No More Waterfront Property!

February 29, 2016

Last week gave us one more drenching overnight rain, but we seem to have finally hit a drier trend in the weather. Check out the view out our side door. That's the most dry ground we've seen since we arrived.

Dry Ground!

A few weeks ago

Unfortunately, the trails are still under water and there are few hiking options for our visitors. A through hiker on the Florida Trail, which runs through the park so that hikers can tent in our campgrounds, hiked in over the weekend. He and his pit bull had to go through neck high water in Starvation Slough, west of here. The dog swam while carrying it's own pack of freeze dried dog food. Since we had no new information about the trail out of here, he opted to call a friend to drive him to “higher ground”. He was hiking from Key West to his home in Toledo, Ohio.

Hiking flooded trails offers many delights!

We've been happy with our routine. I'm in the office on Thursdays and Sundays, and Greg makes his own hours, usually pulling the invasive Sida planicaulis bushes a few mornings a week and spending a little time on the rental bike maintenance. He helped to build new shelves in the bike shed. In between we relax, walk, read, write, and just generally chill. We get some over the air TV, mostly from Orlando, which seems rather far to me, but keep up with a few programs and local news. We stream Netflix while we still have enough monthly gigabytes, and then catch up with DVD's. We're currently working through season 3 of “Vikings”. Thanks kids for the Christmas present!

Hog Rooting damage in the middle of Military Trail

Tree Frog that was hiding in the park entry cash box

Last Tuesday we made our bi-weekly grocery run, this time to FT Pierce on the Atlantic Coast. It's a little farther than Sebring in the interior (two hour round trip) where we have been going. We took a few loads of laundry with us since the volunteer's washer was moved out to be used by the campers, since theirs broke. No word on when we get another one, so we decided to find a laundromat. After three tries, (thanks Google Maps...) we found one, did laundry, then went to look for a Thai restaurant a short way up US 1 for lunch. Once again it was nowhere to be found, (again, thanks Google Maps...) and wound up at a BBQ joint called Dale's. It was crowded, the food was good, and lunch was a good deal, so we were happy after our laundry experience.

This egret was fascinated by the mirrored laundromat windows

BBQ!

Then we found a Publix supermarket nearby. Spent a ridiculous amount of time stocking up for two weeks, because being in a new store always takes longer. As we were checking out we had a torrential downpour and had to wait for a slowdown in the rain. Greg ran between the raindrops, we loaded up our tiny, silver egg, (not much room with laundry, too) and gave up on FT Pierce and seeing the ocean. We made a beeline for the park and were glad when we crossed in the gate just before dark when it gets locked for the night.


Greg's brother and his wife made a quick stop-over on their way from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast. Rob's comment as they finally got here and exited the car was, “You're even beyond the middle of nowhere!” We had a nice few hours and a picnic lunch with them, then they left to find civilization!


We've got a few photos of the wildlife including our resident opossum who we found at night trying to open our outside bin filled with cleaning products. He did manage to get the handles undone before we turned the flashlight on him. Usually he walks along the perimeter of our site at dusk and the crows shriek at him and try to run him off.

The baby alligators make a fairly regular appearance down the road, usually sitting on Mom's back or head. We've had snakes including cottonmouths or water moccasins, which are venomous, on the road sunning themselves. This week we spotted a northern harrier hawk, and most days we see red shouldered hawks. There are three does and a buck that pass through the campground as well, and the ever-present turkeys.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Baby gator hiding in the grass

Probably a Florida Water Snake

Baby climbing on mom's back

Checking on the gator babies

Constant supervision by the local hawks

Our most frequent visitors are the crows. They get into anything left outside. Greg has been leaving a little piece of plastic wrap tucked in the gaps of the picnic table. They like to come pull it out with their beaks, so that he will tuck it in again. Crow games... Their raucous calls and imitations of other local birds are always entertaining, especially the one who hoots like an owl!

The horses camped next door to us have left, and the campground is quieter this week. The weather is warming up and the wildflowers are slowly starting to bloom. Spring is coming and the hawks and crows are getting frisky! Wow! It sure doesn't take long to make baby birds! A little screaming and it's all over!

This week we are looking forward to a visit from our friend Brenda that we workcamped with last summer in New Hampshire. She is tenting, so we are praying for dry weather! So far the forecast looks good!

Prairie Life

February 16, 2016

We are enjoying the ebb and flow of life on the prairie. I thought it had only been one week since I had posted, but it has been almost two weeks! We are finally having more seasonal weather with less rain. Last night was the first big downpour since our International Dark Skies event on February 6^th.

