Manatee Monday

[fbhjr]

We got up early for vacation (my normal Monday time) and drove off to my cousin Katie’s place.


She was not waiting on her balcony for adventure to come and take her away.

She was in fact in the parking lot already with a supply of food, water and binoculars ready to go when we got there.

We headed up to mariness’s house, which does have some color.


We loaded up the car and headed to Blue Spring State Park.

We went there because it known as a good place to see Manatees if the weather is cold. The spring there always comes out at the same temperature. If the air is cold enough, the Manatees come into the spring output stream to get warm. It was only 40F when we got there, so a good day for it.


There was a quick detour into the gift store for hats and caffeine, then we were off.


To get to the spring you’ve got to go down a board walk.


Despite some folks not really being “morning people” everyone seemed to be in good spirits.


The first wild life we saw was a very noisy woodpecker.

Not noisy because of pounding on the wood, but because of his call that echoed all over the place.

We kept going and got to where the spring pours out. There were half a dozen manatees swimming around in the water where the water comes up out of the ground.


These are not tame, captured or enclosed animals. They are just animals that swim into the warm water when it gets cold.

The clear water makes it very easy to see them. But, some of them were very active and we probably would have seen them even if it wasn’t so clear.

Especially when they swim along waving their flippers out of the water.


The spring really is a beautiful place. Clear green water, lots of trees, lots of fish and manatees swimming around.



I guess when it is warmer you can swim in the stream. But, when the manatees are there, not swimming as they are endangered.


You really do have to tell people not to touch them manatees as they do come right up to where you could reach out and touch them.


And, the water is crystal clear, so you can see them really well.


There was even a baby one swimming around with the others.


There were also many, many fish of many different types.



I swear one of them was chasing fish around and butting them with its nose.


Others just seemed to be playing.


I guess there is no good food for them in the spring stream. So, they have the choice of eating or staying warm. When it gets to 40F or below, they usually choose staying warm. But, one seemed to be very determined to dig some food up from the sand in the bank.


Sadly, he didn’t seem to get anything that made him happy.


The fish seemed to do OK eating the algae on the back of the manatees.


There were signs about alligators. But, as is often the case, there didn’t seem to be any about.


mariness said she spotted one. But, I’m afraid as the day before, none of us could confirm this.


There was a manatee counter floating along in a boat. He told us he had counted 208 manatees in the stream that morning. He’s got records of 600 and knows about 300 by sight. He said when he first started counting them a few decades ago there were only about 25 that showed up. So, a big comeback for them.


As we continued along the trail we saw other things like turtles.


Many more manatees.


Many more birds.


And finally, an alligator.


Yes, this time even I saw it and was sure that’s what it was.


We only saw one. And, a short while before we saw it mariness’ phone rang. So, there is a chance that this was an alligator driven in from SeaWorld and placed where we would be sure to see it. I’m not 100% sure it is a natural wild alligator. But, she assures me it was and no transportation of large animals took place.

We did stop for a bit under a tree where a fair number of black birds were throwing acorns down at people.


When we were going back to the car we heard something moving in the bushes.
“Look, and armadillo!” my wife said.


I had a bit of trouble spotting him, then finally saw him.


Then, we drove off to an Irish pub for lunch.


This is not the view I remember seeing when I looked out of the pubs in Ireland.

But, the food was good.

On the way back we found that the state of Florida appears to be enforcing traffic laws with large monsters.


But, given the size of the trucks around, they probably need monsters to keep them in line.


By the time we got back to my cousin’s house the day was clear and sunny.

For us it was warm. But, the folks who lived there were not as sure about that.


From my cousin’s balcony you can see Hogwarts.

Or at least the replica they built at Universal Florida.

My wife pondered going there to see Harry Potter, whom she likes, vs dodging crowds, which she hates.

We are NOT going to Hogwarts.

My cousin’s husband added some new things to “The Collection” this year.

I guess the Roman axe was attempted as carry on luggage from Israel, but they made him check it.

We could see the moon rise over Orlando.


We heard there was going to be an eclipse, but didn’t think this was what they meant.


We had sent a gift of wine down to my cousins. We all thought the label was quite funny.


In the evening we went to a fish restaurant near where they live and had a very nice dinner with them.
Then, we headed back to the hotel quite tired. Even as I write this I can hear my wife snoring, and I hope to join her soon.
Tomorrow we’re going off to meet her Uncle and Aunt for lunch, but have no other plans. So that will be a good day to catch up on our rest before more adventures.

Comments

[perrin-o-ravnos.livejournal.com]

SWARMING!!

[qlewkr.livejournal.com]

I really enjoy these photo blogs of yours. :) What an amazing amount of wildlife you saw in one day. We're lucky if we see the occasional eagle in Maine. Sheesh.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you like them. A picture is worth 1000 words and all this shows is that I'm lazy and mariness is the writer in the family.

I was very surprised and quite happy about all we saw this trip. Last year we went to a bird sanctuary and saw an amazing number of birds. What amazed me this trip was how many different kinds of things we saw. Manatees, fish, birds and other animals.
If you're ever down this way when it is cold, you should check the place out.