The Nile monitor grows to over 6 ft long and has strong jaws and sharp claws. Originally from West Africa where they’re a top predator they’ve even been known to prey on crocodile nests and young crocs. They’re strong swimmers and can run quite fast for short distances. They climb trees to find bird nests and eat fruit.

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The Nile monitor also has a very wide range of food in its West African habitat:

Nile monitors feed on a wide variety of prey items, including fish, frogs, toads (even poisonous ones), small reptiles (such as turtles, snakes, lizards, and young crocodiles), birds, rodents, other small mammals (up to domestic cats and young antelopes [Raphicerus]), eggs (including those of crocodiles, agamids, other monitor lizards, and birds), invertebrates (such as beetles, termites, orthopterans (grasshoppers), crabs, caterpillars, spiders, millipedes, earthworms, snails, and slugs), carrion, human wastes, and feces.

So, how did such an awful pest get to Florida? Most likely in the exotic pet trade. Some people really like to have unusual pets. However the problem with many exotic pets come as they grow. They can get really hard to take care of. Or as Daniel Bennett, author of a book on monitor lizards says:

There are few lizards less suited to life in captivity than the Nile monitor. Buffrenil (1992) considered that, when fighting for its life, a Nile monitor was a more dangerous adversary than a crocodile of a similar size. Their care presents particular problems on account of the lizards' enormous size and lively dispositions. Very few of the people who buy brightly-colored baby Nile monitors can be aware that, within a couple of years, their purchase will have turned into an enormous, ferocious carnivore, quite capable of breaking the family cat's neck with a single snap and swallowing it whole.

So, yeah, pet Nile monitor lizards are a really bad idea. They’re illegal to keep as pets in Florida except for some permit owners that were grandfathered in when the ban was passed. But pet owners love their pets and most don’t have the heart to kill a pet they’ve been feeding and watching grow for a couple of years, no matter how vicious. Oftentimes the pet is taken to a wild area and released. Releasing tropical and subtropical pets in the north isn’t much of a problem. They wander around until winter then can’t survive the cold. In Florida they not only survive but may find others of their kind to start a breeding colony. That’s probably what happened with the Nile monitor.

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So where are the monitor lizards? Well, not where I would have expected. I thought that the center of population would be in Miami-Dade, like a lot of other tropical invasive species. But I was surprised at the distribution. Here’s a chart from EDDMapS of Nile Monitor sightings by a group from the University of Georgia that creates tools to track sightings of invasive species:

There are some in Miami-Dade, but not as many as I would have thought. The epicenter of the Nile monitor invasion is the Coral Gables area with a smaller grouping in Broward County. What do these places have in common? They’re far enough south that the lizards can survive the cold winters but these places have lots of open water. This gives these semi-aquatic lizards a way to travel throughout the area and access a diversity of prey.

However the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission sees the real risk is they will inhabit Central Florida. The lakes and rivers of central Florida will make them hard to control.

So what’s to be done about the pests? The options are limited. My first thought is that a bounty program where hunters are paid to kill Nile Monitors. But I’m not sure that would work well. These critters are too dangerous for untrained hunters to take on without the use of firearms. That may be tough since much of their range is in or near populated areas. Bounty hunters looking for iguanas in the Florida Keys use air rifles to stun or kill the smaller lizards. But I doubt that would work with Nile monitors.

But the only way to halt their movement may be by employing professional trappers to at least slow their spread. Coral Gables is doing this now to mixed results.

In the end the only thing they can do may be to slow the spread. Maybe in the intervening decades something will change to help with control — a disease, or maybe a new technology. That’s what it will take to keep Nile monitors out of Central Florida.

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The year 2018 was a pivotal year in Florida for the perceived water quality on the blue-green algae front. There had always been some issues with algae cropping up every few years, but usually it didn’t make headlines and went away pretty quickly. But 2018 was different.

What’s an algae bloom and how did it wind up sliming Florida’s biggest lake? This question was originally asked in the Miami Herald but soon most of Florida was asking it. And then the advisories: 4 Swimming Advisories Issued For Miami-Dade Beaches. Florida’s pristine beaches were getting a well-deserved bad name.

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The algae hasn’t been bad every year since 2018, but it’s always there. We’ve learned to live with it with due to better practices in the water management districts and other entities. But what caused it and how can we make it stop?

In this article I’m talking about blue-green algae blooms. It’s caused by a number of different bacteria that share a common feature — they have chloroplasts that make energy for the cells, giving the group name cyanobacteria for its green color. Bacteria that causes red tide that affects Florida’s coast are slightly different (no chloroplasts) but they behave in roughly similar ways and need the same conditions to bloom. For simplicity I’ll only refer to the blue-green algae.

So here’s the background. Blue-green algae needs 2 things to get started.

1. Nutrient Overload: The proliferation of blue-green algae is often spurred by an abundance of essential nutrients, namely nitrogen and phosphorus. These elements can become overly concentrated in water bodies due to runoff from farmland or suburban lawns where fertilizers are used, leakage from septic systems, and discharges from industrial processes. In such nutrient-saturated conditions, blue-green algae can thrive and multiply, leading to significant blooms. In regions like Florida, where agricultural activities and water management are central concerns, understanding and controlling these nutrient sources can be key to preventing or managing blue-green algae outbreaks.

2. Water Temperature: Warm water temperatures promotes the growth of blue-green. In a subtropical climate like Florida's, the combination of warmth and sunlight can be especially conducive to blue-green algae blooms.

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So that’s pretty well it. Warm water and excessive nutrients and we have a problem. The next issue is what is being done to prevent large blooms. The largest source of algae blooms is Lake Okeechobee.

The South Florida Water Management District and the Army Corps of Engineers are responsible for releasing water from Lake Okeechobee as needed. They have a dual mandate. They need to keep the water in Lake Okeechobee in summer to prevent blue-green algae being sent downstream. They also need to make sure to keep the water level low in case a hurricane comes. In 1928 the San Felipe Segundo hurricane overflowed the levee around Lake Okeechobee and killed 2,500 people, wiping out entire towns. That can’t happen again and they’ve done a good job of this over the last few years but the water level of over 15 ft is worrying should a hurricane appear.

So, how do we address the blue-green algae blooms. I started this article hopeful, but a lot of that hope was lost when just estimating the amount of money needed for this job. Three sources of nutrients are mentioned above, industrial processes, fertilizer runoff, and septic systems. I’ll address each in turn.

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1. Industrial processes is the least of the worries. It really doesn’t register in any studies of the output that has been done recently. There was a time when Central Florida had a series of plants making fertilizer with little oversight making this a larger factor. But it’s just not a biggie now.

2. Fertilizer runoff is relatively large, but it seems to be pretty's well under control from both sources — agriculture and residential lawns. Many cities and counties have been enforcing a ban on lawn fertilizer in summertime and agriculture has been getting better at fertilizer and irrigation methods.

3. As to septage (a word I learned while reading for this paper, refers to leakage from a septic system) it’s a tougher story. A recent study by Florida Atlantic University study concluded that 79% of the the nutrients in the 156 mile Indian River came from septage. There’s a University of Florida study doing the same study for Tampa Bay that should be out in 2 years.

This is the depressing part. I had no idea that that 1/3 of all Floridians live in homes that have septic systems. I would have guessed much lower. This is going to be really expensive. The City of Debary in Volusia County is removing 2,300 septic systems and putting people on municipal sewers over the next 20 years at a cost of $50 million. And recently Martin County had to delay for 60 days a plan to move residents to a municipal sewer when residents rebelled at the $12,000 hookup cost and an additional $749 per year for 20 years. And that’s with the state covering half the $24.3 million cost. The cost to bring millions of homes onto municipal sewers is daunting.

