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Post by htmb on Sept 5, 2012 1:48:47 GMT
Ichetucknee RiverHere's a nice little video about the Ichetucknee, though I have never, ever heard it called "The Itch." The woman in the video mentions that manatees can be found in the river, but that is very rare these days due to low water levels, as well as the shoals where the Ichetucknee joins the Santa Fe River. Other wildlife are very prevalent, including river otters, various types of water fowl, and deer. I love to paddle this little waterway in the late fall and winter, when the tubers are gone and the river is devoid of all humans except a handful of other kayakers. My favorite thing to do is put in at the bottom take-out point, paddle up river for a nice workout, and then float back down. This can be done in as short a time as two hours or less, or can be extended for several. Its amazing how many different things you notice by traveling in opposite directions. The river traverses through numerous environments, including grass marshes, hardwood forests, and areas of carved limestone.
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Post by mossie on Sept 5, 2012 6:58:36 GMT
There was a side to Florida that I never knew existed. What a super way to spend a few hours. Thank you so much
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Post by htmb on Sept 5, 2012 13:46:38 GMT
I'm glad you are enjoying my report, mossie. Yes, North Central Florida is very different from the central and southern parts of the state.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 5, 2012 18:19:53 GMT
This is a most interesting and enjoyable report, Htmb, not to mention very beautiful.
You really have some fabulous photos here and I appreciate the closeups of the vegetation. I love the picture of the cardinal vine growing up through the little daisy-like flowers. I never spent any time in your part of Florida, but did spend a year in N. Fort Myers. I was very happy to find that there are several books on the vegetation of the state, certainly more than I've seen for other states. The gulf side of the state, at least around Ft. Myers, was overrun with causuarina and Brazilian pepper trees inexeorably crowding out the native trees and shrubs.
Thanks for taking us along in the kayak -- gorgeous!
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Post by htmb on Sept 17, 2012 14:00:59 GMT
Early last evening on the way to the gym I came across the two smaller deer, along with a larger female. I can only assume these two are her fawns and I just didn't see the mother when I took photos at the park.
There are park-like areas with widespread offices across the very busy street from the park where I had the original siting and I can only hope the three deer came under the road through a passageway, rather than crossed the busy four-lane street. They were also just yards from an even busier six-lane avenue. It still amazes me to see deer right in the heart of the city.
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Post by nycgirl on Sept 17, 2012 14:47:38 GMT
What beautiful photos, Htmb. It must be such a pleasure kayaking down the river.
Love the shots of the little fauns hanging around the playground. And great shots of those wicked-looking alligators. They send shivers down my spine.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 19, 2012 18:56:26 GMT
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Post by htmb on Sept 19, 2012 19:06:16 GMT
Sumpter County is south of Ocala and north of Tampa, right along the Interstate 75 corridor (Wildwood area).
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Post by htmb on Sept 22, 2012 16:06:23 GMT
Newnans lake is located on the eastern edge of Gainesville and encompasses 7,200 acres in a designated conservation area. The lake is popular among local fishermen. It is not a swimming lake for many reasons, though the lake is frequently used for training by area rowing teams. During a drought a few years ago the remains of over one hundred decaying canoes were found buried in lake muck by a local Advanced Placement Environmental Science high school teacher and his students. The canoes were made of pine and cypress with the oldest dated at over 5,000 years old. The following brief YouTube clip contains some excellent pictures, along with comments by Eastside High School students, their teacher, and the scientists who studied the canoes. Newnans is surrounded by cypress trees and is a fairly shallow lake with only a five foot average depth. While we were facing another drought at the beginning of this past summer, the area then experienced the highest level of rain ever recorded and lake levels are now beginning to rise. A cell phone tower can be seen in the far distance of this next photo, and at least two gators can be spotted in the foreground. This lake is full of gators and it is not a place where I'd feel comfortable kayaking........ though I might still consider it. While there are alligators in many of the waterways of North Central Florida, when walking through rural areas, particularly in the warmer months, it is more important to watch the ground for snakes. There are four types of poisonous snakes native to the state of Florida, and this approximately 5 foot long Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake is the largest of the group. I came across him sunning on a lightly-trafficked road on the way back into the city. You can see that he becomes harder to spot as he moves into the grass. I even had a hard time finding him to photograph through my long lens, which is why this photo is off-center.
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Post by htmb on Sept 22, 2012 18:15:58 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 22, 2012 23:11:13 GMT
Oh, I think this may be my favorite part so far of a consistently interesting and pretty thread! The water hyacinth & spanish moss picture provoked a major pang of nostalgia. I'm so much enjoying the history you provide throughout. So many great pictures. I particularly like the 2nd snake one & the one of the big turtle.
