I got up and pottered around for most of the morning, drank a couple of nice big cups of coffee and made myself baked oats (a recipe posted on Instagram by the lovely soupdragon, I will ask her if I can share it). Then I made a few phone calls that needed making, and decided that as it was still looking quite nice outside and was only about 2 pm, that I would finally after eighteen months here go and have a wander around the Turkey Creek sanctuary.
Turkey Creek is around 7 miles from our house, in the middle of Palm Bay, and home to all sorts of wildlife such as alligators, manatees, raccoon, squirrels, anoles, Florida cooters (turtles), gopher tortoises, otters and so on. I saw lots of cooters, a friendly raccoon, plenty of squirrels and anoles and an alligator! I was lucky enough to catch him with the naked eye, he was not at all easy to spot and it was thanks to meeting three very pleasant ladies - one of whom kindly lent me her binoculars so I could see it up close for myself - that I was able to get a really good look.
It was a lovely, mostly quiet and peaceful, wander through nature. I reckon to have walked around three and a half miles - I never did manage to set up my Fitbit correctly to take my stride length into account, I should really do that. I followed the boardwalk to the turkey oak trail, not realising there is a whole two thirds more to the boardwalk (there were people in the gazebo which is where the boardwalk continues on, so I walked straight past), then decided to do the boardwalk again when I finished the trail as I'd not walked as far I'd hoped (obviously!) and felt quite fresh.
This time I walked the whole of the boardwalk and was able to overlook the creek from several spots.
This friendly little chap had been enjoying some food, courtesy of a couple of courting teenagers. I had my back to them and was down a level near the canoe deck, and it was there that I saw the alligator. I stood there and watched the fish and turtles for quite some time. I love the water, and being near it is very soothing. At the moment my knees are horrible as I'm carrying so much extra weight, but once I have some level of fitness back and can manage to scramble in and out of a kayak, I am going to hire a kayak and explore it all from water level.
I also spotted a blue heron, lots of dragonflies, butterflies, various birds which I mostly couldn't identify and several types of lizard.
The turkey oak trail was fascinating; it's an opportunity to get a feel for the old Florida, before swamps were drained and land built over. Palm Bay is a small but growing city, with a little over 103,000 people at the last census in 2010. It's actually the biggest city in Brevard County. It's not on the coast, quite, but it is close to the Indian River lagoon system of waterways, beyond which are the barrier islands where lie the beaches. So Melbourne has Melbourne Beach across the river, Cocoa has Cocoa Beach, and so on. Our favourite beaches are at Indialantic and Sebastian Inlet, where you can snorkel and see all kinds of aquatic wildlife, including manatees if you are lucky.
It was great just to get out of the house and see something different, and to have some time to myself in the fresh air.
Food wise it's been another day on track, with sausage casserole for dinner, eggs cooked in the microwave as a protein-rich snack and a 200 calorie pack of trail mix as a post-dinner treat. Oh, I had some french toast sticks as a wee treat, too. I've been consistently around the 1,700 - 1,800 calorie mark each day so far, which is right around where I wanted to be, so that's all good. It may of course be that I am not actually eating enough calories; all I can say is that I haven't been particularly hungry, except for yesterday evening as it was a very late dinner due to bowling until almost 10 o'clock and then having to run a team mate home. There were a few tummy rumbles mid-match, but I didn't order a portion of fries as has been my habit over the last few months. I was quite proud of myself for that!
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