I’ve highlighted the issues around Lake Okeechobee. However this issue is playing out in nearly every lake in Florida. It’s also impacting the springs and rivers.

So, what do we do about the septage problem? The most cost effective interim solution is for every local government to begin an aggressive program of bringing septic systems into current building code, or at least make it uncomfortable to stay outside current code. That would mean some new drain fields and especially it would force replacement of old tanks. Many of Florida’s tanks were installed long before code enforcement was a thing. The old ones are made of steel and have rusted out over the years and spill their contents regularly. Not a fight local governments relish picking, but it would at the very least buy time to implement the right solution to the problem.

But the long game is to get more people on municipal sewage systems, especially those within city limits. That’s a long term project likely to be very expensive and meet considerable blowback from the citizens. But it’s going to have to be done.

I write these pieces mostly for my own education. Sometimes I don’t get to where I understand an issue, but most of time with enough study I can see most of an issue. Then there’s the rare case when I end up thinking that ignorance was bliss. This is a case of the latter.

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Sea Turtles sleep 11 hours or so every day. When sleeping their oxygen needs go way down so they can hold their breath 4-7 hours. Plenty of time for a good nap. And it’s nice if you can get your shell cleaned at the same time.

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Leapin’ Lizards. Or at least alligators.

I’ve seen them leap out of the water a couple of times but have never been able to capture it on film. Their tails are really strong and the plant it on the bottom and pogo from there. This story said he was after a fish, but they also do this to surprise a bird on a low branch.

A worker at Gatorland once told me they had a gator that figured out he could jump up, grab a branch and shake vigorously to cause bird eggs or nestlings to fall out. They had to move him out of the main lagoon as that behavior startled guests. I would have loved to see it.

Fishing Teamwork

Who can resist a couple of kids fishing. And working as a team. Not really a nature video, more of a cute kid video while in nature. Great video.

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Dogs vs Manatee

Manatees are really big and really strong. A few times I’ve surprised one in my kayak that was resting on bottom. Suddenly I’m holding on to the kayak for dear life. It looks like this one goes out of his way to splash the dogs.

Honeybee Appreciation Day

We think of bees as honey makers, but that’s not the most important thing they do for us. Their role in pollinating flowers of all types is much more important. National Bee Appreciation Day was August 19.

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Dolphin Pass or Narrator Fumble?

In this video the narrator doesn’t understand what’s going on. Dolphins don’t pass fish to each other. What happens is one of their hunting techniques is to converge on a school of fish. Some of the fish will jump out of the water to get away from the dolphins only to be caught in a waiting mouth. But they don’t pass.

Iguana Hunter

I wonder what type of characteristics you would want to breed into a dog to make him an iguana hunter? Big, fearless, smart enough to bring them back? In any case this dog seems to have it all.

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Ghost Orchids

Ghost Orchids, also called frog orchids because of the shape of the bloom, grow wild in Florida and several Caribbean Islands and are blooming now. It’s beautiful and extremely rare, growing wild in swamps. People who find a ghost orchid will rarely tell anybody about it, preferring to keep it secret for fear of orchid hunters stealing it. There are probably only about 2,000 in Florida. Here’s a primer on the elusive flower.

Bioluminescence

Bioluminescence is caused by very small water creatures called dinoflagellates that light up when disturbed. In the summer in the tropics they can put on a show. Look for Bioluminescence kayak tours anywhere on the gulf coast or Indian River if you’re interested in seeing it.

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Shameless self-plug of the week

This week’s article was on caesar weed. Caesar weed, also called Congo jute, has been used for centuries to make rope and coarse fabrics in Asia and Africa. Over the last century it has been living and expanding in Florida. This article takes a look at caesar weed’s history and the ecological problems it’s causing today.

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Caesar weed, also called Congo Jute, has been a cash crop in both Asia and Africa for hundreds of years. Its fibers have been used for many generations to create rope and cloth. It’s a small bush that can grow as high as 10 feet tall. The scientific name is Urena lobata. It belongs to the Malvaceae plant family, a wide ranging family that includes cotton, cacao, hibiscus and okra.

In Florida caesar weed is considered to be a noxious, invasive weed. But that’s not the case around the world. In Asia it’s still processed to make fibers for rope and rough, burlap type cloth. Here’s a video of the harvesting and processing of jute. The species isn’t the exact one we have in Florida, but it’s close in both appearance and uses.

Nobody is sure how caesar weed ended up in Florida. It’s possible that it came from Jamaica. After England outlawed the slave trade in 1830 they brought Indian indentured servants to Jamaica to work the sugar cane. Between 1845 and 1917 about 36,000 laborers moved from India to Jamaica. The plant probably came with these workers. By 1895 it was being grown in Florida for its fiber.

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But a funny thing happened on the way to making a profitable Florida industry. In 1936 Wallace H. Carothers, a chemist for Du Pont, invented nylon. Nylon ropes captured much of the market within a few years. Nylon doesn’t deteriorate due to sun and moisture like jute. It’s cheaper and stronger than jute. It’s easier to automate production so when World War II came it was easier to ramp up production of nylon rope than to plant more of a crop that wouldn’t mature for years.

So nylon replaced jute for most fiber products. And what became of the crops across Florida? They escaped cultivation and spread to wild areas across the state. Its sticky seedpods are carried by humans and animals alike to new areas. It can form dense thickets, outcompeting native plants and altering ecological community diversity and function. Here’s a video from University of Florida talking about how aggressive it is.

According to the Florida Plant Atlas caesar weed has spread to almost all counties in the peninsula. The vouchered designation just means that somebody has collected and pressed a leaf from a plant and deposited in a herbarium, and is intended to be a permanent record supporting research purposes. So it could be elsewhere.

But it does have some redeeming qualities. Caesar weed has been used as erosion control on disturbed land. It creates a large and complex root system quickly that will hold dirt in rains. It creates a thicket that gives hiding places for many animals. The blossoms produce nectar for insect pollinators. The root can be boiled and used as a skin cream. And twine from it is still available for sale.

Control of caesar weed can be done either manually (chopping and burning) or chemically. A quick internet search will give you the recommended chemicals.

Overall caesar weed is an invasive plant that at times outcompetes native plants. But that seems to be the exception rather than the rule. It doesn’t normally form the dense thickets of Brazilian pepper nor does it grow well in forested areas like Chinese tallow. For that reason it shouldn’t be thought of in the same category as the other 2.

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I write these pieces to organize my thoughts around a subject. In this case I came away thinking that caesar weed isn’t something we should be glad we now have in Florida, but we should also recognize the value it provides the environment as well as its costs. And that value probably comes close to equaling the costs it brings.

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Sea turtle hatchling makes her run to the deep

Because who doesn’t like baby sea turtles. And it is likely a female. Turtles develop sex according to how warm it is and this has been a hot year. Remember “hot chicks, cool dudes”. Most of the hatchlings this year will be hot chicks.

Hammerhead shark does a fly-by

Hammerheads aren’t a very aggressive shark when it comes to attacking people. Watch the young guys in the back of the crowd making sure there was always somebody between them and the shark. This was in Palm Beach.

Portuguese Man of War

Definitely one of the cooler names for a sea creature. These guys give pretty bad stings. The sting paralyzes fish so they can eat them and it has been known to kill people, but only rarely

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Study reveals successful strategies for removing invasive caimans from Florida Everglades

The Everglades seems to be a magnet for invasive species. The caiman is an alligator relative from Central and South America.

The annual python hunt is on

Last year over 1,000 python hunters signed up (not all hunted). These guys look like they’re having fun. Hey, in the marsh at night looking for giant snakes. What’s not to like?

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Bringing home the bacon, cannibal alligator edition

This alligator has been dead for some time, not how high it floats. It’s decomposing quickly. I once watched an alligator dismembering a dead one he found, also in Lake Apopka. Nature rarely lets meat go to waste.

