Though far less dramatic for us than much of the country, the start to our school year has been a hectic one. I’d planned a philosophical education post in honor of the inauspicious national beginning to the 2020 school calendar, but life crowded out the time I’d planned to use for that.

I took it as a sign that now isn’t the time for my pontificating. We are awash in the opinions of every Tom, Dick, and Harry right now. That’s not even counting the random musings of every Mary, Jane, and Sue! Increased digital noise is the last thing we need. As a relief from it, I decided to treat my scant few readers to some extremely amateur photography of scenery so beautiful that the amateurish nature of the shots will be easily forgiven.

Our family is enjoying a revelation of sorts. Despite having lived in Florida my entire life, I’ve neglected to explore this place that has drawn people to its beauty from its earliest settlements. Lately, our family has been doing exactly that, and it has been a time of respite and joy.

The belief that Florida is most easily described as theme parks, shorelines and hurricanes neglects the unique character of this place. Embarrassingly, I labored under the same delusions for most of my younger years, making exceptions for St. Augustine. Most people are familiar with it as the oldest remaining European settlement in what was then the New World. However, there is no much more here, and every Sunday since the quarantine began, we’ve been exploring Florida off the beaten path.

Enjoy some the images of Florida that you may not be familiar with:

I’ll assault you with the digital noise of my philosophical pontificating sometime next week.

Until then, have a great weekend. And, if you can take the heat, go outside!