College Avenue Again

This view of College Avenue is from the opposite direction of the picture I posted yesterday, looking west from downtown toward the main gate of FSU and the Westcott Building.

College Avenue

This is the view looking east on College Avenue to downtown Tallahassee from the main gate of Florida State University. The tall building downtown on the right side of the picture is the Florida Capitol.

Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway

This is a trailhead for the Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway which parallels almost 6 miles of another historic canopy road in Tallahassee called Miccosukee Road. This is called the Red Hills Region of northern Florida because of the red clay soil found in the area. Along the trail, hikers may see over 46 species of birds, including ibis, egrets, and herons and many types of plants and wildflowers.

Brokaw-McDougall House

This antebellum home was built around 1856 by Peres Bonney Brokaw, who ran a successful livery stable downtown and also served in city government, the Florida Legislature, and in the Confederate calvary. His daughter was married to Alexander McDougall and members of these 2 families lived in the house until 1973, when it was sold to the State of Florida. Currently it is managed by the city of Tallahassee and can be rented for events such as weddings. It is open to the public for tours during the week. My favorite part of this house is the cupola on the top which is visible through the trees.

More fall

This little tree always puts on a good show in the fall. I see it everyday on my way to and from work.

Rest in Peace Tree

This marker in Lewis Park commemorates the old May Oak that used to stand in this spot.

More Trees

Tallahassee loves trees! Lewis Park is one of a string of downtown parks offering shade in the form of beautiful old live oak trees. This shade comes in handy in the summer when the temperature is over 100 degrees in the shade and the humidity is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Caution: Ducks Crossing

This sign sits on the side of the road that goes around Lake Ella, which I posted a picture of yesterday. There are quite a few ducks living at this lake and they can be quite tame because so many people feed them. They will also walk right out in the middle of the road and sometimes they have baby ducks following them.

Egrets

These two egrets were standing at the edge of Lake Ella on a cool afternoon. The tall one is a great egret and I think the smaller one is a snowy egret. They eat fish, so maybe they were waiting for one to swim by. You can see the Lake Ella gazebo next to the willow tree in the background. The gazebo sits in the middle of the lake on a small man-made peninsula. Lake Ella is located in the middle of town and is a popular place to go for walking or feeding the ducks.

"Florida's Finest"

This bronze statue sits in the entrance park to the governor's mansion. It is dedicated to the children of Florida and depicts 5 children and a dog playing "follow the leader". The artist is W. Stanley "Sandy" Proctor.

Florida Governor's Mansion

This is the residence of Florida's current governor, Charlie Crist. This mansion was completed in 1957 on the same site as the first Governor’s Mansion which was built in 1907. The old mansion was the home of a succession of 11 governors for almost 50 years before being declared structurally unsound and torn down in 1955.

Fall Color

Tallahassee is located far enough north that we do get some fall color. These trees are next to the pond near the bat house I posted a picture of yesterday.

Bat House

This is a community bat house located near a pond in Tallahassee. Bats like to roost in mature or dead trees or in caves. In urban areas these natural roosting places can be disturbed by development and bats sometimes become pests by roosting in buildings. Bat houses provide an alternative place for them to roost and in return the bats provide natural insect control. One bat can devour up to 3,000 insects in a single night!

Disappearing Waters

Lake Jackson was known to native Americans as "Disappearing Waters" because it has a long history of completely draining into the Florida Aquifer about every 25 years through the 2 large sinkholes lying beneath it. The last time it drained was September 16, 1999. As you can see from the dry dock in the left side of the picture, it has not completely filled back up yet. Like most lakes in this area, it also has alligators living in it which is why you wouldn't catch me wading in it like that fisherman in the picture.

Tallahassee's Royalty

In 1825, Prince Achille Murat, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte and son of General Jochaim Murat, King of Naples, settled here with his wife, Princess Catherine Willis Murat who was the great grandniece of George Washington. Prince Murat was an attorney, county judge, and director of Tallahassee's Union Bank. The prince and princess owned three plantations: "Belle Vue", "Lipona", and "Econchotti" which were centers of social activity in the area. Here is a picture of their graves in an old downtown cemetery.

Higher Education

This is a picture of the Westcott Administration Building behind the main gate of Florida State University which is located near downtown Tallahassee. FSU was founded in 1851 and has an enrollment of over 41,000 students. Three generations of my family (including me and both of my kids) have graduated from this school.

My Commute

Tallahassee is quite proud of its canopy roads. There are 9 of these roads in Leon County and they are officially designated as canopy roads by the county commission. Each road has a tree protection area that includes all land within 100 feet of the center line of the road. This road is called Old Bainbridge Road and it is my favorite because I drive it every day to and from work. I try not to drive it at night though because it can get a little spooky.

Spanish Moss

I took this picture last Sunday morning when I arrived at church. The sunlight was shining through the Spanish moss which is draped on the branches of just about every tree in Tallahassee. The trees in the background are pecan trees because this land used to be part of an old pecan plantation. The trees in the foreground are live oaks.

The Old and the New

Yesterday I posted a picture of Florida's old capitol building. Here is another view taken from my car as I was waiting in traffic on the street leading up the hill to the capitol. This view shows the old capitol building with the new capitol building directly behind it. Tallahassee is not flat like most of the rest of Florida. The capitol sits on top of one of the highest hills in town. During the infamous 2000 presidential election, these buildings were surrounded by reporters and satellite trucks for more than a month.

Florida's Capital City

Tallahassee is the state capital of Florida. Here is a picture of Florida's historic old capitol building which has stood in this location since 1845. In 1978, it was vacated by state employees who moved to the new 20 story capitol building you see standing behind it and the old capitol was then restored to its 1902 appearance. It is now a museum.