Young eagle still in his nest.

This guy is about 5 months old now and on his own. Today he brought home a fish for lunch. Bald eagles don’t get their white head and tail feathers until their 3rd year.

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Florida Sunrise

I always love the red skies of morning and evening. I think this was taken in the South Florida.

Hot oceans threaten coral reefs

This has been a tough summer for Florida’s coral reefs with the water getting really warm really quickly.

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What shall we do about gypstacks?

And of course last but not least my shameless plug. My recent article about the environmental disaster the gypsum stacks have become.

Thank you for reading my substack. Until next time … Get out and see the beauty that is Florida.

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Gypstacks, also known as gypsum stacks, are byproducts of the phosphate fertilizer industry and primarily consist of waste gypsum. When phosphate rock is mined sulfuric acid and water is added to separate the phosphate from the surrounding rock the reaction produces phosphoric acid that’s sold to make fertilizer. The waste product is called phosphogypsum. Five tons of phosphogypsum is produced for every ton of phosphoric acid.

And then what happens to the phosphogypsum waste product is — nothing. It’s stacked in huge piles. These piles can be up to 520 feet high, as tall as a 50 story building. There are roughly 25 of these stacks in Florida and about 45 elsewhere in the US.

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Major accidents from gypstacks seem to occur every few years. The last big one was Piney Point:

On March 25, 2021, leaks were discovered in the containment wall of a 77-acre pond holding approximately 460 million gallons of wastewater at a former phosphate plant at Piney Point, Florida, about 20 miles south of Tampa. To prevent a collapse of the stack containment walls holding back wastewater, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) approved a controlled discharge from the site into Port Manatee.

Here’s a news report of that incident:

Mulberry, FL sinkhole

In 2016, one of the deepest sinkholes ever recorded in Florida opened beneath Mosaic's New Wales Plant in nearby Mulberry, in southwest Polk County. More than 200 million gallons of polluted water spiraled into the underground aquifer. It took the company two years to seal the opening.

Here’s a video about the Mulberry disaster:

And there are many others over the years.

• In 2004, high winds from Tropical Storm Frances whipped up waves atop a 180-foot-tall gypsum stack at Mosaic's phosphate plant in Riverview. The waves bashed a big hole in the dike around the pond, sending 65 million gallons of polluted water into Archie Creek, which flows into Hillsborough Bay. Untold numbers of fish were killed, along with acres of mangroves and seagrass.

• At Piney Point in 2001, after owner Mulberry Phosphates went belly up, thousands of gallons of ammonia-laden waste poured from the stack into ditches leading into one of the prime breeding areas for fish and marine life in Tampa Bay.

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• In 1997 a dam atop a gypsum stack at a Mulberry Phosphates fertilizer plant broke during heavy rains, spilling 56 million gallons of acidic wastewater into the North Fork of the Alafia River. Virtually everything in the 42 miles between Mulberry and Tampa Bay was killed - including more than 1 million fish. The company declared bankruptcy and shut down.

These are not minor environmental issues. Each of these and other disasters kill millions of fish if they get into streams and pollute groundwater for miles around.

So gypstacks are huge and apt to occasionally cause immense environmental damage. But why can’t the gypsum be used? After all, gypsum has hundreds of uses around the world. A few common uses include:

1. Drywall/Plasterboard: One of the most prevalent uses for gypsum is in the production of drywall, also known as plasterboard or wallboard. These panels are used in construction as interior walls and ceilings because they are fire-resistant, soundproof, and easy to install.

   

2. Plaster: Gypsum can be heated to remove water molecules, turning it into a powder called plaster of Paris. When mixed with water, this plaster becomes malleable and can be molded, which then sets into a hard solid. This property is utilized for creating casts, molds, and sculptures.

3. Agriculture: Gypsum is used as a soil conditioner in agriculture. It can improve soil structure, increase water infiltration, and alleviate soil compaction. Moreover, gypsum is a source of calcium and sulfur for plants and can help rectify alkaline soils.

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4. Food Additive: Gypsum is sometimes used in the food industry as a coagulant in products like tofu and as a dough conditioner in baking. It's also used as an additive in certain beverages.

5. Medical and Dental: Plaster of Paris, derived from gypsum, is used for making dental molds and casts. It's also utilized in orthopedics to make immobilizing casts for broken bones.

There are literally thousands of uses for gypsum. But the gypstacks weighing millions of tons can’t be used for any product. The reason: Gypsum from Florida is radioactive.

I’ll stop there. A longer discussion of the radiation is needed, but that ties into what needs to be done (and I’ll argue will eventually be done). The gypsum stacks are an environmental problem that needs to be addressed. And with major disasters happening about 3 times per decade eventually the political pressure do fix the problem will come eventually. In the conclusion to this article I’ll talk about radiation levels and how that ties into potential solutions.

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Whale Shark in Destin, FL.

The whale shark is not only the world’s largest shark but also the world’s largest fish. They can reach 59 feet long and weigh 15 tons. They only feed on plankton, shrimp and the like, not at all dangerous to humans.

Here’s a good article on them at Encyclopedia Brittanica. A truly marvelous beast and another bucket list item that I have yet to see. Here’s a short video of one that showed up in Destin, FL this week. Click Here

Alligator CT Scan.

So, how do you give a 376 lb alligator a CT Scan? Very carefully. This keep reminding me of a scene from The Silence of the Lambs. What ever you do, guys, don’t get too close. He probably has a lock pick in his mouth. Also where else would an alligator get a CT scan than University of Florida. Click Here.

Monkeys in a state park

Short video about Rhesus Macaques at Silver River. If you go looking for these guys be careful. Lots of them carry a simian herpes virus that can be excruciating or even fatal to humans. Don’t get bit. Click Here

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‘Never seen anything like it.’ Bradenton fishing captain says illegal poaching is rampant

Poaching has always been an issue, but it may be getting worse. Most of these items were destined for gift shops before they were confiscated. Good Work FWC. Click here

22 ball pythons have been caught in a St. Johns neighborhood. Where are they coming from?

Ball pythons seem to be more in vogue with collectors than their Burmese cousins, but they’re still an invasive pest. I’m guessing somebody either released or had a pregnant female escape in this neighborhood. Ball pythons are one of the most kept reptile pets. Hopefully they’ll get them all eventually. They don’t get nearly as large as the Burmese python so not as much of a problem but still a major issue. Click Here

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First Roseate Spoonbill seen in Wisconsin in 178 years.

Ok, not strictly a Florida story. Roseate Spoonbills were last seen in Wisconsin in 1845. I also saw an article that one was recently seen in Washington, DC after a similarly long time. They were almost hunted to extinction for their pink feathers for ladies’ hats and other clothing. Not long ago the only populations were near the gulf between Florida and Texas. Really good to see them making a comeback. Click Here

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Burrowing owls

Another threatened species that I have never seen. One of the extremely few birds that dig a burrow. They feed mostly on small mammals and large insects. Click Here

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The Atlantic is frying, but so far hurricanes are dying. What’s going on?

For a hurricane to form it needs several things. It needs warm water to have the energy necessary. It needs minimum wind shear — the difference in wind speed and direction at a given point up through the atmosphere. Too much wind shear and the storm tears itself apart. It also needs rising air else or it can’t get organized. Right now we have high temperatures but lots of windshear and sinking air. The author seems to think we’ll get storms soon. I doubt it. The shear may lessen but I see no near future where the air over the Atlantic starts rising. I’m hoping I’m right on this. Click Here

Fort Myers Butterfly Estates closes its doors

I really hate to hear that. I had planned to go there a couple of years ago but the trip never happened. Now it never will. Lots of small nonprofits and small businesses are finding the real estate price inflation can have dire consequences. In this case the old landlord sold the real estate and the new owner wanted the land for other customers. Click Here

Leprosy in Florida

Leprosy is a horrible skin disease that has afflicted mankind for millennia. We still have it in Florida, spread by both human-human contact and contact with armadillos. I look into the distribution of the disease in this week’s article. Click here

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⁴³ The priest is to examine him, and if the swollen sore on his head or forehead is reddish-white like a defiling skin disease, ⁴⁴ the man is diseased and is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean because of the sore on his head.

