Camp-Free Zone

We’ve never been camping. Not once.
Tom is the kind of guy
who loves nature and the outdoors.
Me, too.

He’s talked about camping in the Sierras
and in northern Cal.
The reality of spending money on camping equipment,
packing the stuff and setting it up, then repacking
it all changed his thoughts.

The idea of a hot shower and a comfortable bed
is more appealing and a hard notion to give up
in favor of camping.
If you’re really in the boonies there won’t be a
store around for miles.

Seasoned campers know the ropes.
They know how to make a great campfire.
The aroma of hot dogs and beans, or the catch
of the day, drifting through the night air sounds
mouthwatering-- if you ate hot dogs and beans
and lake trout.

Tom likes hummus, kale salads with organic soy
and black beans; plain yogurt, cans of Alaskan
wild caught salmon, pumpernickel bread, almonds,
and hard-boiled eggs; Uncle Sam and Kashi GoLean
cereals, bananas, and California navel oranges.
It’s pretty apparent camp cooking wouldn’t be much
on the ‘to do’ list.

There’s also the prospect of bears sniffing around,
looking for food or a human keepsake--like one’s scalp.
Snakes and spiders could be a problem.
Come to think of it, I have wildlife and reptiles in my own
neighborhood…
Camping sounds like fun, alright.
Who’s up for a chicken stir-fry?

Slithering Creepers...

“There’s a spider in the bathroom,” Tom yelled from
the back of the house.
“Get rid of it,” I said, entering the room.
Spiders in Florida can be anything from a docile
daddy-long-legs to a wolf spider or tarantula.
Since Tom was brushing his teeth, I grabbed a Kleenex and
gently picked up the harmless spider, its body no larger than a pea.

In our home, I’m The Obliterator. I’ve had plenty of previous
experience in our former home in California, killing things.
The biggie for me was a rat [I think] that had invaded our home
from the garage. We lived on a hillside, so critters
would sometimes find their way into the house.

Its evidence was of course, droppings, but also, long claw rips
in my clothing. The rat must have trapezed across the rack of
clothing--it had laid a series of Jack The Ripper scars along the
fabric of several of my jackets and blouses.
His adventuring was short-lived.

It’s funny how a spider elicits a “kill” response, yet if
a deadly and venomous snake is found in the garage or
yard, like the recent juvenile Eastern Diamondback,
the response from the men in my family is ”Don’t kill it!”
The snake had a definite attitude, but it was removed with a broom.

The juvenile Eastern Diamondback found a week ago in
the garage, may have been the same one that was found dead in
the gutter a few days ago. Someone had whacked it .
There’s probably many more juvenile snakes from that snake’s
family which are waiting to slither onto our property.

I’ve been told for every quarter acre in our community,
there are at least 200 coral snakes.
I killed my first, and I hope last, coral snake almost a year ago.
As long as there's a reptile or arachnid that has the potential
for a deadly attack, I won't bat an eyelash killing it.

The Everglades Adventure

If you are a first time visitor to South West Florida,
you must visit the Loop Road in the Big Cypress National
Preserve in the Everglades National Park.
The Loop Road begins at the junction of 41 at the historic
Monroe Station.

The entire length is approximately 26 miles;
most people turn around after the first 7 miles, since the main
bird sanctuaries [Strands] and prairies are within the first 6.5
miles of the Road.

The Loop Road shares a history with orchid poachers, pot
farmers and good old moonshiners.
The ghost orchid usually blooms in late July, pending the
right conditions. It's prolific in the Fakahatchee Strand
State Park and it can also be seen growing along the Loop Road.
The book, The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean, is a
fascinating read.

The gravelly road is sometimes exasperating: you may
find a gape mouthed alligator leisurely crossing the road,
or one that has decided to sunbathe smack in the middle
of the road. It's an exciting adventure to come face to face
with a gator, but one that should be approached with caution.
Travel speed of an alligator is 35 mph, though short-lived since
he tires easily. You definitely don't want to test his speed!

