We rented a place on the Tsala Apopka Chain of Lakes last winter in Floral City, Florida. It’s an interconnected system of marshes, lakes, and channels connected to the Withlacoochee River. We spent as much time as possible enjoying the outdoor amenities of our rental, eating take out plein air style on the deck, otter and bird watching, sand hill crane wrangling, and literally being moonstruck. We canoed the channel both ways and I can assure you that most rustic cabins have already been half-digested by the earth, or covered in moss, kitschy art, garbage and debris. This is not the coast full of million-dollar dwellings, this is the Florida underbelly filled with environmental riches. Follow my feet…
At dusk, this otter caught a catfish as big as he was, drug it around, ate his fill, gave us gawkers some serious side eye, and stashed the rest for later.
We came home to uninvited backyard visitors one afternoon. Mosaic Monday.
Woodstork hunting grounds.
The full moon peeks above the swamp…
“A haunting, horror story that blends emotional depth with psychological suspense. Creepy without relying on gore, it lingers long after the final page.” ~ Stefine
Love all the beautiful shots, but I’m on your deck having a glass of wine. Beautiful.
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Hello Sharon,
What a cool spot for a rental, the views are pretty. I always love the Florida birds, the cranes, storks, Ibis and heron. Cool sighting of the otter with the fish. Great photos! Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Have a great day and a happy week!
Very interesting environment.
What a lovely place to spend the winter! The otter with its huge fish is amazing, and the cranes and moon photos are beautiful. My favorite, though, is the canoe ride through that gorgeous scenery. It looks so peaceful and relaxing.
Looks like a fascinating place to visit. Happy travels. I am joiining you at Travel Tuesday.
This is my kind of rental! Amazing views with all of the wildlife providing the entertainment. Thank you for linking up.
The wildlife in FL is truly fascinating.
Worth a Thousand Words
Lovely pictures.
Beautiful pictures!
That Jeff Foxworthy quote is the absolute perfect introduction for a trip into the real, raw Florida underbelly, and those kitschy, moss-covered cabins sound like they have so much character! Getting to see an otter tackle a catfish as big as itself and give you the side-eye is the kind of wildlife memory you just can’t script, and having those massive sandhill cranes as uninvited backyard guests must have been quite the sight. There is something so incredibly peaceful about the way the full moon looks peeking over the swamp, especially when you are completely surrounded by those wild environmental riches rather than a crowded coastline. Thank you for sharing this beautiful, rustic slice of the Tsala Apopka chain, it looks like a wonderfully memorable winter escape.
What a great place to stay. I am totally jealous of your otters. I have never seen them in the wild even though we have them in my area. A cabin you can canoe from. That is the height of luxury. Great photos!!