⁴⁵ “Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ ⁴⁶ As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.1

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These verses of the Bible are probably talking about leprosy. Leprosy has been an awful disease afflicting humanity since before recorded history. It’s a contagious disease and here’s what the CDC says about its spread (it’s also called Hansen’s disease):

It is not known exactly how Hansen’s disease spreads between people. Scientists currently think it may happen when a person with Hansen’s disease coughs or sneezes, and a healthy person breathes in the droplets containing the bacteria. Prolonged, close contact with someone with untreated leprosy over many months is needed to catch the disease.2

Around the world leprosy was seen as a sentence where victims were separated from family to wait for death. As late as 1969 Hawaii still forced lepers to live in a colony called Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai.

It’s an old disease that stays slightly active on the radar screen. Not really a big deal. But then I was puzzled by the following CBS News headline: Leprosy could be endemic in Central Florida, CDC says. What to know about the disease.

The broad outlines of how leprosy works has been known for some time. The Cleveland Clinic says it’s caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. It’s curable with a coattail cocktail of antibiotics. But it’s usually not detected early since it can stay dormant in a victim for decades.

There are only 4 animals known to spread leprosy — Humans, European red squirrel, chimpanzees and armadillos. Florida has no European red squirrels or chimpanzees but lots of humans and armadillos.

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So, the US has about 150 cases per year, with Florida contributing about 30 of these or 20% of the cases in a given year. In a population of 22.3 million that still doesn’t sound like a big deal. When I looked closer into the case distribution it became clearer that Florida doesn’t have a problem with leprosy. But one county does.

Brevard County is Florida’s is the 10th largest county by population. Its population of 631,000 accounts for only 2.8% of the state’s population. But they make up over 74% of the total leprosy cases3.

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This proportion of cases in Brevard County has remained pretty constant over the years. So what’s going on here? Why has Brevard County remained the king of leprosy for over a decade now.

I have 4 possible explanations for Brevard County seeing an elevated incidence of leprosy for an extended period of time. I’m going to list each of these and discuss it briefly.

1. It’s brought in from other places. There are many more cases of leprosy worldwide than in Florida. India reported 75,394 cases in 2021. Several other countries reported cases in excess of 10,000, dwarfing Florida’s 150 cases. Could the cases be from people immigrating from or visiting countries with a higher incidence? My guess is no. If it’s being brought from abroad then why Brevard? Sure, there are lots of brainy folks from around the world working at Kennedy Space Center, but Orlando also has lots of brainy people from elsewhere. And Miami. And lots of other places. Why aren’t they similarly affected. Probability 5%.

2. It’s circulating in a small community that has little contact with the outside. This community is passing the disease among its members. These small communities, usually religious in nature, sometimes cut off contact with the outside world to keep themselves pure. In this case they’re passing leprosy but may not even understand they’re doing it since the incubation period for leprosy can be measured in decades. That’s possible, but I think we would have heard about this is it were an issue in a self-isolating community. There used to be religious communities that kept away from others, but there just aren’t that many in Florida these days. I’m skeptical. Probability 15%.

3. There’s a reservoir of leprosy in the armadillo population that’s occasionally infecting people. For some reason most of the literature go out of their way to say that armadillos usually don’t infect people, but I couldn’t find a good discussion of why it is rare. Armadillos have been eaten in both the US and lots of other places over the years. They were called Hoover Hogs during the depression. If they have become a reservoir for the disease and Florida Man is testing to see if they taste like chicken this could be the reason. But I still only give it a 30% chance of being correct.

   

4. It’s a reporting artifact. In my many years working as a corporate statistician I found that most really strange pieces of information could be explained as misunderstood data. It’s possible that lots of leprosy occurring in other counties are for some reason reported as being in Brevard County. Maybe there’s one Brevard doctor that is the state specialist in leprosy that does the state reporting when doctors that have never seen it call for a consult. Or maybe there’s a state employee in Brevard County whose job it is to look for infectious disease. Or maybe there’s a doctor in Brevard that’s misdiagnosing another disease as leprosy. I give this a 50% chance of being correct.

So, where does that leave us? While I consider alternative #4 to be the most likely #3 is the scary one. If leprosy is endemic in armadillos and if they are easily passing the disease to humans it’s going to be a long time before it can be completely controlled. The armadillo population is large and and their nocturnal habits keep them relatively hidden (aside from roadkill victims).

I write these pieces mostly to organize a topic in my own mind. Sometimes I can come to a firm conclusion of what’s going on. Sometimes not. This is somewhere in between. I think the issue is a reporting issue. But I’m not completely sure. I hope it’s not being passed relatively easily from armadillos to humans. If that’s true it will be a long time before it leprosy once again becomes a disease only encountered in the Bible.

So, what have I missed? Is there another possibility in addition to the 4 above? Are my probabilities off. Let me know in the comments.

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2. Five bear cubs and mama bear crossing the road. This many cubs aren’t really rare to be born, however keeping this many cubs alive is indeed rare. Evidently this is a really good year to find food. Also the mama bear has been really lucky keeping away predators.

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3. COCAINE SHARKS!! OMG WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE. Or not. This is the latest BS story in an incredibly long line of scare headlines about sharks. Look for more as we get near to next year’s 50th anniversary of Jaws. And no, there are no sharks hopped up on cocaine cruising the shoreline.

4. The first successful American Oystercatcher pair at Fort DeSoto Park in Pinellas County hatched a single chick this week. Oystercatchers nearly went extinct early in the 20th century due to demand for feathers and destruction of oyster beds. They’ve made somewhat of a comeback in the last decade. So good to see.

Via @AudubonFL on Twitter

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5. Lots of ink has been spilled about pythons in South Florida attacking alligators, and some of it is true. However here’s the usual outcome when a snake gets too near an alligator. In the last half of the video you can see the alligator doing their go-to move — the death roll. This disorients and possibly drowns the soon-to-be meal. This snake may be a black racer, but I didn’t see it long enough to tell for sure.

6. Just an incredible sight. These Swallow-tailed Kites will spend the winter in Columbia and Brazil before returning in about March. Seeing a tree full of swallow-tailed kites just made my bucket list.

Via @CorkscrewSwamp on Twitter

7. An incredible, yet creepy picture. This is low-light photography of alligators cruising the Myakka River State Park southeast of Sarasota. Alligators are primarily night hunters. One of the main ways to keep yourself safe from alligators is not to get in the water at night. The photographer is Larry Lynch and his website is Larry M. Lynch Photography. Some really good wildlife pictures if you’re looking for a print.

Via @everglades on Twitter.

8. The Miami Herald has some pretty apocalyptic quotes about coral dying around Florida. I’m not sure what to think about this. There are some fairly apocalyptic quotes in the article. But in the summer of 2020 there were also lots of articles about coral dying. Also in the article I couldn’t always tell whether they were talking about small, shallow-water human attempts to grow coral animals were dying, or were they talking about coral reefs in general. I will have to do some additional reading to make sense of this. I’ll write it up here when I do.

9. Gypstacks, what are they and why are they an environmental problem? That’s a question I’ve been thinking about. Gypstacks are the huge piles of waste from phosphate mining that are relatively common in Central and North Florida. The EPA will allow the mining company to pile them up to 520 feet. Every few years there’s some kind of accident that creates an ecological problem. So what to do? Mosaic, the main gypsum miner still in Florida, has asked the federal EPA to be able to used the material to build substrates for roads. Approval for this will be a long time coming. I’m researching this for an upcoming article.

