Nocatee Farmer's Market

 Once a month Nocatee has a farmer's market. Lots of fresh locally grown produce and a lot of crafts and arts.

 These strawberries were a ripe and fresh as any I've had in a long time.

Signs of Spring/Signs of Autumn

 Here in North Florida we often get overlapping seasonal signs. The top picture is a big live oak near the Intracoastal Waterway on our land. It is flushed out with Spring growth.

The picture below is of the last leaves on a swamp maple or sweet gum, I'm not sure which. Both trees hold onto their red Autumn leaves until new growth starts. The overlap is nice because there isn't much Winter in between.

Palm, winter light, Nocatee

Winter light down here is very warm, late in the day. I got this just 45 minutes before sunset.

Nocatee palms

 The money and planning that went into Nocatee is staggering.

Afternoon light, Nocatee bike path

Fire ant nest, Nocatee

For non-residents here is something to avoid. Fire ants are a non-native species here in Florida. They came up from South America and have spread all over Florida. They eat everything they can find, insects, meat, fruit, vegetables, fat, meat etc. They are very aggressive around their nests. This was a small new nest. If disturbed hundreds of ants would pour out in a very short time and look for the cause and then sting it over and over. They are called fire ants because the bite burns like crazy and develops a blister just like a burn. You learn to avoid them. I have had a few small encounters over the years and don't want any repeats.

Vines, bikepath, Nocatee

A new walk for me. It goes from the Public parking lot back towards the ocean. It is wide and often empty. These vines looked like a duck peeking out of the bushes to me.

Leaves, sidewalk, Nocatee

New Shell station, Nocatee.

I have been photographing in Nocatee for about 5 years. When I started, we were in the middle of the recession and building had screeched to a halt. Now the place is exploding. This is a very large gas station that has just opened across from the huge Public supermarket that used to sit all alone in the middle of vast fields and an empty parking lot. I loved going there as it was usually not crowded at all and had a great selection of ethnic ingredients. One of the bonuses of the Mexican labor presence up here is that we get access to all those wonderful flavors and spices from Mexican food companies.

Now the parking lot is often very full and the store is crowded. Good deal for everyone.

Earthwork, Nocatee, across from Public

This is a huge tract of land that has been dense woods for the twenty one years we have lived here. They managed to clear it in two weeks. I don't know what is going in, commercial or residential, but, in a year, it should look like it's been there for years.

Cypress seen, Nocatee

Every now and then I attempt to channel my hero, Lee Friedlander. This would be one of his discards but has the feel of some of his work. The Desert Seen comes to mind. He makes order out of chaos better than any photographer, for me.

Electric cones, Nocatee

The state's smallest construction site, but it needed two cones.

Cement dove, sidewalk, Nocatee

Palms, Nocatee

This is in one of the last developments in Nocatee that has not restarted after the recession.

Foliage, Nocatee bike path.

This was a little test shot. I hadn't used my Pentax K5 for a year. Micro 4/3 fever. I have given all of my Canon gear to my daughter, who photographs in Nashville and will use it. It was great equipment and wonderful lenses but heavy for someone who likes to just walk around taking pictures. I kept my Pentax gear because it is a lot lighter than the big Canons and I love their lenses, especially the little 35mm f/2.8 macro. It is small and sharp and, best of all, clear. A quality that I find hard to define but easy to spot. This was taken just for the textures.

Hydrant, Nocatee

As you can probably tell from the oxidized paint, this hydrant has been out standing in a bare field in Nocatee for many years..........with nothing to do. No buildings nearby and only a light pole for company. Well, they have just started a strip mall behind it, with four to six stores going in. It must feel good to be needed.

Nocatee updates

 Two years ago, when I first started photographing in Nocatee, our super development, most of the roads ended with signs like these and a sign with the name of the future sub-division. We were still mired in the recession and things were very buttoned up and quiet. In the last year this has changed incredibly.

 This little pink house is one of about forty in a brand new sub-division near the giant Publix supermarket. They are small and brightly colored and, it seems, occupied as soon as they are finished.

 This was woods and scrub last summer. It is immense.

This too was a section of woods and scrub as of a year ago. There was no street and no houses. All of these are occupied and, just to the right of this shot there are ten more in various states of build, with sold signs in front of them. These are no 1%er houses but solid middle class "estates". I hope that it's a sign of a true recovery, but I am skeptical still.

Suburban tree and scrub, Nocatee

 Nocatee has very defined limits. This tree was planted years ago on the edge of the property. It, like all of Nocatee's landscaping, is very well tended. The lovely scrub palms and pines behind it can only hope to get some water in the summer. We have had a run of days with Weese light and I have tried to capture the rare low contrast, subdued color.

Magnolia cuttings, Nocatee

Nocatee living;-)

Nocatee, our local super-developement, has been booming of late. After the economy tanked, all new building either stopped or slowed to a crawl. There were the starts of roads to the starts of new subdivisions but no work. Two big developers plain pulled out. In the last year or so there has been an explosion of clearing and building. A lot of the road heads are now roads and heavy equipment is everywhere.

This was taken at one of the remaining road heads. People often use areas like this to dump their junk for free. I saw a bunch of beer cans littered around, so this may have been an intentional dump that evolved into a clubhouse.