Enjoy the Outdoors. Love the Planet.
All about Nature, about the outdoors<>I love it, photograph it and protect it.
Serenity is a Full Moon
Like all of you, I’ve been a bit stressed in the last month or so. And I was really looking for something that would help me banish the stress-monster for a moment or two.
About 30 minutes ago, I noticed that a beautiful full moon had just popped over the neighbor’s house. So I grabbed my trusty Canon and took the pic that’s now living at the top of this post.
I hope you’re feeling alright on this lovely night. I’m not exactly a paragon of serenity, but I’m feeling better than I was a little while ago.
And there’s nothing wrong with that!
“Moondog Ben” Basile
© 2020 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo credit Ben Lawrence Basile
You Can’t Go to the Zoo Today
Going to zoos is — without a doubt — one of my most favorite ways to spend an afternoon.
But, as you know well, it’s something we just can’t do today.
Fortunately, I’ve been to zoos many, many times and have some good photos of those visits.
Today’s banner photo is a pic from a 2017 trip to the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida. It’s a pic I like a lot.
I’m delighted to be able to say that I went on four different outdoor adventures in the last three months, while we could do such things without fear of compromising our own or others’ health.
And, yes, I’ve got plenty of photos!
So I will be posting about said adventures soon.
So the fine foto of my feathered friend above is the latest pic from one of my nature excursions.
And it most certainly will not be the last even if it takes me a while to escape the confines of my home!
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
© 2020 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo credit Ben Lawrence Basile
Heroes Are on Their Way
There’s no doubt that the healthcare catastrophe the world is facing now generates almost unlimited bad news.
Like so many of us, when I read or hear good news, it’s a real ray of sunshine piercing through what seems like an impenetrably dark cloud.
I read a story yesterday that provided one of those occasional bright moments and I’m passing the story along today. I’m hopeful that it might provide a bit of relief to you while we’re dealing with this dark, unfolding tragedy.
As you most likely know, New York has been hard hit by the coronavirus. New York governor Andrew Cuomo is holding daily press briefings while his state and her medical professionals are straining to deal with the crisis.
He’s repeatedly appealed for more Doctors, Nurses and other professionals in the healthcare field to come to the aid of his beleaguered state.
A band of dedicated, compassionate professionals from Georgia heard those appeals and boarded a flight for New York yesterday.
I have no doubt that what these dedicated and selfless folks did yesterday made a lot of their hard-pressed colleagues smile.
If only for a few precious moments.
And it most definitely inspired me and brightened my day. At a time when I truly needed it.
I hope there are some moments of budding happiness for you and your loved ones today.
As I read and hear more about the crisis we’re facing, I look for those rays of sunshine.
I’m grateful that I’ve found a few.
And very grateful that we have people of compassion — like the ones who boarded that flight yesterday — while we endure this dreadful scourge together.
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
© 2020 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo courtesy of Southwest Airlines
From the Wildlife File: a Happy Ending in Florida!
As you no doubt know, I’m a passionate environmentalist and advocate for wildlife.
And because we’re in such dire straits right now as we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, I was quite happy to get a bit of nature news in my inbox just now. Some “feel good” news and I’m more than happy to pass it along.
An outdoor enthusiast passing through the Ocala National Forest a few weeks ago came upon an abandoned black bear cub on a dirt road.
This alert citizen did what anyone would do.
He took our hapless cub to a Florida Fish and Wildlife officer.
Because I’m an annual pass holder at the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, I’m one of the many zoo supporters who got “the rest of the story” about our tiny, furry friend.
He’s now thriving in the care of of Zoo Curator Lauren Hinson and the rest of the staff.
If you’d like to read more about this happy situation, just follow this link.
I loved reading all about it. In fact, I could bear-ly contain my enthusiasm as I passed my delighted eyeballs over the happy missive from the PR crew at the zoo!
Yeah, sorry not sorry!
I hope you’re getting some relief today from the cares of the day. Take good care of yourself, by all means.
And look out for all God’s creatures, whether they walk around in jeans, suits or in their bear skin!
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
© 2020 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo of a different cub from Nat’l Wildlife and Pictures
Is there anything better?
Yeah, it’s not a rhetorical question. There’s not.
Nothing. Nothing at all.
There’s nothing better than hanging out on the pool deck on a beautiful Spring day like this.
See ya! I’m logging off so I can devote the entire afternoon to doing nothing at all.
Just hangin’ and sippin’ a cold one…
“Pooldog Ben” Basile
© 2020 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo credit Ben Lawrence Basile
Return to Moss Park
A couple of months ago I spent a very pleasant part of a winter’s day at Moss Park.
This gem is about 4 miles from Orlando Int’l Airport and features amazing scenery and camping, among other things.
I always love making a trip and taking in all the sights. I have camped there twice and have made two other day visits to grill and take photos.
And, yes, I got some really good photos on this trip.
My companion and I enjoyed a pleasant picnic lunch and then I started roaming around with camera in hand.
The banner photo is one that I especially like. The vistas in this part of the park–situated very close to the park’s entrance–are always breathtaking.
The one you see below is from that same part of the park. I always know that pix taken in those last couple of hours before sunset often turn out fabulously. On this visit, I was not disappointed.
Both our lunch and the photo expedition were wonderful. You can be sure that there will be another return to this fine outdoor spot very soon.
And when I go back, I’ll undoubtedly capture many memories and plenty of photos to go with them.
