Christmas Day was full of gray, with a tornado watch for most of the day, and most everyone in the family was suffering with some sort of cold or flu, which cancelled the usual family get-together. However, that meant Rob and I were able to spend quality time with his dad and show him the Festival of Lights at Silver Springs last night. Thankfully the rain dissapated and as dark settled in, the trees were a-twinkle with millions of lights. The glass bottomed boats, too, roared around in circles like fellas doing wheelies over the spring, decked out in luminary snowflakes and candy canes. With a sweet chorus playing to an almost empty house, it felt like our own private Christmas show. Today, we’re off to see some antique cars, exploring more of what there is to see in our own backyard. Merry Christmas to all!

While exploring Broward County, I had the opportunity to visit Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, just off the Florida Turnpike’s Sample Rd exit, at Tradewinds Park.

I’ve seen numerous butterfly conservatories, but Butterfly World is rather different: it’s not just butterflies under glass, but a complex of natural wonders. After you wander through two domes where butterflies glide beneath the sun amid tropical plantings, you exit outdoors to a series of gardens surrounding a large pond. My favorite: a maze of passion flowers leading to a small aviary.  There’s a conservatory filled with colorful tropical birds, an insect museum, rose garden, lorikeet interation area, arbors dripping with more colorful flora, and this nifty swinging bridge - a reproduction of one found in a rainforest in South America - to tie it all together.

After reading that they billed themselves as the “first and largest” butterfly complex in the United States, I had my skeptic’s hat on. But I’m impressed! It’s certainly worth a day of your explorations of South Florida.

For the past year I’ve served on an advisory council for the Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway (SR 40), undergoing the official designation process to become both a Florida and a national Scenic Highway. At the last meeting I volunteered to create and maintain a website to promote the effort, since it passes through one of my favorite places: the Ocala National Forest. It’s a work in progress, but stop in and check it out!

It’s been a busy month. Despite no planning of weekend travel in December on my part, we did do a whirlwind tour of Broward County on Thanksgiving weekend, researching natural areas and botanical gardens for my Exploring Florida’s Botanical Wonders book, which kicked off a chain reaction of trips of various sorts: to Tampa for an Inkslingers Christmas, to Orlando for a memorial service and birthday, to Destin for work, and to White Springs for fun. Here’s a misty sunset on the beach at Topsail Hill State Park, courtesy of Carlene Barrett, who tooled around with me so we could check out the park and new, extensive RV facility.