November 28, 2000
We were just finishing breakfast as part of our routine before leaving to explore Cypress Gardens, when our neighbor Terry came over and asked if we wanted to go on the bird watching trip. Well, it didn't take us long to decide that the foreign visitors touring the Avon Park Air Force Bombing Range would need our able assistance. We changed our clothes and off we went.
Now, what is it that they're all peering at? We're on the boardwalk that leads to the observation tower. A structure on the lake edge that we can climb for a better view of the lake and surrounding swampy area. It's probably 30' to the top, and well built and except for nearly killing myself on the "Watch Your Head" sign as we went up, it's a great climb. We'd been there before on one of our bicycle excursions, so this part of the trip was a review for us. A volunteer who'd been in the Air Force stationed at Avon Park, and then after retiring from the AF spend another 20 years working at the Prison on base, Willie knew his way around this place. Besides, his principal "job" as a volunteer is to maintain the 100 or so blue bird houses installed all over the place. He lives in town and today was our first meeting, and we quickly learned he was a wealth of information. When I got to the point where the peering birders are, all I noticed was Spanish Moss. Lots of it. As usual. No birds. But I'll confess a fascination to this plant called Spanish Moss. It flows in the wind so gracefully and looks so soft. In reality it's rather like my beard. A bit stiff and wirery. But more on that later.
AHA! A bird! Sitting on the signpost. It's a Scrub Jay, and while a more brilliant blue than the ones I grew up with in California, pretty much the same fellow. Only by this time we'd been joined by a young woman from some neighboring facility that I never did get straight. She was an excellent guide and could make funny bird-like noises with out any tools. Seemed she was the "Scrub Jay Lady" and is responsible for keeping track of the birds all over the range. She has favorites that she's named and a couple will actually come sit on her hand to steal peanuts. So she said. We didn't see that, but we did see her call "her" birds from out of the forest, and they really got close as they gobbled up the peanuts. Now the next picture was taken as the birders (from Scotland, I believe) were all busy watching some limpkins that Barb and I had already seen many times at the dock. Yes, that's an alligator dead center of the picture and almost dead center of the Kissimmee River. Big fellow. One of three 'gators we saw here. Probably 12' long if the method of determining length is accurate. Measure the distance from nostrils to eyes, and the inches between the two is the length in feet. I'll confess I kept my little tape measure in my pocket, and only guessed at the distance between his nose and eyes.
Well, the sign says it all. We didn't see an orange on the place, and the trail was one of the smoother we traveled today. Only on this one we walked. Or rather, "they" walked. I got engrossed in another project all together.
On the left is a live oak tree that has fallen part way down. It's still alive, but on the trunk is this rather flashy red/orange growth that is probably a lichen of some kind. And on the right is another live oak right nearby that has started to grow this odd colored stuff as well. I've never seen it anywhere else before or since.
And there's some of that Spanish Moss, close-up. I'm really intrigued by the way it grows and how soft it looks. It reminds me of a tangled fishnet when looked at closely. And on the right we have an example of why it's so important to thin out the hog herd. The forest floor in this spot is what happens when they get to rooting around for --- you guessed it: roots. Just raises havoc with the ground and messes it up for the next several years.
Now I know you'll forgive me for a lousy picture of a lovely spider. But at least you'll have to admit it's an improvement over the last poor picture of a spider I posted here. I took more than a few pictures of different spiders in different lighting, different locations, different backgrounds, and I'm going to continue until I get it figured out. These spiders are absolutely the most fascinating thing I've seen since we've been here. And that includes a look at a caracara that was a long ways off today (that's a carrion eating bird for those of you that are ornithologically challenged). Big bird, and quite colorful, particularly when compared to all the vultures we have around here.
So, tomorrow we're heading to Cypress Gardens after getting our teeth cleaned.