Florida Wildlife At Fasulo Park In Florida City FL

This is the first year Nikki is working full time and we haven’t been able to galivant as much as we did in the past.

Other than hanging around the campground, I haven’t been getting out-n-about much.

I enjoy interacting with my neighbors who are here for the season as well as Camper’s who are just passing through – but I need a change of scenery once in a while.

The Past Several Weeks…

My treks outside of the campground consist of going to the store for groceries and, sometimes, taking the long way – as shared in my A Stormy Adventure In Florida City post.

I don’t know how I keep falling into this trap but it’s been difficult to stop and smell the roses. This has been a tough rut to get out of. If you’re human, I’m sure you’ve experienced a similar situation.

It may seem trivial but I had to force myself to take a day and do something fun outside of the campground – by myself.

Getting The Day Started…

After a van-shower and a leisurely cup of coffee, I pack up the van and head to Publix to get the groceries out of the way first thing.

A van shower is my term for washing up in the van instead of using the campground shower. The unfiltered water is atrocious here. Miami-Dade uses chloramine in the water – which is supposed to be better than chlorine but my hypersensitive MCS body didn’t get the memo. At first, I used Florida water to shower with and ended up with sores that wouldn’t heal. Even my bug bites weren’t healing. For me, sores that don’t heal aren’t uncommon but it’s a sign I need to do something different. I switched to using bottled water for my van-showers and the sores are starting to heal.

At Publix…

I park the van, get out and notice I have a hitchhiker.

A tree frog was right by the crack of the door. He could have gotten inside the van!

I tried to make him get off the van so he wouldn’t hop inside the next time I opened the door.

His suction cup feet stuck like glue! He also peed when I poked him LOL.

All of a sudden… he jumped on me. I wasn’t expecting this. I let out a bit of a scream and did a little jig right there in the parking lot.

A gentleman passing by simply looked at me and smiled… but I’m pretty sure he was laughing hysterically on the inside.

After the frog jumped on me he decided to jump into the wheel of the van.

At this point, there was nothing more I could do. I gave up and went inside to get my groceries.

The frog’s fate was in his own hands now.

Mayor Roscoe Warren Municipal Park – Homestead FL…

I had a container of pre-cut cantaloupe for a light lunch. I thought I’d head to one of the city parks to eat.

At Mayor Roscoe Warren park, I pull in to a parking spot and see Nikki and Misael walking to their car (which I parked right next too). On her days off, Nikki and Misael often come to this park for a morning walk.

We talked for a bit but they needed to head to an appointment to get some work done on their car.

Fasulo Park – Florida City FL…

After lunch, I head over to Fasulo Park in Florida City.

There are 2 entrances to Fasulo park. The main entrance is on South Redland Road. I prefer the secondary entrance on SW 7th Street because it’s more secluded and feels more nature-like.

The wildlife was pretty active (compared to other times I’ve been here).

Black Florida Water Birds…

There were a few black birds hanging out on the water and lower tree branches.

On my right, a big black bird with an orangish beak sits on a a perch just above the water. I’m not positive what this bird is but it may be some sort of Cormorant.

To my left, I spot two more black birds of different sizes on a tree branch hovering over the pond.

White Florida Water Birds…

There are a few types of white water birds native to south Florida. It can be difficult to tell who’s who when they’re scrunched in the trees but they’re usually an Egret, Ibis or Heron.

I watched several white birds fly gracefully through the air and perch among the trees.

This one thought he could hide from my camera!

Colorful Florida Lizards And Iguanas…

I’ve never seen so many lizards and iguanas at the park.

Depending on who you talk with, lizards and iguanas can be a sore subject. Believe it or not, many are not native to Florida.

The invasive species (brought here by human activities) can be quite destructive to the landscape and harmful to the native species. They disrupt the ecosystems, compete for resources, spread disease and/or outright attack the native species.

But… it was fun to see all the colors and sizes.

This large iguana was eating fruit that had fallen from the tree. He kept a watchful eye on me as he feasted.

Another large iguana sits along the bank of the pond. Sometimes they’re hard to see – especially when they’re statue-like.

There were 4 (or more) medium sized iguanas chasing each other in and around this tree. The little buggers were so fast I couldn’t get a picture of all of them together.

A colorful lizard climbed up the palm tree about 20 feet away from me. He paused for a photo before scurrying up the tree.

Ending The Day…

After I left Fasulo park, Nikki messaged me to say their car appointment had to be rescheduled.

This was an opportunity to hang out together!

It was around 1:30 pm and I was hungry. That cup of coffee and cantaloupe sure didn’t fill me up for long.

Nikki and I went to Sprouts to get one of their big brownies. Ok, ok… we got one for each of us!

Sprouts has bakery-made brownies made with ingredients neither one of us is allergic to and they’re delicious.

Then, we went to Publix and got a veggie wrap for me, a sandwich for Nikki and some lemonade.

With food and drink in hand, we went to the park to eat, talk and hang out.

Before taking Nikki home, we took a little drive down some new-to-us roads and some known-to-us roads.

We’ve loved taking drives together since Nikki was a tiny tot!

It was a great day topped off with an unexpected chance to spend time with Nikki.