September 2016 – James Leon Young

September 29, 2016February 22, 2017

Beautiful palm tree succumbs to hurricane Hermine

I lost a friend this year. A friend that I visited often. That friend was a palm tree located behind the St. Marks NWR lighthouse. As a young tree it had been pushed over to its side, possibly by a tropical storm. The tree not only survived but bent back upright over the years. Palm trees that survive such events are often beautiful and I, like many other photographers, wanted to record this wonderful tree next to the salt marsh.

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September 22, 2016December 23, 2016

St. Marks NWR before the arrival of hurricane Hermine

I love clouds, storms, hurricanes and Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge so of course I headed to the refuge the day hurricane Hermine was expected to make landfall. My plan was to enjoy the clouds and wind then take a few “before” images to compare with the aftermath of the storm. These photographs are pretty self explanatory so I’ll let them do the talking.

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September 8, 2016April 20, 2017

Ranger John’s bench damaged by hurricane Hermine

In a post of September 8, 2016 I discussed Ranger John’s memorial bench and how much it is appreciated by visitors and staff of the Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

Visitor watches sunset from Ranger John McKenzie's bench. (9/16/2015) - St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

On my first visit to the Refuge after hurricane Hermine made landfall, I was saddened to see John’s bench had been ripped from its concrete base and had sustained serious damage including losing one of the legs. Continue reading “Ranger John’s bench damaged by hurricane Hermine”