Today is my 11 year Florida-versary

I moved to Florida with no expectations. I followed family because I had a work from home job at the time.

When I travel or move, I don’t like to plan ahead. I just go. I let the experiences and opportunities happen. Once I experience something, then I look up additional bits of information to round out my experience. I love letting the environment and conversations with the locals guide my adventures. It's part of the reason I love to move and live in a place instead of just vacation...the adventure can slowly unfurl as I get to know people and the area.

Florida is the flattest state in the US. Flatter than a pancake. It's so flat, you feel like you're in a Monty Python movie while heading toward a traffic light. It feels like you will never get to the light and then all of the sudden you're there.

But the cloud formations make up for the flat lands. Because it can be raining in the front of your house and sunny in the back, it means you can view entire cloud formation to the heights of the clouds.

The bear in the previous post was my first introduction to the animals in Florida. Pretty quickly I was able to have my own experiences starting with a little armadillo. My dogs were barking wildly at something on the other side of the fence. I saw something long and thin slide by through the slats of the fence. I took in a gulp of air, gathered up a little bit of gumption, opened the gate...and found this adorable little near-sighted creature snuffling along for grubs and insects. These nine-banded armadillos are not native to Florida but are considered naturalized now. They are not necessarily invasive as they are not destroying the local wildlife with their presence (unlike the iguanas or Burmese pythons). They seem to cohabitate with the native wildlife. However, it's likely they annoy the Type A homeowners who want their yard to be perfect at all times. 

More adventures coming!