The Burmese Python is headline news all over the Everglades area. They are losing, maybe even have lost, the battle to eradicate or even contain them. The absence of wildlife is evident even to the casual visitor. What a gigantic blunder and tragic man-made mess.
We are in a string of 90+ degree days. South might not be a great decision but we are set for some Everglades time so here we go, straight south to Monument Lake campground in Big Cypress Preserve. We make our first high cost fuel stop. $4.99/gallon for diesel. We bad-mouth the 15-20 mph headwind that we face nearly the whole trip but travel is uneventful and we settle in to our site fronting the lake (all sites here front the lake). Carol arrives nearly the same time to find that her site could not possibly be further from us. She is directly across the lake. We will get in some extra mileage to hang out. Hosts and signs warn of gators in the lake. We see them within minutes of arriving.
Now that we are settled in, we are all enjoying that wind out of the south as it keeps the heat tolerable and is blowing the mosquitoes to somewhere in Georgia!
Ok, it’s been 4 months. Time to bid farewell to our winter home. We gather up and load up to head to Lake Wales. We are set to check out a few new places and a couple familiar stops.
It is strawberry season, actually even Strawberry Festival week in Plant City. Carol joins us as we head for Parkesdale Market for their famous strawberry shortcake. I go for the whole deal, shortbread, ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream. It is delicious just as I recall. Getting there is messy though. Our trusty Garmin, Beatrice, sends us right through the thick of festival traffic. What a mess! It was worth it (so I say. Kent did all the driving).
We fit in a bit of family time. Kent’s Uncle Bill is in nearby Winter Haven. It has been 4 or 5 years and it is great to catch up with him. Bill turned 80 years young March 5 and he is looking great.
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park protects a large tract of Florida dry prairie. We start with a leisurely tour, a narrated swamp buggy ride. Our guide is the preserve manager, he leads their fire crew that plans, sets and manages controlled burns so we get sort of a pyro’s view of the place but leave with an interesting overall view of the terrain and how dry prairie, wetlands, marsh, swamp and sloughs inter-relate. Not a bird guy or a wildlife guy he is a plant guy. We check out some often-overlooked carnivorous plants and wildflowers that thrive in the cool damp earth at the base of acres of wiregrass.
We take a short prairie hike to get a closer view then call it a day. It is in the 90s and as one might expect, shade is hard to come by on the prairie. The park is a dark sky location for star gazing but we just drove in for the day so we will have to save that activity for another time.
Back at camp we have
been admiring the graceful swallow-tail kites as they swoop and glide overhead. Today we get a reminder that they are skillful predators. Grackles heckle a kite as it swoops and approaches a towering live oak. The kite out maneuvers the pursuers and lights atop, seemingly ending the conflict. Nope. Moments later there is a loud ruckus as it appears the kite is falling down through the branches then is swoops high into the sky and away. Our parting view, what looks to be a baby bird held tightly in the kite’s talons. After the fact we spot the targeted nest, and a dove moves in making loud protest. Guess that’s whose home was raided. Nature can be brutal.
First one adult crane then a second appear along the trailside at Welaka State Forest. We often see these graceful birds in pairs feeding in grassy fields but it is fun to watch them so nearby. 
It gets better. A tiny brown fuzzball wobbles out of the grass to join the foraging adults. Are there more? Yep. A second fuzzball appears. They are adorable. I guess they look sort of crane-like! We watch a bit then head on to see what else might be out here.
Just this very relaxed snake coiled
right along the footpath.
A bit of a hike then a quiet dinner at home. It is a great day!
Trail time is a stroll along Blue Pond trail in Dunn Creek State Park. It is a peaceful walk with plenty of woodpeckers to watch.
It is time for a wildlife drive through wetlands. We spot many of the usual suspects; lots of great blue herons, anhinga, coots and moorhens plus a nice sampling of raptors and ducks and even a few warblers. An eagle poses regally and a typically illusive limpkin strolls up the roadside. We are along a lakeshore in central Florida so of course there are alligators.