Big storm moving in

That event went well in terms of attendance and programming, but was a washout for stargazing. After a long application process Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park was awarded the first International Dark Skies certification in Florida. The head of the organization came to make the presentation and we had several great talks and photo shows from experts about light pollution, dark sky ecology (how plants and animals are affected by constant light during daytime and nighttime), an astronomical trip through the universe by a planetarium presenter, and a talk on astronomy by our resident volunteer astronomer. Bill spends January and February camped in the park and makes his telescope available for sun and night sky viewing for our campers.

Bill's astronomy presentation

We were also entertained by a troubadour from Canada who won a Florida folk music contest for his original song about our unique park. At 8:30, after all the presentations were over, Bill was to set up his telescope, and a half dozen other astronomers who were camped on our “astro pad” were going to do the same. No stargazing took place. We had downpours all evening. Everyone was packed into our small ranger station and the presenters had to compete with the pounding rain on the roof and the wind that blew through whenever we opened the doors.

Greg had a booth set up on the porch to help people put red plastic on their flashlights to help keep our local light pollution down for the evening's star gazing. He didn't have too many takers. I manned the inside desk and answered the phone and fielded questions from our visitors.


Sunday dawned clear, but most of our campers had to leave before nightfall and the pristine sky that followed. That night the stars were amazingly bright and the Milky Way was clearly visible. Well, we got to enjoy it. One of the privileges of volunteering in this remote lovely place.

The flooded dry prairie behind the oak hammock where we camp

Clearing skies after the big storm

Local residents enjoy the newly flooded lawns

 One of the disadvantages of the remoteness is our bi-weekly grocery run, a two-hour round-trip to Sebring in the interior. We went again a week ago and have been stocking up for two weeks at a time. Here is my teeny-tiny fridge and freezer. A week in and still jammed full!

Greg had a couple more days out in the swamp buggy doing trail maintenance. This week he finally got to drive! Today he is back to pulling invasive plants. We took a walk on the Hammock Trail for the first time since we arrived. It is muddy with a few huge puddles, but has been impassable until now. Great to get in there, but Greg found a whole bunch of Sida growing in there, so he is back there this morning.

Some trail sections had 4 feet of water

Stopping to repaint trail markers and clear brush

Swamp Buggy Helmsman

The Hammock nature trail

Any gators in there?

Invasive Sida shrubs that the deer and feral hogs refuse to eat

Greg bikes frequently, mostly to his jobs, but still can't go very far. Most trails are still impassable. We both biked the road to the gator hole, found a few gators, but also met a nice couple of retired teachers from Georgia who full-time in a small Casita trailer. They've been on the road almost as long as we have, but are still moving from place to place frequently. Kind'a gave me itchy feet...

Searching for dry trails

We are getting better acquainted with the birds and wildlife. But, with the huge amount of unseasonable water here, the gators and wading birds are more widely disbursed over the 54,000 acres this year. Not as many to be seen. The gators are supposed to be gathering in groups to begin mating, but we haven't seen or heard them lately with so much flooded land for them to spread over.

The "Gator Hole" is always popular with the big guys

The turkeys continue to wander through our campsite most days. The crows are constantly exploring the camper's belongings. Hawks are nesting in the family campground, and we've seen crested cara-caras, woodpeckers, harriers, gnatcatchers, kingfishers, larks, kestrels, ibis, egrets, herons, doves, and sandhill cranes.

Tricolor Heron

Cattle Egret left his cow behind

Possum visiting our camp

The vultures are loving the wild pig culling that is taking place out on the reserve at night aided by infra-red sensors. The pigs are not native in the wild. They are descendants of domestic pigs that got loose. One breeding pair can be responsible for 1,000 pigs in two years! They very quickly grow dark hair and tusks. Like piggy rototillers, they tear up the underbrush looking for a particular type of root they like to eat. Very destructive to the ecosystem. After culling, the pigs are left in the wild to be cleaned up “naturally”. (Cue: The Circle of Life). Greg has seen wild pigs on his swamp buggy rides. We also see deer, rabbits, and a waddling possum made a leisurely trek across the back of our site.

Not an Alligator!

We have 6 more weeks here. Some of the volunteers have left and we have some new ones. Some like to move between state parks more frequently than others. Others want to be closer to civilization and the stores and restaurants. This time, we are enjoying the slow pace, and getting to know a place more intimately. We have a busy summer and fall coming up, so this feels like a good respite. I commented to Greg last night that I can't believe that we get to stay free for three months in this beautiful quiet spot, and all we do in return is an easy 10 hours of work apiece, which we often double.

Strolling on the "high" ground behind our camp

Fungus growing on a burnt palmetto root

And BOOM! There goes the downside of bordering Avon Park Airbase. We hear small explosions, but that one was a doozy. I felt the blast through the open window and thought the glass would break! Didn't see anything through the trees, but wouldn't like to experience that again. Last week we had a few fighter jets make several low passes, but we could hear them coming. Oh, well, guess we can't totally escape civilization as long as we are in the East!