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| Gumbo Limbo Trail, Everglades National Park, Royal Palm Area |
Paradise Key
In the image above, a sawgrass prairie lies to the right, a willow thicket to the left, and a hardwood forest toward the horizon. Why the difference in a land so very flat? Willows prefer deeper, submerged areas like sloughs (waterways; pronounced "slew"). Sawgrass grows best in slightly higher, seasonally wet and dry places; and hardwoods can only survive high and dry. In the Everglades, only a few inches of elevation cause dramatic changes in the ecosystem.
In the images below, looking to the west, elevation changes of only inches influence the sawgrass prairie that is the Everglades. Here, you look across Taylor Slough and see a small outcropping of Royal Palm trees to the left of center (click on the image for a larger view). This little "island" in the sawgrass is called Paradise Key, or Royal Palm Hammock, for its towering palms. It stands larger and higher than most Everglades hammocks.
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| Click on the image for a larger view PARADISE KEY Paradise Key is the island of palms, left of center on the horizon |
The Florida Federation of Women's Clubs preserved and dedicated the area around Paradise Key as Royal Palm State Park in 1916.
Wide-scale drainage of Florida's wetlands in later decades created severe drought conditions that threatened the existence of the Everglades. In 1945, uncontrolled wildfires spread across the parched landscape, destroying old-growth trees at Royal Palm.
Wide-scale drainage of Florida's wetlands in later decades created severe drought conditions that threatened the existence of the Everglades. In 1945, uncontrolled wildfires spread across the parched landscape, destroying old-growth trees at Royal Palm.
Concern for the future of the hammock and surrounding regions led to the establishment of Everglades National Park in 1947. Today the amount, distribution, timing, and quality of water delivered to Everglades National Park still determine the security of this preserved wilderness.
In 1947 Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote in The Everglades: River of Grass,
There was no water in the old sough around the park. . . . In a week in which the fires spread into the drying jungles, flashed across the firebreaks, the flames worked and smoldered deep in the roots and hearts of beautiful old live oaks. All the fine tropical trees of the jungle were eaten out.
Everglades Unique Ingredients
Water, tropical climate, elevation, and fire are the essential ingredients that make the Everglades unique in North America. Water is the rejuvenating life blood. The climate—frost free, humid and warm—nurtures a mix of both temperate and tropical inhabitants. Slight changes in inches of elevation diversify what seems to be a monotonously flat landscape. Fire, that much maligned element, can restore health and protect diversity.
Alligators Everywhere
There were few human visitors on this September afternoon in Everglades National Park. But, the few that were there were looking for alligators. In every language but English I was asked "Where are the alligators?" I heard it in Portuguese, Spanish, and German. Each time I only had to point. The alligators were everywhere, hiding in plain sight.
Food Web
Mosquitoes and alligators have something in common. As they should, there are literally billions of mosquitoes in the park and certainly many tens of thousands of alligators. But ecologically speaking, they both belong to a food web. Mosquitoes are a scourge to humans, but without them the Everglades would drastically change. Mosquito larvae are eaten by mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis; not to be confused with The Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) which they resemble), which starts and eat-and-be-eaten chain that eventually ends with the alligator, the apex predator.
A drop of one tourist's blood allows the tourist to become part of this cycle of life. But I doubt you'd have an easy time convincing any of them of that fact. I have to admit I don't think I have often been so plagued by mosquitoes and biting flies.
Origins
Model T's travelled this portion of the Gumbo Limbo trail. In the Model T's day it was called the old Ingraham Highway, completed in 1914. The highway led early visitors on the then risky excursion to Flamingo (see previous post for my shots of Flamingo today).
Dredges used for early road construction created canals and piled loose limestone for a road surface. Natural water flow was blocked by this destructive practice. Today "borrow pits" like the pond below, are dug throughout Florida for fill for roads and buildings. These ponds and canals act as artificial oases of life during Florida's dry season but their ecological damage is immense (even today). If the environment were in its natural state, alligators would provide watering holes for native fauna by digging and burrowing.