This lake and its shoreline wetlands are part of a long-running experiment to restore a lake literally poisoned by agricultural pesticide and fertilizer pollution. For over 20 years now water has been cycled out of the lake into the wetlands and back to allow vegetation to filter heavy phosphorus pollution from the water. Water quality has improved from “toxic to nearly all wildlife” to “suitable for most bird species”. Progress to be sure, but lots more work to do. What a mess. Here is hoping we have learned to avoid polluting like this rather than betting that nature can clean it back up.
Cold, wet weather has kept us inside for a week. Finally, it turns more Florida-like so we head out to Rice Creek Conservation area for a trek along a section of the Florida Trail. We make our way beneath towering palm trees and graceful live oaks winding among a thick understory of fan palms; cypress knees jut up through the trail. Air ferns, moss and lichen blanket nearly all surfaces around us. Deeper into the conservation area we encounter bridges that criss-cross Rice Creek and allow us to move among blackwater pools. The water surface perfectly reflects all around it. What a wonderful example of a cypress swamp! We are deep within it and blissfully, there are no bugs. One good thing brought to us by the recent cold weather.
A bit further on the Florida Trail and we move onto higher ground, an oak hammock. 
The local trail club maintains this section and has built a fantastic camp site complete with a picnic table, pitcher pump and the Rice Creek Hilton. Check it out.
We work our way out of what seems like perfect reptile country wondering why we haven’t seen a single alligator or snake. Right on cue, a hawk with a big snake dangling from it’s talons glides through the treetops just ahead of us. What a great unexpected ending to a fun walk.
It is lunch time. Since we are still in Palatka, we check out some famous local eats at Angels Dining Car. It is billed as the oldest diner in Florida. I think I can believe that. It is a long narrow space with counter stools down the center and booths for maybe a dozen along the outside wall. Everything has multiple coats of paint. There are old juke box speakers and vintage 45s hanging on the wall. The food? Not bad. I try a diner original, a black bottom sandwich (bacon and ground beef stirred into eggs and fried into a bun sized disc). Add some cheese, tomato and lettuce and schmear of mayo. I am not sure how it got its name, it is not black bottomed, but it is tasty. Carol’s onion rings are yummy as is the lobster bisque. Kent stayed a bit more main stream with a club and fries, also not bad. I top it off with their dessert of the day, peach cream pie. I expected a cream pie with peach chunks in the filling but nope, it is a standard peach pie with whipped cream on the top. Still, so good.
We are off to Ravine State Park in Palatka. A CCC work crew created formal garden areas and terraces and developed the spring areas that feed into a deep, steep sided, naturally occurring ravine. The ravine is itself a rarity in Florida but the park’s primary claim to fame is a brilliant rolling azalea bloom along the top ridge of this ravine. This winter cold weather has hampered all manner of early spring blooming but I need to see how the azalea have fared. Fuchsia, salmon pink and reds are beautiful. Some varieties sport huge blossoms and others the more familiar smaller flower. But sadly, we find that this is not the year for azalea in this part of Florida. We find only scattered patches in bloom. Many CCC “improvements” are being allowed to revert to natural state while suspension bridges and pavilions still provide lovely outdoor spaces for locals. The park is oversold on their webpage but it was still worth a visit.
Carol is with us today as we head out to Salt Springs again to check for Manatees. The cold weather has dropped the lake water temperature to 57 degrees encouraging the manatees to seek warmer water. It is a constant 74 degrees at the spring. We take a leisurely ride up salt run sharing the ride with eagles, great blue heron, egrets, anhinga, kingfisher, and hawks. Along the way the water temperature is rising as anticipated.
We have a fleeting sighting of the 1st manatee before we even arrive at the spring. We anchor at the spring pool and sit quietly. The gentle giants swim around and under the boat. One is tugging at the floats attached to crab traps in the area; a bit like enrichment toys for animals in the zoo. Big whiskered noses break the surface for a quiet breath. All together we probably see 6 manatees. It is a nice outing.
The wind has built up while we are out. Kent sneaks around the downwind side of the island for a bit smoother ride but we get a pretty bumpy ride home.