S. M. Garver - North Florida Images

North Florida Images - page 5 of 5

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Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve
This is slightly north of St. Augustine, Florida.
April 18, 2013

Looking inland just past the parking lot.
[Flat landscape lush with green vegetation in the foreground, somewhat dry wetlands in the midground, and an expans of trees in the background. Two palm trees rise above the foreground greenery on the right.]

Looking southbound from viewing platform atop a dune separating the ocean from inland. (Ocean on left and inland to the right.)
[Ground on the left slopes downward to the white waves. Vegetation sits in the foreground and also in the middle groud to the right where it meets the flat land of the wetlands.]

Boardwalk leading to the Atlantic Ocean.
[A boardwalk built through the greenery-covered sand dune leads to waves seen in the distance. To the right a set of boardwalk steps lead up to a viewing platform. White puffy clouds are scattered through the blue sky.]

Looking southbound.
[An expanse of shell-laden sand with footprints all through it borders the smooth sand which meets othe ocean's waves. In the far distance are several lone people on the smooth sand. Many puffy white clouds cover the sky.]

Looking northbound. (The sand contains thousands of shells and shell fragments.)
[In this view the sand is much lighter and the multitude of small shells are more distinct. White-caps are visible on the ocean and a lone person sits on a beach chair looking at the water. The sky is only a small portion of this image and is all medium blue.]

Close-up of the shell-laden sand
[Hundreds if not thousands of small shells and shell fragments completely cover the sand. Colors run the gamet from creamy white to purple to gray and brown. Stripes and ridges are visible as are smooth sections. Most shell pieces are broken but some full half-shells are visible i n the mix.]

This is one of several prickly pear cacti I noticed amid the grass on the sand.
[A cactus nearly three feet wide and about 18 inches tall sits amid the grass holding the sand in place at the edge of the dune.]

A splash of color I noticed while peering over the edge of the boardwalk before I reached the beach.
[Amid the sand growing on a slim green stem is a flower with red petals and a rounded bulb center of darker red with a greenish tint.]

Sandpiper
[A sandpiper is bent with its beak to the sand to eat something which has just been washed by a wave leaving a multitude of bubbles atop the sand which sparkle in the sunlight. The bird has a white underside (mostly visible in this image) and a brown and white top half.]

Close up of wave froth
[The foreground is almost completely covered with teeny white bubbles. At the center of an image is a small section of water breaking over the bubbles and looks like a waterfall as the water is bubble-free. Behind this is still-looking dark blue water with a small scattering of white bubbles.]

On the beach looking back at the dune.
[Some patches of sand are visible, but this dune is mostly covered with low-growing vegetation. Atop it are four palm trees outlined by the blue sky.]

The same palms seen from the viewing platform further south atop the dune
[At this elevation the sky behind the palms is completely covered in clouds which are varying shades of white, blue, and grey and provide an interesting backdrop. The platform is approximately the same elevation as the palms so the hillside is not visible.]

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