The Nature Walk Project – Month 4: January

Location: Orlando, Florida from 9:00am-10:00am    Weather: Sunny and Slightly Breezy, 69°F – High: 76°F  Low: 55°F

Catch up on The Nature Walk Project: Month 1: October, Month 2: November, Month 3: December

I step onto the lake path and see that a light drizzle has left everything dewey and glistening. There’s a slight breeze blowing, creating small swells across the lake’s surface. I can hear the constant chirping and tweeting of birds, as they sit invisible, among the branches and leaves of trees on the island in the lake.

As our mild Florida winter eases into January, I look back at my records and see the temperatures haven’t changed much since October. Then a strong wind gust reminds me that a cold front from Canada is making it’s way down the country, bringing colder temperatures and what will be our first freeze in over a year. I hope all of delicate new growth and flowers that I see will make it through the cold blast.

It’s quiet on the bridge that crosses the lake. The wind is strong up here and the biting cold hurts my ears as it blows by. There is a flock of Anhingas today and they start to flap and  call as I approach.  One even leaves its perch, high above the trees, and glides down to the rocks in front of the bridge. Upon landing, it spreads its wings and points his head toward the sky as though he is posing just for me.

As I make my way further around the lake I’m met with a final gust of cold air, followed by a parting in the clouds that reveals a stream of sunlight, which provides a brief reprieve from the bitter cold.  As I stand in this tug of war between sunlight and wind, I am reminded of the traveler from Aesop’s Fable, The North Wind and the Sun. Then I think to myself…this is January.