has not been burned for a long time.

Like all lichens, deer moss has no roots and gets all its moisture from the air – when the weather is dry it is brittle and crunchy, after rain it can be as soft as a cotton ball.

Architects and model railway enthusiasts often use deer moss to make realistic looking miniature trees and shrubs."  

 Spoiler alert!!!