10. And last, but certainly not least is my article on lichens, particularly a lichen called usnea. I wrote an article this week about the history of usnea being used as an antibiotic treatment to heal wounds for many centuries years in many different civilizations. Short read, but interesting if I do say so myself.

    

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One organism that has caught my attention lately is a lichen called usnea. The specific type we have here in Florida has the scientific name Usnea florida. Easy to remember. It’s often referred to as old man’s beard.

Usnea is found in forests worldwide. As mentioned it’s a lichen. Which makes it difficult to say exactly what it is.

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Some would argue that lichen isn't really an organism. Not a single one, anyway. A lichen is made up of at 2 separate organisms. It's a relationship between an algae and a fungus. The algae provides the chlorophyll to make food for the lichen, the fungus provides structure and moisture. Living together the fungus and algae create something that is very different from either constituent part.

But things get more complex than that. Sometimes a lichen is a combination of at least 3 organisms. Sometimes it’s 2 different fungi with algae. Sometimes it’s algae, fungus and bacteria. But the cells are fixed in a way that it becomes a single living organism. Complex, but interesting.

But here’s the really cool thing about usnea. It’s been used as an antibiotic for thousands of years. Africans used it. The Chinese used it. Native Americans used it.

Coming to more modern times there has been some interest in usnea as an antibiotic. Here’s a paper from 2020 in Science Direct1.

Their conclusion:

The results show that the use of Usnea sp. in traditional medicine can be scientifically documented. Studies show that usnic acid is the active compound present in Usnea sp. extracts. This compound, which has a high antibacterial and cytotoxic activity, exists in large quantities in low-polarity extracts, and low concentration in these of high-polarity. Usnea sp. extracts contain compounds other than usnic acid as well with biological effects. Usnea barbata is a species that has been employed in modern-day cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations. The information presented in the review can be considered as a source of knowledge about the Usnea sp. It presents research on biological properties reported for different species of Usnea genus and thus can facilitate their use in medicine.

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Another interesting part of the Science Direct paper is the 108 item reading list for more perspective on usnea should you be interested.

As science writer Michael Shermer once said “Humans are pattern-seeking story-telling animals, and we are quite adept at telling stories about patterns, whether they exist or not”2 There are lots of cases where a traditional medicine offers nothing beyond a placebo effect. Other cases see traditional medicines as having an important effect. It’s easy to see patterns with small sample sizes, even when they’re not there. It’s also easy to dismiss traditional medicines as primitive guesses without evidence of value.

My conclusion: A lot of really smart people in the past used various things they found in their local environment to help with health issues. Some worked, some didn’t. Those that tended to be used in multiple cultures over many lifetimes probably had some positive effect. My thought is that usnea was useful in the main area it was most often used — for topical inflammation reduction. There are probably limitations that practitioners didn’t understand but that’s always expected.

So I come out where I usually do for lots of practices. If they’ve remained in use for long periods of time by many people they’re filling a need. So as far as usnea goes I’m likin’ lichens.

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Asperitas clouds are a new type of cloud, recognized in 2017. They actually don’t have a lot of severe weather associated with them, but they look really angry and foreboding. This link is a couple of years old but was new to me.

Nice video at the link.

Via @fasc1nate on Twitter

Florida Python Challenge

The Florida Python Challenge kicks off on August 3rd. Last year’s challenge 1,000 participants that caught 231 pythons. Is that a lot? Just not seeing how such a huge effort results in so few caught. Are there as many as thought? Or not a lot of experienced hunters.

Just interesting that the number was so small, but the state was excited about it. Especially when the winner caught 28 pythons or 12 % of the total.

More thought required.

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Coral Reef Awareness Week July 17-23

Yeah, ok, we missed it. But it’s still something to be aware of.

Coral reefs suffer from one large problem with several underlying problems. The large problem is that they take so long to regenerate. People and nature throw lots of challenges at them but they don’t have time to regenerate before the next challenge adds to the stress.

Hurricane season is upon us.

Though it has been pretty quiet thus far. Because Florida.

Via @SJRWMD on twitter

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Loons in Florida

I’ve always liked the loons. If you ever hear their call on a northern lake you’ll remember it always. We do have a few loons in Florida, especially in winter. I’ve never heard a loon’s call in Florida. I have heard them when on lakes in Canada and New York.

Here’s a video that where you can hear the loon.

North of Lake Okeechobee Storage Reservoir (LOCAR) Upcoming Meetings

This project is a big deal, but has fallen out of public conversation. It’s about creating water storage to keep Lake O from holding too much water. When it’s forced to release water in summer it sometimes results in algae flowing down the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers.

The notice is about upcoming dates and ideas for the project. They will be asking for comment in the meeting. The virtual date is Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 2:00 p.m.

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Docking on riverbanks

This seems to be a point of emphasis from the Southwest Florida Water Management district recently. Rules to eliminate docking the Weeki Wachee are coming and they’re also educating about docking on the Chaz.

I’m torn about how I feel about this. On one hand keeping people off banks is probably good. However with so many people boating on the springs it’s going to be a bear to enforce.

They’re also taking down the rope swings. I hope the state knows they’re taking on a big job to enforce these rules.

July is National Park and Recreation Month.

Get out and visit a local park or 2. See the greatness of Florida’s State Parks. Just go. Drive through the Everglades. Hike a wilderness area. Just go.

Click the picture to see information about a park near and dear to my heart. I grew up near where this park now is.

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Bear at Destin Beach

Black bears are actually very good swimmers but it’s pretty rare to see them in salt water. This little guy surprised swimmers. He’s relatively small, but not too small to make it on his own. Since most bears are born in the winter I’d guess he’s about 18 months old.

UF group catches and tags a 13 ft sawfish.

This is the furthest a sawfish has been caught in a very long time. The sawfish are critically endangered. I hope this helps with the preservation of this truly great species.

The forest is bisected by Kate’s Mountain, a high ridge that runs north-south. Here’s how the West Virginia Forestry Service describes who the mountain was named for:

This 5,133 acre forest is bisected by Kate’s Mountain, named for Kate Carpenter who survived an Indian raid by hiding with her infant in a hollow log.

I hiked a couple of trails in the last few days. The trails are well marked and maintained but are invariably very steep and rugged.

This tree was near the beginning of a trail. It had uprooted and fallen, probably in the last few years. By my count it was 113 years old when it fell, but that is a low estimate. Tree rings are hard to count once the tree has been laying due to oxidation and dirt accumulation. If I needed an exact count it would be necessary to cut the tree to get a look at fresh, clean rings.

There was only one place from the top of Kate’s Mountain to get a good view of the surrounding area. I really liked this vista. Mostly forested land, but as you look closer a number of houses and small towns come into view.

Most tadpoles don’t become a frog. Most die young as a result of predation and lack of food. These tadpoles were in a puddle on the road. The puddle had shrunk with the dry weather until they were crowded in an area only a few feet across. If it doesn’t rain soon they won’t last much longer. Edit: It did rain the night after I took this picture so they got a new lease on life.

I wasn’t able to determine where the name Dame’s Rocket came from. Probably originated in Europe since the plant is an invasive species native to the continent. But that has to be one of the coolest names for a flower ever.

As I was walking away from the Dame’s Rocket I noticed a smaller plant beside the Dame’s Rocket with a flower that was approximately the same color as the Dame’s Rocket. My first guess was it was just an immature Dame’s Rocket. But then I started counting petals. The Dame’s Rocket has 4 petals but the smaller ones have 5. After a few minutes on my phone I was able to determine the smaller plant was a Hairy Phlox, another plant deserving of the flowering plant Hall-of-Fame.

