Friday, May 11, 2012

Castaway Island Preserve--Another Amazing Jacksonville, Florida Park

Looking for some new reference photos for landscape painting, I recently visited the Castaway Island Preserve and found it fascinating. My photos don't fully capture its charms, I fear, but have given me much raw material for paintings. Sometimes all I need is good background information (a unique tree, a winding channel in the salt marsh, a particular bird) to meld into a composition that represents the area without copying any particular spot exactly. Although I had neglected to check the tidal schedule for the day, I was in luck to be there when the high tide was just receding. Thus, the marsh was quite wet, and birds, crabs, and other critters were active.
This wonderful small preserve includes both woodland and salt marsh ecosystems with views out to the intracoastal waterway, which runs between our off-shore beach island and the North Florida mainland in this area. We are parched for rain, unfortunately, and have some wildfires in the area. The day I explored Castaway Island, smoke hung in the air--sad to see and smell. However, I did the photo documentation I could under these conditions and have a nice packet of about 4 dozen prints to carry along with other photos to a painting workshop I will be taking this weekend. I hope to start two 9" x 12" canvases at the workshop.
In one photo, you see the dock at the end of the park area, where a woman had put a something on a line into the water (crabbing perhaps?). The intracoastal waterway is in the smoky background with a sailboat and a powerboat passing each other, going in opposite directions. Another photo shows the beginning of the path to Castaway Island (a short bridge crossing a channel in the marsh is the only clue that one is has crossed to an island). On the island part of the preserve, there are about 12 informative big boards along the main path, each one describing the life of one of the preserve's "survivor" species--other than that, the area is quite untouched. Two other photos show the wetlands, grasses, etc.--one includes a great blue heron fishing (actually blue-grey in color) which will take sharp eyes to see, even if you click on the photos to enlarge them.
For this visit, I took the paths through the salt marsh; the park provides extensive boardwalks over the wettest areas, helping to protect the natural habitat as well as making exploration convenient for the visitor. Another time, I'll explore the wooded areas further from the intracoastal. We are fortunate indeed in the Jacksonville, Florida area to enjoy a rich variety of habitats and to have many thousands of acres in these areas protected in preserves and parks.
Question of the day: Isn't it amazing how deep the creative and spiritual renewal available to us when we explore natural areas?

10 comments:

  1. I agree with your question; it is so stunning and doing just what you did is how I find the beauty in every state I've ever been through. It is a stunning country and so rich with natural beauty. Can't wait to see your next painting.

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  2. Wouldn't it be cool if we could explore together sometime, Sherry? I'm just positive we would have a super time and spark each other's creativity in amazing ways. Sigh, life is full of "if onlys", isn't it?

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  3. Very thoughtful post. Visiting nature is so healing and inspiring.

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  4. Thank you, Jo. Yes, even though I am a "city kid" at heart, visiting nature is essential for my well-being. I appreciate your visit and comment.

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  5. The natural world is where my spirit revives. I must say I was very very (and unexpectedly) impressed with my first ever recent visits to Florida. The extent and quality of the natural areas along both coast is..... amazing. Way to go Florida.

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  6. What a lovely comment, TB--Florida thanks you. I had the same response to my first visits to the state, not so many years ago; there is so much natural beauty beyond the stereotypes of what the state is like. After living here over ten years now, we are still making new discoveries frequently. However, I must say that your native area considerably north of here is also amazing--and is beautifully represented in the stunning photos on your blog.

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  7. Being a Florida native, I'm continually amazed by Florida's ecosystem. And yes, if the lady just had a line she was probably fishing for blue crabs. Usually, a chicken liver is put on the hook.

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  8. It's great to hear from you, SR! Thank you for visiting and commenting; I appreciate the extra information. Enjoy your holiday weekend.

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  9. I like your photos very much at your sister. When you was on your vacation. I hope you are going to take photos on your vacation. I love seeing the photos of yalles vacation very much. P.S. If you are on vacation again. I hope you will take some more photos of your vacation. I love seeing the photos of places were you went on your vacation.

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  10. Thank you for your encouragement. Yes, I will publish photos of vacations in the future.

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