Sunday, February 28, 2016

What desolation lurks near you?

Fall and winter are short seasons in Florida, and spring and summer often fill a solid nine - sometimes even ten - months of the year. In the warm (and hot) months, vegetation thrives and often smothers abandoned places in greenery. As we hurry from home to work to home in a rush to make it to our destination as fast as possible, we rarely notice the desolate vestiges of the past, sinking into nothingness behind the brambles. But in the short months of fall and winter, and even into the early days of spring when flowers begin to bloom but leaves have yet to burst forth, sometimes the remains of the past can be glimpsed through the naked trees - even as we speed hastily past. Winter didn't really arrive in Florida until January this year, and while we are not yet into March, spring has already sprung. Still, for those of you in north Florida at least, now is a good time to look closely at your surroundings. What bits of desolation lurk just out of site near you? The following photos were all taken within walking distance of my home. I had driven past two of these structures twice daily for nearly a good six months before the fall season thinned the woods enough for them to become visible. Look closely! Desolation is encroaching.





Can you see the remains of the house?

Meanwhile, this one sits directly behind a local shopping center:




I didn't enter.


What desolation lurks near you?

3 comments:

  1. Hey! I was looking for interesting places away from the spotlight to explore in Florida and I stumbled upon your blog. I love it, who would imagine that there is so much hidden beauty all over the state! I will soon be moving to the Sabbia Beach
    Pompano Beach Florida Condo
    condominium when it is all ready. It will surely be a spectacular place to live in but once in a while I just have the need to escape all the liveliness of the East Coast and simply submerge myself in nature. The places you describe here are nothing but hidden gems and I'll most certainly visit as many as I can! All the best to you! Love, Cindy

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  2. Annie, I don't suppose you check-in here anymore. Just stumbled across this site and appreciated your posts. I now live in Citrus county, but used to live in Madison, Perry, and Tallahassee. I am a former ESL teacher too, with an M.A. in Applied English Linguistics, but I left the field due to poor opportunities in Florida.

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    1. I haven't touched this blog in ages - I haven't had the time! Yeah, jobs are scarce. My employer has started cutting staff due to decreasing student numbers and we are all on edge :(

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