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Post by nycgirl on Sept 22, 2012 23:46:37 GMT
More great photos! Newnans is beautiful. I love the sight of trees dripping with Spanish moss. I wouldn't kayak with the gators, though. That Diamondback is enormous. He must eat well, he seems to have a pretty fat body. Did he shake his rattler at you? What kind of turtle is the one with the pointy nose. Funny creature.
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Post by htmb on Sept 23, 2012 0:36:54 GMT
Thank you both for your enthusiasm and encouragement. I was several feet away from the snake and in my car most of the time (really standing by my car with the door open). He started to curl up and rattle his tail when I tried to ease my car a little closer, but as soon as I stopped and rolled up my window he straightened out and slithered into the grass. I know rattlesnakes can spring forward a good distance and I didn't want to have any problems with this brute so I gave him lots of space. If you are referring to the large, homely turtle, that's a Florida Softshell (Apalone Ferox). It has binocular vision because it's eyes are positioned to the front of its head. It also has webbed feet and some turtles have been reported to be very aggressive. A bite from one would certainly be pretty painful. I found the turtles to be absolutely fascinating and have been trying to remember all the facts I learned a few years ago from an expert. Not many come to mind unfortunately. I took lots of pictures because I couldn't keep my camera still enough. There was a rail there to rest it on, but I still needed to angle the lens down in an awkward way. It was also bright and sunny, so i couldn't see all that well on my camera screen. As long as I was still the turtles stayed on their perches. I think it's interesting how they freeze and stare. The little camouflaged guy sticking his head out of the water is also the same little turtle in the first picture. He wasnt sure what to make of me.
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Post by htmb on Sept 23, 2012 0:43:45 GMT
Bixa, I liked the even closer photo of the rattlesnake, except that I wasn't able to include his head in the picture. This is another one of those times when a viewfinder on the camera would have come in handy. Other than that, the camera was just super. Thank goodness for zoom lenses!
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 23, 2012 2:05:14 GMT
A real woman would have just marched over there, grabbed that bad boy by the back of his neck, hoisted him up, & stuck that lens right into his fangy face.
Uh huh.
Yes, I do like the one with the beautiful detail of the body very much. I just commented on the other one because it's so nifty with the wiggly snake, the bright parallel lines, & the limited palate.
Turtles are fascinating. I wonder why the Florida Softshell evolved the soft shell.
We came down the Tennessee River in a boat from way up by the Kentucky border. Parts of it look like the very beginning of creation, as though no humans had ever set foot there. We were bathing in the river and the turtles were quite snoopy, coming right up to peer at us.
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Post by htmb on Sept 23, 2012 2:34:11 GMT
A real stupid woman with a death wish maybe. ;D
Tennessee and Kentucky? You WERE in the middle of nowhere ;D ;D ;D
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Post by htmb on Sept 23, 2012 3:32:41 GMT
Here's an interesting turtle blurb, with a short video clip from a golf tournament, courtesy of Scientific American
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2012 5:44:20 GMT
One thing I like about these photos is that they feel like home to me. Actually, Florida is a bit more lush than Mississippi bayou country, but there are lots of obvious similarities. I have been looking for my photos of Crystal River to add to this topic, but they were something like 3 computers ago, so the saved files are well hidden somewhere.
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Post by htmb on Sept 23, 2012 11:56:07 GMT
It's amazing how a little bit of moss here and there, along with a few cypress trees, can evoke old memories. I do agree there are a lot of similarities between the terrains of North Central Florida and southern Mississippi.
I hope you find your Crystal River photos to post, k. That would be wonderful. Did you get any shots of manatees?
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Post by htmb on Sept 28, 2012 3:54:42 GMT
Wes Skiles was a resident of North Central Florida and also a world renowned underwater film maker. He died in a tragic diving accident in 2010, while on assignment for National Geographic magazine. To honor his memory the local Public Television station aired the following episode of Skiles' award winning underwater documentary "Water's Journey." In this fascinating film you can travel through the water-filled underground limestone caverns of North Florida as scientists follow the Floridan aquifer for ten miles.
(Keep in mind, these are scientists, not actors).
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Post by htmb on Sept 28, 2012 14:10:59 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 28, 2012 14:43:23 GMT
This is absolutely fascinating, Htmb. I was really happy to see that you posted another episode. I've only watched a tiny bit of the first one, as I have to wait until nighttime for my crappy connection to be good enough to stream the video. But the bit I saw -- really beautiful and compelling. I didn't know that about the springs of Florida. I did know that the Yucatan Peninsula has underground rivers in limestone, but not about Florida. The only thing is that this lovely video brought back a horrible memory. I went to 2nd grade in Albany, Georgia & that year some divers were lost in an underground cave. Our teacher described in dreadful detail their last moments. To seven-year-olds!
