Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/157038
Sarasota News Leader August 23, 2013 Page 71 WHY TRAVEL AFAR WITH SO MUCH TO SEE RIGHT HERE AT HOME? Story and Photos By Fran Palmeri Contributing Writer For months I have been trying to get out of town to explore other parts of the world, but events have conspired against me. I walk neighborhood parks feeling, "It's the same old, same old." At Curry Creek Preserve, I set out with the resolve to move along briskly only to be stopped in my tracks by Tarflower — inaptly named; incomparably beautiful. Butterflies and Iridescent Dragonflies soaking up in the sun are other good reasons to linger. My resolve soon melts away. An hour's outing grows to two. Off in the distance, I see thin veils of falling water, which are suddenly upon me. I run for shelter, cramming my camera into a plastic bag. The storm over, I take a detour to the Then, captivated by the skies, I nearly step Myakka River to discover a pregnant alligator on an Eastern Glass Lizard — a legless "herp" resting on the bank. I have read about but never seen before. In a skirmish with a predator, its long tail may The other evening, as I walked a trail at Oscar break off, but it can regenerate that body part. Scherer State Park, a Florida Scrub Jay landed An Eastern Glass Lizard is wary of passersby.