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Published: January 17th 2012
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Tuesday January 17, 2012
Blue Springs State Park Orange City FL
There are a total of 12 pictures in this entry. I cannot see them all, I hope you can.
Not so cold last night. I turned my electric heater on but it cycled rarely. Winston slept like a dog.
Oh the luxuries of a shower in my own rig with plenty of hot water, albeit not a lot of pressure, but hot!
I gave Winston some Pet Eze and was on my way to my boat ride.
The boat dock was not where I thought it was, and a 10 minute additional walk was added to my already 15 minute walk, but I made it in plenty of time. St Johns River Cruises provides nature, guided kayak and hiking adventures. The boat (picture Native II herein) was designed specifically for the shallow backwaters of this portion of the St. Johns River. We stopped frequently on the 2 hour cruise and saw Blue Heron, Green Heron (didn’t know there was such a thing, and he was gorgeous, picture herein) Giant Ibis, Egrets, Red Shouldered Hawk, Coots, Cormorants, Black Vultures, Turkey Vultures, many varieties of turtles,
etc., and of course the manatees. I saw that the little portion of Blue Spring I saw yesterday is blocked off 3 ways. First to keep all power boats out, but the manatees can get underneath. The middle section is blocked off to everything except kayaks and canoes, and the third, upper section where the spring comes up, is blocked to all boats.
We went in the backwaters as close to shore as we could and saw many alligators (lots of pictures). I think the best thing I saw was an immature blue heron. (Picture herein) The uneducated eye would think it was a white egret, except for the blue beak and green legs. They stay colored like that for 2 years or so until they assume the size and blue color we are used to seeing. Makes me wonder if all those egrets I saw near the Hubbard Bridge in Red Bank all those years might not have been immature Blue Herons as I often saw them hunting there. So, dear NJ neighbors, if you see those white birds in the marshes there, check for the color of their beak and legs next time you see them, but
Outer blockade to spring area
cormorants sitting on it waiting for fish to pass by, It was to the post you see that the boat was tied and feeding lettuce to the manatees on our return to dock don’t drive off the bridge, please.
Our boat captain seemed very knowledgeable and told nature and history stories for the whole trip. He pointed out the vegetation the manatee prefer, where the alligators nest, why the water is tea colored, (tannic acid from the cypress tree roots), pointed out the high water mark from a many week 5 foot above the bank flood following several hurricanes in 2006 (picture herein.)
They do conduct a rehabilitate and release program in conjunction with several FL fish agencies, and I heard that one was being released today from Sea World at 4:00, but I just couldn’t bear to walk any more today, as my shin splints are finally getting under control due to lots of walking on my heels and lots of stretches. Updates when I hear.
I learned that there is a ‘no touch the manatee’ law in FL. No touch means no touch, under any circumstances. That also includes no feeding, no swimming with, no contact of any type. The fine for feeding the manatee is $2500 for the first offense. No exception. The theory is that the river thrives because of the balance between the number of
manatees who eat the shoreline vegetation and keep it trimmed. If the manatee gets used to eating from people they will not eat the river lettuce, etc., and it will clog the river. The number of manatee here is controlled by the amount of food…a very delicate balance the state wants to preserve. When we landed at the dock our captain pointed out a bunch of white haired tourists tied up to the outer barricade (a definite no no) throwing heads of lettuce to the obliging manatees. He quickly secured us to the dock then marched off to tell them to quit it. “What? We can’t feed the manatees?” Ignorance does not protect you from the law. As I was walking back to the campground I saw the park rangers hurrying down to the river, guess I know who they were after.
We learned about the cypress trees along the shore lines. There are about 40 feet tall and the roots go right into the water. The roots have tall bumps, knees, coming from them. Trees need oxygen to their roots. When the river floods the roots get covered and can’t get oxygen; the knees take over that function
for any flood up to 3 feet or so. If the flood is such that the knees get covered, the tree puts out tendrils that float on top of the water to grab oxygen. Amazing adaptation. Cypress is protected in FL. The knees make nice souvenirs, and we were encouraged not to buy any souvenirs labeled cypress knee. We were told that the cypress was almost cut to extinction during the 1830s. These trees were massive, 60 feet tall, 15+ feet in diameter. Fortunately they grew back easily, but they are a fraction of what they used to be. There is a park nearby that has been on the news lately. The oldest cypress in the world WAS there. It burnt to the ground yesterday. 3500 years old, 18 feet in diameter, almost 70 feet tall. Did you read that? The oldest cypress tree in the world, and it’s now gone. It had a name, The Senator. There are other similar trees in this park, but the next closest is ?Lady Liberty? Only 1000 years old. This was really big news, these natives are very proud of that tree. They do not believe it was arson. They believe it got
Green Heron
first time ever seeing one of these struck by lightning 2 weeks ago and it smoldered internally until it erupted yesterday. The latest update from the Division of Forestry on the 5:00 news is that they are not ruling out arson just yet. There are conflicting reports from the Weather Service and the Division of Forestry when the actual last lightening strike was in this park. Updates as I hear.
Winston stopped barking when he saw me walk up and was very shy, head down low, so I know he must have barked the entire time, yet he wanted out and I harnessed and long leashed him for over and hour and he pranced around, so he obviously wasn’t that tired.
I made crockpot chicken soup with the carcass of my Walmart bought roasted chicken for dinner. One of those senior moment things. I wouldn’t use the pot until I bought slow cooker liners which I purchased yesterday as the pot is very hard to wash in my small sink. I made the soup today neglecting to put in the liner. GROWL. I made chicken salad for lunch – I think I will get 6 meals out of this $4.38 chicken, maybe more.
A
lazy afternoon and evening is planned. I will get up early tomorrow morning to check out the manatees while they are still near the spring. Love this place.
Kat out
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Kathy Everett
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pictures
Hey Kat, Loved the picture of the bird you forgot the name of, nice framing with the moss. I could see all the pictures, you just have to scroll down. Also loved you sharing all your info on the ecology of the area. Kathy