Right under your nose

If you've never stopped, got down on your knees in the dirt and taken a close up look at Lichen then you've actually missed seeing one of the most diverse, interesting and beautiful members of the plant kingdom. As a definition...
Lichen is a composite organism that emerges from algae or cyanobacteria (or both) living among filaments of a fungus in a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship. 
Lichen has always intrigued me. I've observed, photographed, and attempted identification of lichen every spot on this planet that I've ever been. Lichen is everywhere.
The Cedar Keys are no exception. it is ever present.
The photos are two examples of lichen I found today.

On a Sandy Stretch of Beach

Palmetto

Sea Purslane & Prickly Pear

Coontie

Coontie cone deconstructed

Driftwood

Lichen covered

Red & Green Marine Algae

Old crab trap

Old shells

We found a dead bottlenose

Sea Purselane

Lichen

Artifacts

Betty Rose

Unique and enduring as her clam shell walkway is Ms. Betty Rose Cooke. Forever young in her red convertible;  frivolously daring as she pedals the town on a bicycle with her stuffed monkey aboard; kind and caring as she walks her latest rescue dog. Marriage anyone? Just call Ms. Betty Rose and she'll perform the ceremony. She's across the street now lending a hand at the senior luncheon. Something about Betty Rose reminds me of  Grandma Hutto, you remember Marjorie Rawlings adorable grandma character in the Yearling. She has that ageless feminine alure that Penny Baxter loved; and Ma Baxter abhored. Ms. Betty is groovy, real groovy and i love her. She lives in a house by the side of the road and is a friend to all.

Artist symmetry and pattern in plants, marine organisms, and shoes.

After a recent controlled burn the saw palmetto rises from the char. Purest of art forms.

A very large jelly fish found stranded on the sand bar today. Rounded symetry.

Pattern in mine and the kids shoes.

The Best Stuff. The Estuary

The islands around here are situated in what's called estuary environment. Where fresh water from rivers (predominately the Suwanee) mixes with the Gulf of Mexico. This low energy, shallow coastline is home to a miriad of marine crustaceans, bivalves such as clams and oysters and juvenile fish growing up in the relative safety of miles of marsh grasses and tidal flats.
Across the road from my house is one such tidal bay. The bay is dotted with small shell islands that grow mangroves, smooth cordgrass, glass wort and provide rest areas for thousands of migratory shore birds that spend the winter here.
So I have taken some photos of one of these shell islands That I paddled to today.
Check em' out.

My house

Me and my kayak

The islands in the bay

Black Mangrove (avicinia germinins) and the pnematophores (foreground) that spring up from the roots through the salt water. Probably allowing the roots to breathe.

Glass wort

The islands are predominately built of millions of oyster shells with a few mangrove trees growing on them.

Cardita shells are mixed in with the oyster shells.

Smooth Cordgrass surround the islands. This is Spartina Alternfolia.

Christmas Camellia

Camellias have been a facination since I first saw their winter blossoms in Cedar Key more than a dozen years ago.
These flowers were cultivated in China and Japan for centuries before they were seen in Europe.
The first camellias came to America in 1797.
The climate here in Florida is ideal for these winter blooming plants.
I have a friend whose mother has 24 varieties of Camellias in her garden in South Carolina.
This one photographed today belongs to a neighbor. I believe it is Christmas Camellia (Camellia sasanqua). The blossoms are about six inches across and beautiful beyond words. It blooms in late December.

The Best Stuff

Hi. Happy New Year. 2015.
I thought of naming my blog " the slow lane" but after some consideration I decided against it. Didn't want it to sound slow, and well, slow. So I call it "the best stuff in life" because the things I observe, photograph and comment about are far from ordinary; but I do have to slow down and , well, stop to take a close look. It is the things that so many of us miss seeing in life cause we are moving too fast. So this is my trial run at blogging. Please follow my "Best Stuff" blog in the future. Thanks JD.