Informed that I could not spend the night at my little idyllic spot on Green Pond Road, (https://allevenson.wordpress.com/florida-green-pond-road/), I set out down Rt 33 to see where it would lead. I passed through Polk City and continued crossing the I-4 a couple of times and into the city of Lakeland.
I arrived after sundown and rolled along the entry corridor, which shifted from rural to urban and back several times. I drove past a stadium with the nightlights afire—a marquee referred to it as Tigertown. Then two cancer centers, several office complexes, some open space before automobile row anchored by the big Honda dealership.
The trusty Jolly Swag trotted past a downtown lake and another mile through a commercial district with theaters and restaurants.
We backtracked to the lake and followed the edge and soon parked at a double-long space. The circumferential walking path around the lake was well-lit.
And took me past a sculpted park.
Couples were strolling, singles were walking and cell-talking, there were a couple of power walkers, and a woman with a ball-team’s worth of kids.
The city lights glittered on the lake’s surface. I guessed it to be a mile around and pleading for evening strollers.
Several flocks of bird communities bobbed on the wavelets, two large black swans command. And a ibis foraged for his supper. They honked at my approach and stretched their necks, doubling their height, and our eyes met at equal level.
An ibis foraged for his supper.
It was 20 minutes around, and unwilling to simply return to the JS, I sat on a bench thinking how opposite this place was from the alligators and turtles on the bike path three hours before. Yet this place was equally nutritious fare at the table of my soul.
I found one of my urban campgrounds for the night. The drone of city sounds faded and, in the middle of the night, replaced by soft rain.
I woke to a sky smeared with shades of gray.
Rainy days are a welcome change from colors made bold by the sun and temps that kangaroo up and down. The Jolly Swag has a lot of window area, and my little mobile cabin sometimes feels like a space capsule. I wish I were a graphic artist able to somehow save a sample of the uniform light and muted colors.
I think my travel muse brought me to Lakeland and visited this peaceful weather on me because I am supposed to spend today on the edge of Mirror Lake. I listen when any of my muses speak and so, camera at the ready, I spent a lazy lakeside January day.
A Year on the Road 
Lyrical. Thank you.
Black swans with red bills–how exotic! And the white pelican on the raft…and the cloudy sky bracketed by branches. It’s a pleasure to be there for a moment.
Great photo of those swans and their bright red beaks!
Poetic! Your writing has become more and more poetic and I love it. You really took me there through your words. Thank you, Al.
Lovely prose, Al. But what else, when in the company of black swans and an ibis! Your description of the landscape is wonderfully graphic.
This morning I awoke to 6 inches of white, fluffy flakes covering every available branch, tree trunk, road and land. The hills look like giant vanilla ice cream cones. It’s cold and supposed to continue until tomorrow afternoon. I love it!
Sounds like a perfect day and a perfect morning. Glad you shared it.
It’s all been said above and won’t try to repeat it, although will underscore Michael’s, “Lyrical.” If park maintenance is an indication of district wealth, it’s obvious that Florida is far better off than the West.
Great shot of the walk and lights, could be a prize winner.