Photos like the one below, the last one I’ll share for now.
Enjoy your outdoor adventures. At this moment in our shared history, it’s all the more important to look for ways to grab a little serenity.
Taking in the beauty of some of our superlative outdoor spaces is a wonderful way to do that.
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
© 2020 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo credit Ben Lawrence Basile
Coronavirus, the risks of comparison and a Silver Lining
It’s natural that when we have a new threat–talking about the Coronavirus–that we compare it to something we already know about.
But the Coronavirus is very different from the flu that we’re all very familiar with. Different in several important ways.
This article will help greatly if you’d like to know more and see why this is a much bigger deal than, for instance, a new strain of flu.
This is affecting so many areas of our lives, as you know well.
It is and will have great effects on the way we do things together.
Let me throw out something that seems–to me, at least–to possibly be a silver lining in this very dark cloud.
One of the things that I’ve been aware of in the last day or so is that going outside and engaging in outdoor activities is most likely one of the areas of life that will be effected least while we weather this storm.
That is of considerable consolation to me right now.
I wish all of you the best. Take good care of yourselves and look out for each other, too.
Especially those whose health is not the best and are most at risk.
Ben Basile
© 2020 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo credit Ben Lawrence Basile
Fort Christmas Follow Up
On February 9th, I put up a brief post with a few photos about my January visit to Fort Christmas Park, a “hidden gem” within the Orange County (Florida) parks system.
When you visit any park, you’d expect to find some rec facilities, picnic sites complete with sheltered pavilions, grills and a playground.
Fort Christmas Park has all of that and much more. A recreated Fort of no small historical significance, for starters.
The construction of this outpost for our troops of that day began on Christmas day of 1837. Which is–as you might expect–the reason behind the Fort’s noteworthy name.
Are you interested in Florida history?
Would like to know more about the three Seminole Wars of the 19th Century?
The conflicts which have been called the “Vietnam Wars” of that time.
More about the fighting spirit and resistance of great Seminole chiefs like Osceola, Micanopy and Billy Bowlegs?
I was quite surprised to learn how much the park and the recreated fort could inform and educate those who come to see and experience all of it.
My companion and I stayed for over three hours and tried to take it all in. I assure you, it was time very well spent.
This post is mostly focused on the recreated fort. I did get some good photos and those make a good template to put together a post that can give one a glimpse into what the park and the replica of the fort have to offer.
The banner photo is a view of the gate leading into the fort from the outside. The one below is of one of the stockades from the interior. This would be one of the locations where troops defending the outpost would be if the fort should come under siege.
Once you’re in the interior of the fort, the building you see below houses a fine and accurate exhibition of the fort’s history, down to the carpentry and construction tools which were used for such purposes in the 19th Century.
Another one of the things that caught my interest is pictured below. That’s the enclosure where gunpowder and musket balls–the ammo of the 19th Century–were stored.
The earthen floor–which you can’t see in this exterior shot–was about two feet below ground to keep the ammo cooler and more secure than it would be at ground level.
There is so much more about Fort Christmas Park and the Fort in particular that could never be conveyed in a blog post.
For example, there are many real, authentic out-buildings that illustrate what life was like for settlers here in Florida in the 19th and early 20th Centuries. The photo below features just one of them.
I did capture a few interior shots that I think merit a place in today’s posting. I’m very keen to know more about about wood-burning stoves and some of the other furnishings found in the homes of that time.
If you’re in Central Florida or ever come here–for a visit to our beaches or ever-popular theme parks–I heartily recommend the Fort and the Park for anyone who’d like a glimpse into Florida History or get a taste of what life was like for our early settlers.
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
© 2020 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo credits Ben Lawrence Basile
A word from Florida’s FWC with Spring on the way
Each year around this time, wildlife obey Nature’s directive to shift back into high gear.
And each year, our Fish and Wildlife Commission here in the Sunshine State puts out info so the public can be “springtime savvy” as far as helping critters of all kinds is concerned.
Helping–or in many cases–just making sure that our behaviors and actions don’t hurt.
If you’re here in Florida, taking a look at the site and this helpful bulletin would be a good thing.
And it’s a very good thing for those of us who love critters to watch out for them all throughout the year no matter what neck of the woods you may be in.
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
© 2020 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo credit Ben Lawrence Basile
Fort Christmas Park
My fellow outdoor enthusiast and I made another trip to Orange County’s Fort Christmas park a couple of weeks ago.
It was another splendid trip, and I did have a chance to take some good photos.
When you visit Fort Christmas Park, there are so many things to see. It’s a park in the Orange county park system wrapped around a pretty authentic re-creation of the actual fort. Fort Christmas was active for a short time in the 2nd Seminole Indian War.
That’s a photo of that storied fort (as re-created) but the fort is only one of the reasons why making a visit to the park is time very well spent.
There are at least 15 out-buildings spread all over the park grounds and they shed light on what life was like for settlers in Florida in the late 19th to early 20th Centuries.
I’ll have more coming soon both about the fort, a very brief mini-history of the Seminole wars and why the fort came to be. And then a photo journal of all of the other things that lie in store for the park’s visitors.
Keep getting out to see some of the great outdoor spots in your neck of the woods. Every corner of America–and our entire planet, for that matter–has a thousand lovely places just there for the taking!
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
© 2020 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo credit Ben Lawrence Basile
Enjoy the Outdoors. Love the Planet. 
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