Occasionally along the trail there are informational signs like the one above tucked into the thick undergrowth of Spanish Needles (Bidens alba; white flowered, sticky plants). Also in the Spanish Needles directly adjacent to the path were plenty of large alligators. The alligators seemed docile enough but I kept a safe 15-20 feet away from them. There are no fences or other impediment to stop the alligators from attacking if they so chose.
The sign above, like so many in Everglades National Park, educates tourists about the invasion of exotic (non-native) flora and fauna in Florida. It is a problem throughout the state and it is only getting worse.
Exotic Fish
Exotic—non-native—fish species have been introduced to the Everglades. Transplanted species threaten native fish by competing for food and space. Often these unwelcome guests, more aggressive and adaptable, crowd out their native neighbors.
Non-native fish are more successful in human-made habitats, such as canals, than in the marshes of the Everglades. Environmental conditions, especially periodic freezes and droughts, help reduce exotic fish populations. In an upcoming post I show photos of massive Plecostomus (loricariid catfish) in canals on the north end of the Everglades. These commonly sold aquarium fish now dominate the northern Everglades.
Everglades Seasons
In temperate climates humans are accustomed to four seasons. In the Everglades there are only two seasons—wet and dry. May brings drenching summer rains, allowing wildlife to spread out and seek food over an enormous area. Less wildlife is seen during summer months. The dry season, beginning in November, causes wildlife to concentrate in deeper water channels (sloughs) and in alligator holes.
Alligator Apple
Annona Glabra
Below: This tropical tree is pond apple or alligator apple. When ripe, the yellow fruits are edible, but only for those who enjoy the taste of turpentine. Turtles and alligators feed on pond apples when they fall. The wood is very bouyant and has been used for net floats and bobbers for fishing lines, earning the tree another name—corkwood. The tree is covered with Air plants.
Airplants
The plants resembling pineapples tops growing on the alligator apples are bromeliads, one kind of airplant. They are not parasites but merely use the tree for support. Nourishment comes from rain, air, and debris that falls into cup-like traps at the base of the leaf. Often frogs, snakes, and insects make homes in large airplants. Spanish moss an orchids are other airplants found in the Everglades.
Hammock
Above: Left of Center is Paradise Key, only slightly higher than the sawgrass prairie surrounding the island. Below: The Royal Palm visitor center on Paradise Key. The center has seen better days. U.S. Federal Goverment Sequestration (budget cuts) are visible throughout Everglades National Park. The shame of Congressional Republicans is visible for all to see in the neglect of America's most prized places, our National Parks.
The visitor center sits in the middle of the hammock. "Hammock" in ecology (and in Florida) is a term used to describe an island of tropical hardwood trees surrounded by pine or sawgrass. Before the devastating fire in 1945, this hammock was considered one of the most beautiful in the world. Under the leadership of the Florida Federation of Women's Clubs, this area became Royal Palm State Park in 1919, and later the nucleus of Everglades National Park.
Throughout the Everglades there are tarp stations and containers where visitors can borrow a tarp to protect their car from marauding vultures (see previous post). If you visit, use the tarps. You'll be glad you did. A few vultures can quickly cause $10,000 or more damage to a car's rubber fittings.
Below: Alligator apples and 12-foot tall sawgrass, along with grunting alligators make for an eerie setting at dusk along the Gumbo Limbo Trail at Paradise Key.
Above: Looking into the hammock for more alligators.
Below: A closer-in shot of Paradise Key surrounded by saw grass and hammock.
