Above: At a glance our lake looks like a giant field. . . 700 acres more-or-less of tall grass and very little water. This shot looking north was taken from atop the berm we constructed in 2003 when we thought the house would flood. The water here should be at least 15' deep (4.5 meters). . . but drought persists.
In this shot there are some storms in the distance that cloud the sky but they have provided little if any relief to the ongoing drought. The next 4 days are forecast to bring record heat and dry conditions so any rain that did fall will evaporate quickly.
Today I decided to brave the bugs and the heat and walk out into the lake bed and see what I could find.
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Above: There's a lot of Meadow Beauty (Melastomataceae) species growing here and there where there is shade . . . generally under tall weeds. This is Rhexia nashii. She doesn't have a common name in Florida.
Above and Below: This is one of my favorite dry lake bed plants. It is Polygala ramosa. Sometimes referred to as 'low pinebarren milkwort.' It is rarely seen in Florida but ranges up the east coast as far north as New Jersey. Were this growing anywhere else it would be mowed over or bulldozed. As it is growing in a 'lake' it is only a temporary visitor. Where I was standing the water should normally be about 12' deep (3.6 m).
Below: My finger for scale. The entire stem of this plant is bright yellow which contrasts wildly with the surrounding green.
Below: This species rarely reaches a hight of more than 1 foot (30 centimeters). I walked around for about an hour and could only find two individuals of this species.
Below: Standing far out in the lake bed I found myself in a field of Bloodroot or Redroot (Lachnanthes caroliana). The flowers sticking up here and there -- waist high -- are the Bloodroot plants. Bloodroot is in the Bloodwort family (Haemodoraceae) and is found up the eastern seaboard of the USA to Nova Scotia.
Below: Looking back at our property and house. The house is pretty well hidden in the jungle at the moment. I have slowly been clearing out the woods to have a better view of the lake when it returns. . .but I dare not rush the project. . . as I really don't want to look at this field.
Below: A close-up of a Red Root flower.
Below: A profile shot of a red root plant. It resembles cattails but is not as tall.
We've Read and Watched:
Rio Controversies Spark New Twitter Hashtag
The Rio Olympics have been overshadowed by an avalanche of bad news, including a Zika outbreak that prompted 150 health officials to recommend moving the games, violent crime, polluted water, infrastructure failures and one of the worst recessions Brazil has seen in decades.
The non-stop negative coverage had Twitter users mocking the games on Saturday with a new trending hashtag: #OlympicProblemsIn5Words.
“Sensational 1600 Meter Sewage Swim,” wrote one twitter user.
Another user posted a picture of Donald Trump with the caption: “Practically everyone is a foreigner.”
“Drug tests are multiple choice,” joked another person, after more than 100 Russian athletes were barred for doping.
Check out some of the funnier tweets below:
AND THE FIRST OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL OF 2016 GOES TO. . .
TONGA's FLAG BEARER
and finally, Australia's fan favorite
Dave "Wolfman" Williams is not competing
in the shower competition, nor in rugby 7s