I don’t know the relationship between the plants. I read that Dame’s Rockcet was pushing phlox species out of environments and maybe that was happening. But the smaller Hairy Phlox needs shade to survive and seemed content to grow in the shade of the Dame’s Rocket1.

There were lots of flame azaleas along the trail. I was surprised at the range of colors. Some were yellow, some orange and some in between. Just a lot more variation than I had seen before.

Not a great picture of the male Bob White Quail. I took this with my phone. It enlarged reasonably well, but the rocks in the road started getting a pixilated look. I remember as a kid how loud the are when taking off. It’s always startling when suddenly the fly from nearby.

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I see Eastern Towhees frequently in Florida in wintertime. This may be the first I’ve seen in the north in summertime. I couldn’t get a good picture of him but it was enough for identification.

I’ll almost always snap pictures of swallowtail butterflies. Always my favorite butterfly. Such a varied group, most with really flashy colors. This is the Tiger Swallowtail.

Overall I really enjoyed hiking in the Greenbrier State Forest. Lots of steep inclines that are very different from Florida. Wildlife that I didn’t get a picture of included a deer, an eagle and a barred owl. Very nice hiking if you don’t mind the steep inclines.

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I hiked a couple of trails near the Grandview overlook. Here’s a smaller map of that area.

I grew up occasionally hiking in Grandview State Park. The park was incorporated into the New River Gorge National Park in 1992. But people who live there still refer to it as Grandview State Park.

I hiked a couple of trails at Grandview recently, a total of about 12 miles. As a regular hiker in Florida I’m always amazed how much harder it is to hike in the mountains. My legs definitely felt it the next day much more than a hike of similar distance in Florida.

Yeah, Grandview pretty well sums it up, doncha think?

I once tried my best to get a bit part in a movie that was shot in southern West Virginia. Matewan was a movie about the founding of the coal miner’s union. It was filmed in Thurmond, WV, about 30 miles from Grandview. But the movie makers came to Grandview to get a short scene from the Grandview. It didn’t really tie into the movie, just a pretty scene to put in. And as for me getting a bit part in the movie — didn’t happen. That was pretty well the last gasp of my failed acting career.

The rhododendrons were in full view at the visitor center. Rhododendrons are a beautiful flower and indeed the state flower of West Virginia. Most of the year they have an evergreen leaf. But for a few weeks in Spring they dominate their surroundings with the beauty of their flowers.

But the beauty of the rhododendron has a darker side. The flower is toxic to most pollinators. Most plants with large flowers would have a variety of pollinators — wasps, butterflies and moths, bees, etc. But you’ll never see anything but honeybees and bumblebees on the rhododendron as the nectar is poisonous to most pollinators.

And to humans. Some people go looking specifically for rhododendron honey because of its psychological effects. It contains a neurotoxin called Grayanotoxin. It can cause hallucinations and a suppression of the central nervous system. In high concentrations it can cause death. There’s a reason that users of rhododendron honey call it Mad Honey.

The scariest stories I’ve heard is that early settlers in West Virginia used rhododendron honey to calm crying infants. YIKES! Don’t try this at home.

I had forgotten how many chipmunks are in the forests in this area. They were everywhere. My brothers and I used to catch them and try to keep them as pets many years ago. Unfortunately being captured was usually a death sentence for the poor chipmunk, not from intentional harm but from not knowing how to take care of it. But some escaped, which looking back I’m thankful for.

The trails here stay a little muddy as the tree canopy doesn’t let a lot of sun in. But all were easily passible. The trails seem well cared for and easily passible.

Overall there’s something for everyone at the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve: Nature, history, exercise and magnificent views. And for me it brings back memories of navigating these woods in a simpler time.

The Chinese tallow has an interesting history concerning its initial introduction the US. Benjamin Franklin originally obtained seeds for the tree from his contacts trading in Asia. He saw a need to be able to grow a plant that would allow people to make soap and candles more easily as both were relatively expensive being based on animal fats.

He sent the seeds to a friend in Georgia to grow. As it turned out they were never able to make products from the Chinese Tallow commercially. The waxy seedpods could make candles, but not in the quantity needed to make a profit.

So is old Ben to blame for Florida’s Chinese tallow problems? Actually not. The US Department of Agriculture imported trees in the early 1900’s to study their commercial use. Genetic tests conducted in 2005 prove that Franklin’s trees stayed in a few counties in Georgia. The rest of the trees spreading from Florida to Texas were from the more recent USDA planting. So don’t blame Ben. By the way, 2 other of Franklin’s imported plants were more successful in the US. He may have been the first to import both kale and soybeans from Asia.

The big problem with Chinese tallow trees is just how prolific they are. They can produce 100,000 seedpods in a single year. They simply outbreed other trees in the forest.

The seedpods are relatively small and can be eaten by small birds. They digest the waxy coating and later pass the seed to grow elsewhere. With so many of these interactions happening per tree per year it’s no surprise this tree spreads quickly.

Also the honey from the blossoms are loved by bees.

In spite of all its negative attributes, the Chinese tallow is known for producing large quantities of high-quality honey in many areas of the south. The plant flowers in June and beekeepers often move their hives into tallow tree areas in order to harvest the bountiful nectar.

So Chinese tallows produce plentiful food for birds in late Fall through Winter. Bees love it. An aggressive, fast growing tree takes lots of carbon dioxide from the air. It grows well on banks of rivers and canals that are prone to erosion. And they show wonderful red Fall leaves even in Florida. So what’s the big issue?

They outcompete the natural trees. One study showed they had become the dominant tree in a forest after only 20 years. Chinese Tallow is now the most common tree in the city of Houston, accounting for 23% of all trees in the city. Also they’re toxic to some livestock — goats and sheep love it but cattle can die from eating the seedpods.

Another problem is the fast chemical breakdown of Chinese Tallow leaves. They break down really quickly compared to other leaves. They’re so fast there’s little time for the nitrogen and phosphorus to seep into the soil making them a cause of algae blooms in lakes across Florida.

They’re particularly aggressive on the coastal prairies. In Texas percentage of coastal prairie covered in Chinese Tallow increased from approximately 2% of land area in 1970 to 16% in 1990 to >30% in 2000. In Florida the marsh prairies are already endangered and are being converted to forests by the Chinese Tallow.

I guess the bottom line is the Chinese Tallow tree is here to stay. Governmental agencies can issue plans to eradicate but the reality is it’s too entrenched and too prolific to be removed in the near future. But mostly the pressure will be on owners of wetlands to protect the sensitive areas while allowing growth in other areas.

I write these pieces about invasive species to organize the facts in my mind about how bad the species is for the Florida Environment. I mostly came away from researching the Chinese Tallow confused. Yes it’s a threat to some really precious and irreplaceable biomes. Yes it probably adds some to the eutrophication of Florida lakes. But it also provides great erosion control when most needed and provides food for birds and honeybees.

But in a larger sense it doesn’t matter what we think about whether this new tree is good or bad. Despite the efforts of state and federal agencies it’s here to stay. It’s just too established and prolific to be removed. The only reasonable direction is to protect sensitive environments (especially prairie marshes) and find other way to ameliorate the damages. It’s just not going anywhere.

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Any species that has been introduced to an environment where it is not native, and that has since become a nuisance through rapid spread and increase in numbers, often to the detriment of native species.

Recently I was walking at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and noticed the large number of Brazilian Pepper trees growing there. I knew they’re a very bad news plant and was surprised that little action was being taken to eradicate them from a very sensitive environment. I knew I needed to understand the plant and the challenges they present better. That was the genesis of this article.

