Juniper Springs in Ocala National Forest made my heart hurt. It was so pretty that I didn’t know what to do with the emotions that boiled up. I hiked around for a few hours with confused emotions percolating, thanking God, cursing my lack of decent camera, feeling both lonely and whole in the same moment and simply being in awe of the tangled mix of tropic and aquatic beauty. Not knowing what else to do, I called my girlfriend and babbled on about how she needs to quit her job, her life, and fix things so that she can be here with me forever. I felt selfish for being alone with such beauty. Read more »













