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Living in the Moment: St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge #Nature #FiddlerCrabs #MondayBlogs

One of our favorite places to visit in Florida is the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.  The Refuge has over 17,000 protected acres and lies between three counties.  It is a way station for all sorts of migratory birds and butterflies, and is home to a lot of critters including black bears, bobcats, otters, and … yes, of course, alligators.  Since we moved to Florida in 1990, my husband and I have visited the Refuge numerous times, usually walking one of their well-maintained trails which takes you along dikes and bayous.

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to go out to the St. Marks Lighthouse.  The lighthouse was built in 1842 and is still being used, although currently it’s under renovation.

Lighthouse at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
Lighthouse at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

Our purpose in this trip was to scope out some good spots for photography.

I’m not making any claims about my photographic abilities, especially since I was just using my iPhone, but the video above and the photos below should give you a nice idea of what SMNWR has to offer.

(1) Overlooking one of the many bayous at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
(1) Overlooking one of the many bayous at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
(2) Overlooking one of the many bayous at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
(2) Overlooking one of the many bayous at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
A little color in the otherwise green and sandy gray landscape.
A little color in the otherwise green and sandy gray landscape.
On our way to the beach at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
On our way to the beach at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
The "beach" at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
The “beach” at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

So what is my husband looking for?  Ah, some of these little critters …

Fiddler Crabs at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge from Marie Bailey on Vimeo.

Marie A Bailey

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22 responses to “Living in the Moment: St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge #Nature #FiddlerCrabs #MondayBlogs”

    • Thanks, Jill! I am fairly impressed with how well my iPhone takes photos. With the videos, I’m challenged by finding the right “platform.” The fiddler crab video was very blurry in YouTube so I decided to try Vimeo. Ah, so many accounts I need just to put up a simple post! 🙂 Have a great week!

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    • Thanks, Linda! Oh, indeed, we were watching where we walk. When my husband goes out at night to film, stepping on them is unavoidable, although he tries. We only saw a relative few that day because it wasn’t low tide yet. My husband says when it’s low tide, there’s literally thousands of these critters covering the beach and grasses.

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  4. Thank you for sharing. I love the panhandle. I guess because it was the place we vacationed to when I was young. There is so much diversity there. The best places are the out of the way, non-touristy places like this. Love it! Thanks for sharing, your pics and videos are awesome and inspiring. I need to get out more.

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    • Thanks, Susan! You know we did see a lot of GA license plates that day 🙂 Fishing of course is a big deal, and there were a lot of boats out in the bay. I do love these parts of Florida, too. I just wish the bugs (mosquitoes, chiggers, biting flies) didn’t come with the diversity. I would definitely get out more if it weren’t for that 😉

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    • Ha, I think I see rabbit ears, but, no, you’re likely the only one seeing a clapping bunny. But I’ll have whatever you’re having 😉

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    • Hi, Luanne! Yes, it’s definitely one of the (few) perks of living here. This natural beauty is only about an hour’s drive, and some of that is through the Refuge so it’s very pleasant. Given how hot the day was, it was so nice being near water. We even did a bit of wading at another beach (hopefully, I’ll have that in my next post).

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    • Thanks, Cinthia! Well, I am surprised you haven’t made it to Florida. You grew up in PA? Florida was the go-to state for spring break (and retirees) when I was growing up in north NY. (I know, it still is.) Personally, I don’t think you’re missing much, unless you have a high tolerance for biting insects and sticky heat 😉

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  9. Oops, somehow must not have waited for my comment to go through on this post, Marie.
    I love lighthouses and skies. The photographs of lovely, billowing clouds and their reflections are fantastic, Marie.
    I get easily distracted (while visiting my 87 year old Mom) but was happy to have more time during this week to visit friends I see on fellow blogging posts. I will be heading home and back to work on Monday. Hope to stay in touch. . .

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