Well we have traveled far and wide today searching for swamps to trapse through. We melted ourselves in record setting heat in a 2.5 mile hike along the boardwalk in the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp. Perhaps one of the best things about swamps, and this one in particular, is that they are so swamp-like. They look just exactly like they are supposed to! We gathered three new bird species to our lists saw swamp squirrels, a raccoon on the boardwalk, bobcat scat and more gorgeous swampy environments than you can shake a stick at.
See? This is actually water with these little tiny green leaf-like plants. Where the green stuff isn't the water is almost coppery color with the tanins from the cypress trees that form the heavy foresty stuff. The water is so dark that it reflects everything around it like a mirror. Gorgeous flowers grow everywhere. These are scarlett swamp hibiscus and ghost orchids.
We feasted, and it can only be called feasting at Mickelbob's Ribs. We hadn't eaten here since our trip in 1995 and it has to be said that our stomachs hadn't forgotten. They feed their hogs only on tulips imported from Holland and there just isn't another baby back like it anywhere! From here we ventured into alligator alley just because we could. We saw lots of alligators, a cottonmouth snake attempting to catch a reluctant meal of frog, and gotten eaten alive by mosquitos. We should look like we've been sorting wildcats by the time we get on board the ship!
Gator on the right!
Snake's head in lower left. Unwary frog on frond in center of picture. Gone when we returned...
These were perhaps the most amazing things of all. This is a huge grasshopper named a Lubber. These things were a good 3 inches long and as big around as a man's finger. If you look closely at this picture you can see two sets of legs, eyes, antenae, etc. Apparently, the Lubber's are very nice mothers as this one appears to be giving it's baby a ride across the road. Wick got actually video with sound and everything but it seemed a tad pornographic and didn't make the female Lubber seem quite so motherly...also, I couldn't figure how to add the video to the blog so, too bad, you all miss out.
No comments:
Post a Comment