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Post by htmb on Sept 28, 2012 18:18:24 GMT
Oh, bixa. I hope that teacher was severely disciplined. What a horrible thing to do to children.
Unfortunately, people have died in the caves here, too. Cave diving is certainly not for untrained individuals to attempt.
The YouTube video I posted is one I watched a few years ago when it was first released, and I still find myself feeling very claustrophobic while watching some of the amazing footage of divers swimming between layers of limestone rock.
The second link is not to a video, though there are others posted on-line, but rather to a short informational page related to the video.
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Post by htmb on Nov 4, 2012 6:58:13 GMT
Lake Santa Fe, located in eastern Alachua County, is a very large, spring fed lake and the headwaters of the Santa Fe River. The river flows through swamps located on the north side of the lake and travels 72 miles before merging with the Suwanee River, and eventually emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. Lake Santa Fe is a gorgeous lake; clean, clear and deep. It is a favorite recreational area for many, but will be a topic for another day. The upper part of the Sante Fe flows through swamps and piney woods, and travels over a clay base of earth. It flows westward before reaching a dry, sandy area with limestone caverns and here it very dramatically disappears underground before resurfacing three miles down stream. The area coming out of the lake is known as the upper Santa Fe, while the area To the west of where the river reappears as it rises out of the ground at is called the lower Santa Fe. The map posted below details all of the lower river and a portion of the upper area. The squiggly portion on the upper right side of the map represents the upper river, which goes underground at "River Sink." Skipping forward the equivalent of three miles one can see where the river reappears at "River Rise." To my knowledge, much of the river between Lake Santa Fe and River Sink is not navigable. This morning I set out to explore parts of the lower Santa Fe, as well as my favorite little river, the Ichetucknee. If you will look again at the map, you can see a little arrow to the left (west) of River Rise with the words "You are here." This was my first stop of the day, at a litte park next to the highway 27 bridge. It mainly consisted of a boat ramp and a little parking lot, where I found a few fishermen and observed some paddlers out for a leisurely float down river. The little park is just upstream from the former location of a railway bridge built near the end of the 19th century.
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Post by htmb on Nov 4, 2012 7:24:00 GMT
Researching areas that might be good places to launch my kayak in the near future, I drove away from the river, eventually reuniting down river eleven miles later at the HWY 47 bridge park. Note the fence on the bridge to keep dare-devils from taking a plunge. Here the river is broader and I could see more of a vista looking down stream. Looking up stream I can detect a little fall color in the leaves. Along the edge of the river there is limestone in many places. These young men didn't appear to be very concerned about the wake they were sending towards the family groups fishing along the river. There were walking trails through the woods behind me, but I had yet another launch area to explore back upstream a bit.
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Post by htmb on Nov 4, 2012 8:12:38 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2012 8:34:29 GMT
As beautiful as all of this is, I can't help but imagine what the first Europeans must have thought when they were exploring for the first time -- "what an unlivable horrible hell hole of swamps, dangerous reptiles, mosquitos, ghastly humid heat and impenetrable vegetation!" They really needed that Fountain of Youth fantasy to keep plodding ahead.
Obviously they also found areas of superb agricultural land and (seemingly) unlimited fish and game, but it took quite a bit or work before they could fully appreciate all of that. Even as a child driving with my family through bayou country on rickety old wooden bridges and with vegetation chewing at the sides of the road, I always wondered how anybody could actually have the determination to build a road through a swamp.
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Post by mossie on Nov 4, 2012 8:40:05 GMT
A lovely series of reports. Have to say those cypress"knees"reminded me of meerkats
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Post by tod2 on Nov 4, 2012 9:39:46 GMT
Htmb - This photo-essay needs more than one look for sure! Your photos are amazing and I am looking forward to the next lot! It seems a fascinating part of the US with strange and wonderful plants.
Gosh, you're right Mossie - they do remind one of Meerkats!
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Post by htmb on Nov 4, 2012 15:43:21 GMT
I knew there was something familiar about those cypress knees. Thanks, Mossie! Tod, I appreciate your kind comment. It's very much appreciated. Explorers from several centuries ago would think they had died and gone to heaven on a day like the one I had yesterday, Kerouac. No need for the elixer from the Fountain of Youth. The temperature went no higher than 78F/26C all day, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and no alligators or snakes to be seen. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and very typical for early November in North Central Florida. Though I wore jeans and long socks in case there were still any ticks about in the wooded areas, I really wished I could have worn my shorts with bathing suit underneath. It was just a perfect day. I tend to think what it must have been like for the Native Americans, rather than the first European explorers. Imagine what his beautiful, unspoiled place must have been like before the changes brought from across the sea. I plan to get to the Native Americans and the first Europeans later in this report, as this whole area was greatly impacted by (mainly) Spanish explorers.
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