Winter’s ‘a comin’

I live in Florida, a state where we don’t have clear delineation of seasons. We have Hot, HOTTER, mild, and rain. There is very little change in fall foliage – palm trees don’t drop their fronds or turn luscious shades of gold and red – and it doesn’t get cold (Deep South cold) until mid- to late- December. I had to turn my A/C back on last week because the temp inside my house got up to 77F.

What we do have in the winter is rain and gloom. Even though hurricane season runs the whole of summer and into fall, it’s not a constant deluge of storms. It’s still mostly sunshine and blue skies. Winter time rains are dark and dreary.

While out this past weekend for my photo hike, I left my house under the threat of rain. Not a mile down the road and the clouds let loose. Turning south toward a break in the clouds, I found sunshine near Panama City. A leisurely hike around Camp Helen State Park meant I gave the storm front a chance to catch up with me.

Hoping I wouldn’t have to shelter my camera under my shirt, I started the walk run back to my car. At the edge of the beach, the scrub pines silhouetted against the darkening sky, I saw my first glimpse of the coming winter.