Flowers Along the Walking Trail

As we walked along the trail leading to the historic village, we came across several different types of beautiful blooms.  Let’s take a look at some of them ….

Beautiful Bloom

Bright Bloom

Air Fern

Innocence

Enjoy!

 



Intimate Landscapes Along the Walking Trail

One of the things I love to find are what I call intimate landscapes when I’m walking along a trail or boardwalk.  Along the trail to the village at Koreshan, I was lucky enough to find two, and a very interesting seed pod.

Beautiful Leaves

I love the play of the different green tones against the wood of the fallen tree.  I thought the tall leave reminded me of the plant called “Mother-In-Law’s Tongue”, but I never thought those plants grew in the wild.  The green tone of the leafed plant in front of it looks so soft in this image.

Seed Pod

I’m not sure exactly why I like this image so much – maybe it’s the natural textured background behind the seed pod; or the textured coloring on the seed pod itself; or the outer ridge of the seed pod looking like a perfect binding on the pod.  Or, maybe it’s how it all works together!

Green

I saw this sort of vine of leaves in a darker spot on the trail.  They jumped out at me because they were so light in comparison to the other leaves, branches, etc. around them.  Again, perfection in nature!

Enjoy!



Morning Stroll

One morning at Koreshan State Historic Site, we decided to follow the walking trail to the actual village.  The trail wound around the state park which had a river running next to it in some parts.  It was such a beautiful stroll on a very nice, quiet morning….

Tree Reflection

I loved the reflection of the tree with the Spanish moss hanging from it.  The river looks calm, but the current was definitely moving.  Too bad there wasn’t a bench here – I could see forming a habit of just sitting here enjoying the moment as one strolled along.

Looking Up the Bamboo

I was very surprised to notice that a good part of the woods were made up of bamboo trees!  I hadn’t really thought about this being a good environment in which bamboo would flourish, but it sure looks like they do here!  I’m also used to hearing the breeze rustle the leaves of the trees.  Well, in this bit of woods, when the breeze blew, one would hear the creaking of the bamboo as it bent and moved in the gently moving air.

Tropical Forest

When I turned my attention away from the bamboo that grew closer to the river’s edge, this was my view.  Isn’t it wonderful?  There seemed to be a rather haphazard order to it, tho!

Looking Thru the Trees

Here was another river view.  This time, you can see the bamboo growing right along the bluff that would go down to the river.  Very tropical, and very, very peaceful.

Sunlight

Altho we were in the cool of the shade of the trees, the sun was out and shone beautifully thru the fronds of the ferns growing along the bluff’s edge to the river.

Walking Trail

After a bit, the trail turned inward, heading further away from the river and toward the village.  It just sort of meandered along in a very restful way, as if telling you to just slow down and enjoy the journey.

Enjoy!



Koreshan Historic Village Site

While in the Fort Myers, FL, area, we stayed at a state park that is a historic village site. In 1869, claiming a “divine illumination”, Cyrus Reed Teed attracted followers who first followed him to Chicago, and then later to Florida.  He took the biblical name “Koresh” and began building his “New Jerusalem” at the village site.

Bridge to the Village

We followed a trail thru the Florida woods, and entered the village via a bridge.  It was a simple design, and yet there was a fancier looking design to the bridge.

Different Bridge Design

Koreshan expected to attrach millions to his new religion.  Koreshanity believed that the Earth was a hollow shell holding all life within it.  He also believed that he, himself, was immortal.  What a shock it must have been to him when he died in 1908.  Needless to say, the religion began to fall apart with his death, and, for all practical purposes, ended in the early 1940s.  The last follower turned over this property to the state in the early 1960s.

Rockers on the Porch

These rockers sat on the porch of what was a sort of meeting room.  It was empty now, but probably quite large for the followers of Koreshan.

Stately Home with Spanish Moss

I call this a house, but it was technically called the Planetary Court, where the leaders would meet and work.  Most of the leaders, especially after Koreshan’s death, were women.

Window into Yesterday

They did have some of the buildings restored to what they looked like back in the popular years of Koreshanity.  I loved this image of sort of peeking into yesterday.

Art Studio

Isn’t this a lovely art studio?  Inside, there was a nice open room with a stage.  The park ranger in there explained that this is where entertainment would be put on periodically, and services held, altho not held to any schedule.  The followers that were musically inclined actually made up a half-orchestra, and the likes of Firestone, Edison and other famous men and their wives would come to the entertainment evenings.  If walls could talk!

Number 12 Rocker

This small cabin was probably a place where one of the followers lived.  It was a small cabin, probably only large enough for one family or a couple of followers bunking together.

Sittin’ Space

I liked the bench that was just sitting along the path around the village.  Perhaps people from the nearby cabin would sit out there to visit with neighbors, or others would take a rest there for a few moments during their walk around the grounds, coming back from services – who knows?  It just looks like it has countless stories from days gone by.

Enjoy!