It was a pleasant day for a walk among the Bald Cypress Trees (Taxodium distichum) along the St. Johns River. The temperature was about 60° F. (15.5° C.).
Above and Below: The cypress are all blooming -- indicating an early spring. The smaller green-hanging clusters on these trees are sprouts. The larger grey clusters are Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides).
The January sun at noon (at 29° N. latitude) appears approximately 39° above the horizon. . . casting long shadows through the cypress trees.
Below: The woody projections rising from the base of the cypress trees are cypress knees. In the biology of trees, a cypress knee is a distinctive structure in a root of a cypress tree of any of various species of the subfamily Taxodioideae. Their function is unknown, but they are generally seen in swamps. Some scientists have thought they may help in providing oxygen to the tree and assist in anchoring the tree in the soft, muddy soil.
Below: A stand of water poppies (Hydrocleys nymphoides) near the shoreline.
Below: More cypress knees.
Below: The nearshore waters are very still and clear, which is very unusual.
Below: Looking southwest along the St. Johns River at Highbanks, Debary, Florida.
Below: Looking northeast along the St. Johns River at Highbanks, Debary.
Note that the river banks are neither high nor wide along this part of the river. We live atop the ancient highbank of the river, some 1.5 miles to the east.
Below: A close up of a pair of Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) that are nesting above the swing.
Below: I continue to enjoy trying to capture the planes traversing the moon. Its a difficult shot to get just right despite the fact that at any given time there are usually 10+ jetliners traveling along the peninsula at different elevations that I can pick out in the sky. I'm sure there are more up there. I often count 20 jets-per-minute traveling north and south at peak hours.
