Idyll Dreams & Nonsensical Things

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, Inspirations and Interesting Tidbits, a great deal of inspiration for the land around Ashwood town came from my own memories. I grew up walking down sandy roads and exploring the woods around where I lived, usually on horseback. A lot of those places are long gone now, and I guess I wanted to share with you a part of Florida that not everyone sees, but that I had the luck to grow up running wild through.

Florida has many wonderful, interesting habitats, and it was hard not to try to include all of them here (many a day was spent down the rabbit hole on this one) But, I’ve decided to stick to the ones you see in and around Ashwood.

Mesic pine flatwoods have sandy, acidic soil with very little organic matter. A few feet below that is usually a layer of hardpan or marl. The canopy is made up of slash or longleaf pine and saw palmetto is the dominant understory plant. They are an open kind of wood. Their beauty is subtle and as unforgettable as the sweet ephemeral fragrance of the tarflower that grows there.

Oak Hammocks often occur as little “islands” of high ground in surrounding wetlands. Live and Laurel Oaks interspersed with Sabel Palm usually form a heavy, closed canopy, and it is not uncommon to find their limbs covered in Resurrection Fern and draped in Spanish Moss. The understory tends to be shrubby and is often made up of Saw Palmetto, American Holly, Hog Plum, and Wax Myrtle. There is a timeless quality to the air in a hammock, a glimpse of old Florida.  

“The sand dunes were the closest thing to hills this area had. And yet, Ascher house sat up on high, atop a rise in the land made by the discarded shells of a long-dead people.” Shell Mounds or Shell Middens are exactly that, huge mounds of discarded shells. For thousands of years, the early peoples of Florida lived on the bounty of its extensive rivers and waterways, and these shell mounds were a result. They can be found throughout Florida, though many are gone now, having been used for construction and early roadworks. There is one in my hometown of Jupiter, in fact. It was, and still is, 20 feet high, but once measured 600 feet in length but now it only measures around 90 feet. It was made by the Jeaga (hay-gwa) tribe that once inhabited the area. 

Today, the Dubois Pioneer House sits at the top. Built in 1898 it is the second oldest house still standing in Palm Beach County. Although as you now know, the land it sits on is much, much older still.

The natural springs of Florida are beautiful places where the water is always cool, crystal clear, and often the most amazing shade of aqua or green. They are surrounded by hardwood forests and their bottoms are often covered in white sand and seagrass. They are a favorite spot for manatees. Is it any wonder that these magical places were the inspiration for the Shallows at the end of Washboard Lane? 

Barrier islands line Florida’s coasts, some 700 miles of its coasts in fact. They often begin in one of two ways, as simple sandbars or emerged shoals that grow over time into more substantial islands separated from the mainland by tidal creeks, bays, and lagoons. Beaches and sand dunes covered with deep-rooted grasses form on the side of the barrier island facing the ocean while the side facing the shore often develops into marshes, tidal flats, or maritime forests. 

The barrier islands I am most familiar with were covered in coastal scrub and maritime forests made up of mangroves, sea grape, and gumbo limbo trees. I often visited Jupiter Island when I was younger, walking along the beach from Coral Cove to Blowing Rocks Preserve. Australian pines grew there then, and the sound the wind made through their long needles was like nothing else in the world. I used to sit there on limestone rocks worn smooth by the waves and listen to the pines whispering and watch the osprey or sea birds flying overhead. Talk about a wonderful place to daydream. The Australian pines are gone now. I know it had to be because, sadly, they are an invasive species, but I miss their voices.

Although I wasn’t able to take pictures of all the places mentioned above. However, all of these pictures were taken near where I grew up, and all played a hand in the shaping of Ashwood. I hope to post more pictures in the future.