The Preserve is a blissfully peaceful area: the prevailing
sounds of alligators slapping in the water, the symphonic
rhythm from the crickets, frogs, herons, egrets and night herons,
echo through the cedar hammock forest.
It's a welcome elixir from city noise.

Pythons are an unwelcome inhabitant of the Everglades.
The Fish and Wildlife Service crews drive the roads nightly
capturing Burmese Pythons.
It's been said that the python population has reached upwards
of 110,000 within the Everglades Park.
Other deadly snakes inhabit the Everglades: the pygmy
and the cottonmouth to name two.
Panthers inhabit the forests and are sometimes spotted crossing the roads.

Info from the internet:

Top experiences:

Everglades National Park magnets: wheelchair accessible walkways at Anhinga Trail, Gumbo Limbo Trail, Pahayokee Overlook, Mahogany Hammock, and West Lake Trail.

What will I see? Birds and alligators at Anhinga; tropical hardwood hammock at Gumbo Limbo; an overlook of the River of Grass from Pahayokee's tower; a subtropical tree island with massive mahogany growth along Mahogany Hammock; and a forest of mangrove trees on West Lake Trail.

For a short visit: Flamingo's Eco Pond provides for waterside wildlife viewing.

With more time: Shark Valley lets you combine the quarter-mile Bobcat Boardwalk (looping through sawgrass prairie and a bayhead) with the 1-mi-long round-trip Otter Cave, allowing you to steep in subtropical hardwood hammock.

Want a tour? Pahayokee and Flamingo feature informative ranger-led walks.

Take the Swamp Walk, an impressive tour given by Clyde Butcher, renown Everglades photographer. Info can be obtained from his Gallery below.

Big Cypress Gallery Ochopee, FL (Everglades) Open 7 Days a Week 10:00-5:00 (239) 695-2428

And The Heat Goes On...

This morning when I opened the side door leading from
the garage, an at-one-time large frog was squished flat
on the door jamb, like a dollop of pesto sauce.
EWWW…

That’s not the first time something like this
has happened. There’s a collage of frog and spider innards
dried on the jamb. I’m going to clean the doorway today,
or paint over the area if it can't be completely cleaned.
Yuck...

Outside on the pool decking I found two petrified
baby frogs and one lizard.
Poor things.
Sometimes I’ll leave a shallow bowl of water out
for the amphibians and reptiles.
The heat has soared in the last few days, making it
unbearable to be outdoors too long, unless you’re
submerged in a swimming pool.

The snakes are staying underground, thank goodness.
It wasn’t too long ago that I was head on with a
deadly coral snake.
May he Rest In Peace...
There may be an underground public service announcement
warning all snakes to lie low...
Nancy’s out and about.

It’s another beautiful, hot day in paradise.
A gentle breeze is blowing.
The air is desert dry.
I’m sitting on the edge of the pool.
There’s a huge Arnold-type lizard staring at me.
He’s doing push-ups and inflating himself…
Va-vumphh, va-vumphh...

I’m getting a hot flash…!

On The Road Again...

I noticed a new pet shop the other day specializing

in exotic and unusual animals.

It wasn't too long ago that a Burmese Python exploded

from ingesting an alligator.

Within the Everglades National Park there is an

approximate python population of 30,000.

A few years ago, my daughter Jen was kayak fishing

in the 10,000 Islands, just southeast of Naples, FL.

She hooked into what she thought was a huge fish--until she

brought it up. Jen had snagged a Burmese Python.

It had a girth of at least 20". I can imagine its length!

She cut the line and let it drift off.

Pythons have been found inside of small airport hangars,

suddenly frightening whoever was inside.

Iguanas, purchased when small , are often released into

the wild when they get too big.

There is a growing iguana population in Southwest Florida.

Sanibel and Captiva have a few reptiles wandering around.

The 6' plus iguanas find their way into back yards.

Just recently, I happened to see a small iguana running

inside of our community.

He was headed for the Clubhouse.

I wondered who was was splashing in the pool after dark...