Next up: Biscayne National Park
We've Seen, Read, Watched:
(De Licenciement de les Dames Pipi)
An uncelebrated vocation is on the verge of extinction in uber-employee-friendly Paris. Dames pipi, women who clean public toilets, have been fixtures of Parisian neighborhoods alongside the proprietors of corner cafes, since the days when many buildings lacked indoor plumbing. But in recent years Paris has moved toward more modern, upscale pissoirs. . .virtual boutique toilets, that sell such things as toilet paper imprinted with the image of Notre Dame or the Eiffel Tower. Say it isn't so! Paris argues the existing Dames are not qualified to sell stuff (what training would it take to sell more crap?) in their new upscale toilets. Shame on you Paris. Shame! By the way, the new toilets cost €1.50 per flush (that's about $1.70 today). If you still want to go to Paris even though you're now outraged about the current injustice, check out this travelogue of 36 Hours on Paris' Right Bank. For this story in French go to: A Paris, la révolte des «dames pipi» y A Paris, le désepoir des dames pipi, «jetées comme des chiffons».
Watt's 6'5", 290-pound body changes course multiple times. His 21-inch biceps flash, and his size 16 feet accelerate into a blur. He finishes with a 10-yard sprint. All this happens in less than 10 seconds—roughly the length of an NFL pass play. He takes 15 seconds to reset then repeats the drill 10 times.
Behind the Scenes:
Men’s Health magazine unveiled its 2015 Fall Fitness Special Issue, with Texans star J.J. Watt on the cover. Inside the mag, J.J. is joined by other NFL players, including Julian Edelman, DeMarco Murray and Byron Jones, as the guys share their training tips with the world. We don't know why Julian is trying to catch that flying alligator, but he looks good doing it.
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| Nick Jonas' 'Scream Queens' poster. |
Like "Glee," and "American Horror Story," this waste of time spoof-the-spoof is a riff on and mash-up of genre conventions. But even a great tag line "Couldn't You Just Die?" and lots of guest stars can't save this turkey. If it lives out the season we'll be very surprised. Ryan Murphy has described it as "Halloween" meets "Heathers," which looks about right, through you could come up with your own formulation—"Scream" meets "poppers induced hallucinogenic Animal House, without the plot" or "Friday the 13th" meets "talentless, pointless, needlessly chatty Legally Blonde." The show's creator's promise to kill off at least one character each episode. Do us all a favor and kill them all now!
Jubilant migrants arriving at Bamberg's new migrant processing facility (a converted army barracks) probably didn't notice the sign written in German at the entrance that says: Arrival and Repatriation Facility (An- und Repatriierung). Soon enough they realize that even as Germany is assembling an efficient infrastructure to welcome thousands of refugees, it has begun installing an equally efficient system for sending home people who have come from poor but safe countries seeking jobs. As Chancellor Angela Merkel put it, "Those who do not come because of political persecution or war but for economic reasons will not be able to stay."
REVIEWS:
and . . .
Ok, first lets ask the obvious question, why would you separate such a great twosome as Sullivan Stapleton and Philip Winchester (of Cinemax's Strike Back) and put them in different PG-rated network offerings where they can't display their most obvious natural assets ("Strike Back," especially Season 1, was at least R-rated).
That said, NBC’s most puzzling roll of the dice this development season, “The Player” might set a record in terms of the amount of time spent trying to explain the rules of the show. We will have to watch the pilot a second time to figure it all out. Not that it really helps this simple-minded drama, which contains an element similar to “Person of Interest,” if that show were smacked across the frontal lobe. Presumably bountiful action, modest mythology and the casting of Philip Winchester Wesley Snipes are expected to smooth over those rough patches, but since the premiere talks a lot about gambling, in terms of a second season, don’t bet on it.
“Blindspot,” the Sullivan Stapleton vehicle, shouldn’t be confused with “The Blacklist.” For starters, one has James Spader, and each show has six mostly different letters between the “BL” and the “T.” Other than that, this polished NBC drama, like its predecessor, L, with an inherent mystery surrounding its central figure, who happens to have, as Liam Neeson might say, a very particular set of skills. Just how useful those will be in winning the battle for TV survival remains to be seen, but for a show that prominently features tattoos, “Blindspot” doesn’t leave much of an impression. Give us another season of "Strike Back" instead, please!