The canoe slipped along the crystal clear water through the half-light of chilly, fog drenched air.  It was wonderfully silent.  Moss draped live oak and stately cypress line the banks.  A near continuous bed of eel grass bent in the current below us.  It is 6:30 in the morning and 35F.  We are floating down the Ichetucknee River from its headspring where 67 million gallons of 72F water wells up from the ground everyday.  Tributary springs add to the flow to total 212 million gallons a day that then flows toward the SuwanneeRiver.

Unusual visitors

The Suwannee is above flood stage and backing up into the tributaries including the Ichetucknee; so the water is wide and deeper than usual all the way to the Gulf.   The manatees take advantage of the opportunity to move up stream to warm water and plenty to eat.  They didn’t seem to mind us watching them mill around below us.

It was a great trip for wildlife overall.  River otters criss-crossed in front of us.  Turtles and lots of fish, including pretty big Gar swam below.  As for birds, we saw lots of the usual: great blue heron, egrets, little blue heron, coots, and osprey.  Two black capped night heron and a sora rail made appearances.  We don’t see them very often.

Overall, fantastic.  It only took us a couple hours to thaw out our fingers and toes.