From the National Park Service:

Brazilian pepper-tree is native to Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. The species was brought into Florida in mid-1800 for use as an ornamental plant. Its bright red berries and brilliant green foliage are used frequently as Christmas decorations.

The tree spreads by 2 methods, either sprouts from a branching root systems or berries eaten and transported by birds and mammals.

So what’s the big deal? A plant’s a plant, right? The problem is Brazilian Pepper tree is so aggressive that it crowds out all other plants creating a plant monoculture. The lack of undergrowth allows erosion and provides really poor cover for animals.

So, Brazilian Pepper trees are really bad news for places that don’t see cold weather. But what to do about them. Researching this question that sent to writing this, mostly as a way to organize my own thoughts on the matter.

Eradication is what most government landowners try to do. But that’s not easy. It involves cutting down the bush and burning it. Additionally it requires the either the roots to be dug up or a mixture of penetrating oil and glyphosate (Roundup) to be poured in the stump. Not for the faint of heart, especially if lots of land plants need to be treated.

Another method of control is fire. Most of Florida was burned on a regular basis once. Brazilian Pepper is not at all fire resistant. Lands that are burned regularly have little problem with them.

But why are the plants not a big deal in their natural habitat in Brazil and Argentina. That probably doesn’t have a single answer. Several state and federal agencies think it’s because of an insect known as a thrip that lives in South America but not in Florida may be stopping it there. They’re planning on testing the thrip to see if it can live and attack the plants here.

Brazilian Pepper trees in dry areas of Texas and California often die of several types of fungal infections that fall under the general term root rot.

Frequently plants like Brazilian Pepper expand quickly in a new environment. But in the long run they may be stopped either by manmade technology fixes or by predators or pathogens following from their old locales. But we humans don’t live in the very long term. And in the short term we may be stuck with chainsaws, fire and roundup to remove them.

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In this newsletter I’ll be talking about nature, nature photography, natural places (especially in Central Florida) and whatever else catches my eye. If you like this please hit the share button. Or you can subscribe and be notified via email when I post. Thanks for coming by.

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My hike started at the overlook at the entrance to the refuge from rt 406. It went around Gator Creek and up the western edge of Catfish Creek before returning to the start. There was ample parking at the overlook but no facilities. The total hike was 7 miles but can be reduced to about 5 miles by entering at the next entry point. Also the loop itself is about 3 miles and has several places to park on the loop.

The trail was hi and dry throughout. The roads were crushed limestone and easy to walk. I saw a few other walkers including 1 mountain biker. A portion of the trail is open to traffic but I was passed by only 1-2 cars, mostly fishermen. Leashed dogs are allowed.

One of the real problem plants in Florida today is the Brazilian Pepper (Schinus terebinthifolia). Once grown as for ornamental landscaping it takes over areas and crowds out native vegetation. It’s estimated today that Brazilian Pepper occupies over 700,000 acres of Florida. To add to the issues it causes is that it’s related to poison ivy and causes skin rashes in sensitive people.

One niche that I didn’t realize Brazilian Pepper was invading is the coastlines. Mangroves are hardy plants that grow on the coastline and protect the shore from erosion and provide habitats for birds and fish. However Brazilian Peppers are narrowing the habitat for mangroves. They’ve pushed the mangrove bushes to an ever smaller band near the water.

Palm warblers were very common throughout the walk, continuously flitting in the underbrush. They eat berries and insects. They’re responsible for some of the spread of the Brazilian Pepper as they eat the berries and carry the seed to other areas.

One sign that winter has arrived in the north is the arrival of coots. The American Coot, sometimes called a mudhen, is a black bird that winters throughout North America. But come winter they all head south. It’s one of the most common water birds in Florida during the winter. Some people call them “Jesus Ducks” since they tend to run on water to get enough speed to take off.

There were lots of painted leaf plants. The painted leaf is the wild ancestor of the Christmas Poinsettia. If you look closely you can see the red markings on the leaves. The painted leaf doesn’t have all read leaves of domesticated version but you can still see the starkly contrasting markings on the leaves.

The bald eagle doesn’t get it’s distinctive white head and tailfeathers until its 3rd year. I got to witness a drama that involved this guy. An osprey was carrying a fish across the lagoon when this eagle attacked to try to take the fish. The osprey dropped the fish which landed in the water. Both the eagle and osprey circled for about 10 minutes looking for the fish but never found it.

One Florida wildflower reminds me of growing up in West Virginia is the morning glory. It’s a common vine that grows up host plants and produces an oversized flower that blooms with the morning sun and wilts during the day only to bloom again tomorrow.

Overall the Gator Creek hike is a very nice hike, one of my favorites. It’s an easy hike with lots to see.

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In this newsletter I’ll be talking about nature, nature photography, natural places (especially in Central Florida) and whatever else catches my eye. If you like this please hit the share button. Or you can subscribe and be notified via email when I post. Thanks for coming by.

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I’m walking this trail about 1 day after the remnants of Hurricane Eta came through Central Florida. We got little damage but several days of rain. Therefore parts of the trail was very wet.

But the early part of the hike was dry and I saw the animals you’d expect in an upland setting like these turkeys crossing in front of me. In all I saw about 20 turkeys, but most were much further away.

Overall the early part of the trail was well maintained. But it was less so as the trail got wetter. The wet summer evidently made it difficult on the mowers.

Biologists sometimes talk of a sentinel species when assessing the health of the environment. If a given species is doing well then probably most of the environment is also doing well. If you use the southern leopard frog as a sentinel species then you would have to conclude that the environment around this trail is doing fine. I saw roughly 20 southern leopard frogs long enough to identify them. I also heard/saw at least a hundred splashes of various frogs jumping into the water as I approached.

And if you have lots of frogs you’ll probably have lots of things that think frog tastes really good like this dusky pygmy rattlesnake. He seemed at peace with the world on the palm frond. I think he was trying to find a dry place to sunbathe after a few days of rain. As I walked by he turned and started to get off the palm frond for better concealment. But stopped as soon as I was gone and when back to his original position.

Another local frog eater is the banded water snake. This guy seemed to be sleeping in the path in a marsh area. He actually scared me more than the rattlesnake because I didn’t see him until I was very close. The banded water snake juveniles look enough like the juvenile water moccasin to cause alarm. I really wasn’t sure which it was until I got home.

I’ve tried of late to get a picture of a bella moth in flight recently with little success. Their flight is fast and unpredictable with lots of turns. But when they fly they show their hot pink hind wings. It’s a brilliant flash of pink that disappears quickly. In this case I got a reasonable shot of a bella moth in flight, but not great. It’s still blurred, especially on the right wing. But it’s the best I’ve gotten to date.

Overall this was a pretty nice trail. It had a combination of wet and dry walking and the plants and animals that you expect on each. The wet hiking is always more taxing physically as slogging through water just isn’t as easy as dry ground. And also after seeing a rattlesnake I’m usually pretty attentive on where my feet go for a while. So if it’s wet you may want to lower the mileage goal of the hike.

Seminole Ranch is a great place to hike if you like wild, primitive hiking. No facilities and virtually no other hikers around. It’s nearly 30,000 acres and borders the Charles H Bronson State Forest for an additional 11,000 acres and Orlando Wetlands Park for 1,650 acres more. Taken together these lands give over 66 square miles to roam and encounter nature. Social distancing on steroids.

The Red Trail is on the Brickyard Slough Tract. It’s a 1.9 mile trail out to the St. John’s River for a 3.8 mile round trip. The entire trail is in a cattle pasture. The ground ranges from dry to very wet and muddy. No hunting is allowed on the Brickyard Slough Tract.

The St. John’s River is a large river in Central Florida. In this region it’s not a single river channel. It divides into dozens of small rivers and meanders through this its course. This land is part of the St. John’s River flood plain. Tracts like this allows the St. John’s River to become much wider during flood times, preventing floods further downstream.

