"Eddy Creek-Merritt Island National Refuge " by artist Brenda Hofreiter

This painting was one that I created along one of the creek banks at Merritt Island National Refuge in
Titusville, FL. It is another one of my "from the bike" paintings I created. I loaded up my
bike and drove out to Blackpoint Wildlife Drive on Merritt Island. I parked in the bird overlook parking lot, loaded up my bike and biked out along Crookshank Trail, along of the creek bed on the raised berm to find this scene along Eddy Creek.

I was attracted to the curving waterway, edged by the colorful marsh grasses and overhung by the mangroves. The palms show evidence of a past controlled burn in their blackened shoes. The sliver of water in the background, I think, is the Banana River. You can see a white round object in the distance. It is part of the vehicle assembly building at the launch site at the Kennedy Space Center. It was glorious
out there and the only animal I saw was a passing raccoon searching for food among the mangroves. I don't know who was more startled him or me!