I went to north central Florida to live on what is known as Big Lake Santa Fe.

Big Lake Santa Fe is supposed to be the deepest lake in Florida. Some parts of it are said to be over 80 feet deep! I don't know if all that is true or not; but, the lake is big enough, and deep enough, to produce waves which can sometimes "roar" like the ocean. It is connected to Little "Lake Santa Fe" by a canal.

Both lakeshores are speckled with bald cypress; big, long lived trees, related to the redwoods. They are called "bald cypress" because somebody thought their leaves look like those of a cypress and because they lose those leaves in winter; but, the most distinctive thing about bald cypresses are the way they often live in water by sending projections of their roots upwards above the water so that they can breathe. These projections are called "knees" and are sometimes used to make lamps and various ornaments. Cypress wood is much valued because it resists rot.

This picture of me and Mildred with our mother was taken on the dock at Big Lake Santa Fe. You can see the bald cypresses in the background

The swamps and woods adjacent were home to all manner of animals and birds. Deer, oppossum, rabbit, raccoon, and squirrels were all very common. We also had plenty of ducks, woodpeckers, and blackbirds. Some cardinals and bluejays would wander by occasionally; but, I never saw any of the more "urban" birds such as sparrows and mockingbirds. I did miss hearing the mockingbirds which are so plentiful in Jacksonville.

I know there were fish in the waters too, more so in "Little Lake Santa Fe" than "Big Lake Santa Fe" which was said to be too deep; but, what kind of fish, I don't know. I wasn't interested enough to find out. As I have said elsewhere, I don't like seafood. If that "seafood" comes from the sea, a river, a lake or whatever makes no never mind!

And yes, this is Florida, there were alligators! Just before I moved to the lake, one had attacked and killed a dog right in the canal that I lived on. I had Pillsbury and Cookie with me, so this was a concern; but, back then, even just those twenty years ago, people accepted things that they don't so easily accept today. I used to feed the many mallard ducks which lived on and around the lake. Every once in a while, one would disappear; and I knew! I didn't like it; but, I knew and accepted it. Even an alligator has to eat!

Technically, I didn't live on the lake; but, on a little canal that came off the lake and kind of curved around so that I was actually quite close to the lake which I could easily see and hear.

Neither Pillsbury or Cookie showed much interest in the water around us. Considering the alligators, that made me feel real good!

There was a little boathouse on the canal with belonged to "my property." It went unused for the most part because I didn't have a boat; but, my brother, Walter, as shown here, did. The boathouse is behind him.

The property also had a toolshed and a couple of acres of land which needed a lot of mowing!

The three room, white frame house, with a screened in porch which faced the canal, was small and pretty basic. So was the wiring. I had brought a large microwave from Garden City. Every time I used it, a fuse would blow; so my brother helped me rewire the house. He knew a lot about things like that!

To get the wiring permit, I went into Starke, the county seat of Bradford County where my property was located. I had been to Starke many times before because my paternal grandfather had spent his last years there; but, it had been a while. I primarily remembered it as a small town with a lot of old homes build in the "Southern" style with big front porches; and, there were a lot of pecan trees which dropped pecans on the little winding roads for cars to run over! The place had not changed. Stark had a tiny little police station and an old domed county courthouse which the county government had just moved out of. They had just moved into a big fancy marble slabbed courthouse where I was told I would have to go to get the permit. I went into the building and I couldn't find anyone there! I went to the old courthouse and I couldn't find anyone there! I went back to the new building, and for a while could not find anyone again; but, eventually a woman showed up and typed out the permit for me. I left with the permit having seen only one person at two Bradford County Courthouses!

Anyway, we got the place wired!

The plumbing was primitive. There were separate faucets for the hot and cold water even in the bathtub which was kind of rough because there were a couple of really bad winters down there! The water from the bathtub and bathroom lavatory just emptied under the house. So did the water from the kitchen sink at first until my brother and I made a separate little septic tank for it! The toilet did empty into its own little septic tank which was fine for one person; but, very much company for long and things would start overflowing. I would take the overflow and feed this little wild cherry tree I babied on it! That little tree got to be pretty good size before I left!

All this may strike some of you as unsanitary; but, it did meet the state and county health regulations of the time!

The telephone lines didn't come out that far which meant no telephone since this was in the days before cellular phones.