Soon after I began my hike a bald eagle flew over. He circled me a couple of times and then continued on his way. I always like taking pictures of these guys, especially against an unclouded blue sky. He never came near enough to get a really crisp picture. But it came out relatively clear.

A few hundred yards further a red shouldered hawk flew out of a tree and relatively close in front of me. He landed and immediately grabbed a small lizard. I think he saw the lizard from afar and was afraid I would scare it so decided to act. This picture wasn’t as good as I hoped as the focus made the near wing very clear but the face slightly less focused. But with wildlife photography sometimes you don’t have time to think through all the camera settings before the shot is gone.

The ground alternated from very dry to completely covered with water. There were several times when there was no way around a muddy spot. It was just a matter of starting walking and hope I didn’t sink too far. One mud puddle that I thought was relative shallow sunk my leg up to mid calf in pure muck. Especially near the St John’s River the trail was a slow grind to make it across the mud. This hike isn’t for anybody who can’t bear to stain their brand new hiking shoes.

Tropical milkweed plants frequently grow wild in pasturelands. Cattle keep the competing plants short but won’t touch tropical milkweeds. This allows to them to thrive. I always get excited when I find these plants because that’s where you will usually have monarch butterflies. These milkweeds give monarch caterpillars and butterflies a very bad taste to birds. A very good defense against most butterfly’s greatest predator. I saw at least 100 milkweeds in the pasture.

I took this picture from a distance. I actually thought this was a soldier butterfly initially. The soldier butterfly is an orange butterfly closely related to the monarch that also lives on milkweeds. However this was a monarch. I think it’s a female as they have blacker, bolder lines.

The queen butterfly is another that is related to the monarch. Its caterpillar also lives on milkweed. These orange butterflies, along with the viceroy and admiral, were named by naturalists in North America during the late 1600’s. The British King at that time was William III, also known as William of Orange. Brown-nosing the boss has a long history.

The trail was mostly open fields. However there were a few places that it passes through some trees. Here are some palm and oak trees on the edge of the trail. Look closely and you can see a pair of turkeys walking behind.

Overall it was a very nice hike. I loved the number of tropical milkweeds that were present. They’re always fun to watch for butterflies. Also the St. John’s River is a great place to look for birds. Add in a few wooded areas and you have a lot of natural environments in a relatively short hike. Assuming you’re not opposed to getting your feet wet.

Today is about Lake Apopka. Located just northwest of Orlando spanning Orange and Lake counties, Lake Apopka is occasionally seen on lists of the most polluted in the state. Lake Apopka has a long and interesting history in Central Florida. I'll talk about the history through 1999 today and more recent developments in a future article.

At 30,862 acres Lake Apopka is the fourth largest lake in Florida. It was once larger. The opening of the Apopka-Beauclair Canal in the 1890's dropped the lake level by about 5 feet. Lake Apopka was once either the 2nd or 3rd largest lake in Florida depending on the source but fell to 4th when the canal opened.

From the opening of the canal until about 1945 was the golden age of Lake Apopka. Farm produce, especially citrus came on pole barges to railroad depots in Apopka and Winter Garden. The lake was relatively clear with the bottom covered in Illinois pondweed and eelgrass, 2 plants that grow in clear water and gives great cover to small fish and invertebrates. There were at least 20 fishing lodges on the lake with lots of bass being caught.

But Lake Apopka was already changing. Growth in the communities around the lake meant an increase in raw sewage being discharged into the lake. In the early 1940's land north of the lake was given to farms to raise produce for the war effort. Fertilizer runoff increased considerably. A pumphouse was installed to irrigate and remove excess water from the fields.

Then disaster. A major hurricane hit Lake Apopka in 1947. The water was mostly blown from the lake and the pondweed and eelgrass were scoured from the bottom. As it refilled the visibility went to near zero. With the vegetation in place Lake Apopka was able to keep the algae at bay. But with no vegetation the algae blooms came with regularity. An algae / mud sludge mixture coated the bottom for several inches where it remains today. Fish kills became common until the 1980's. The bass were replaced by non game fish like catfish, gar and shad. Tilapia would later become a large part of the fish population.

An attempt at recovery started in the late 1970's. Communities were forced to install wastewater treatment plants. The Lake Apopka Restoration Act allowed the St John's River Water Management District (SJRWMD) to begin projects around the lake.

But then the second disaster struck. In July 1980, Tower Chemical Company (TCC), a local pesticide manufacturer, improperly disposed of significant amounts of DDE. This seeped into the lake and caused fertility problems with both birds and alligators in both Lake Apopka and downstream lakes. Lake Apopka was designated a Superfund cleanup site by the EPA, a designation given to the nation’s worst polluted sites.

In 1998 all of the farms on the North Shore were purchased by the SJRWMD. Right after the purchase of the farms a 3rd disaster hit. The SJRWMD plowed land on the north shore to get rid of some invasive plants. They didn't realize that the plowing dredged up lots of old, buried pesticides. They then flooded the land just in time for the migratory birds to arrive. A massive bird kill followed that made national news. At least 175 species were affected with white pelicans being among the most impacted -- 441 found dead. Lake Apopka's reputation as a horribly polluted lake was cemented.

So we'll leave Lake Apopka at about 1999. In many people's mind the bird kills were when Lake Apopka hit bottom. But there's much more to tell in this saga. The 2nd part will talk about Lake Apopka’s current environmental challenges.

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The east loop (yellow blazes) takes you through the mesic pond pine flatwoods, mixed hardwood swamps and along the east boundary of the property. The east loop is approximately 2.7 miles long and often floods during the wet season.

On the map the East Loop is the northern section. I entered at the northwest corner from Curryville Road, taking the Florida Trail (marked as Fire Lane) to where it intersects with the East Loop. The total trip including the 2.7 mile East Loop is about 4.5 miles.

The hike was a blend of the very wet and the very dry. The Florida Trail section habitat was sand pine scrub, a well drained sandy soil. The East Loop section was wet flatwood — with an emphasis on wet.

One of my favorite plants to see is the Florida Paintbrush. When blooming — July - November — they always seem to have a number of butterflies and bees attracted to the pink or purple flowers. Here’s a Bumblebee on a Florida Paintbrush.

Ringless Honey Mushrooms were pretty common in the dry area. I’ve heard they’re a very good mushroom to eat. But don’t trust me. Do your own identification. Carefully.

This was a very small tiger beetle, only about 1/2” long. I think he’s a festive tiger beetle. Even being relatively small there was no doubt he’s a tiger beetle. They’re almost always metallic looking with bright colors.

The walk changed to a slogging mess on the east side of the East Loop. Probably a full mile of the 2.7 mile distance was was flooded, especially on the eastern boundary. Check out the short video below to see the condition of most of the road. Once I got to the wet part of the hike the wildlife changed to animals that are common in marsh / swamp environments.

I saw several spotted orb weaver spiders. I could tell it had been several days since another hiker came by because of the large number of spiderwebs across the trail.

Here’s a crescent butterfly. I think it’s a pearl crescent. However I never found a picture of a pearl crescent that was this orange. The pearl crescent tend to be slightly burnt orange.

Below is a video of a short part of the walk. Turn up the sound so you can hear me sloshing through the marsh.

Overall it was a pretty nice walk — lots of variety in the plant and animal life as it transitioned between a very dry biome and a very wet biome. The trail is pretty well marked, however it's obvious the mower hasn’t been able to get in there much this summer. However it’s not good if you like clean shoes. Or you’re skittish about walking in calf deep blackwater.

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In this blog I’ll be talking about nature, nature photography, natural places (especially in Central Florida) and whatever else catches my eye. If you like this please hit the share button. Or you can subscribe and be notified via email when I post. Thanks for coming by.

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