Wonderful things in Fort Myers

Tom is still shivering in Michigan while I've been shivering in Fort Myers. The weather has finally shifted, temperatures will climb to the 80's today. Spring break is also coming to an end and the locals can't wait. I have to admit I don't fathom waiting for 2 hours in traffic to cross the bridge and then circle around for hours to try and find a parking place to push and shove your way to the beach. Riva was stuck in that traffic on Friday when she came to pick me up to spend the day.  

One of my favorite places to explore when we are in a new location are tea rooms. Fort Myers is fortunate to have the Wisteria Tea Room and Cafe. They were very busy, however we were seated with in 15 minutes which gave us the opportunity to shop in their gift store. Riva and I enjoyed a Royal Tea and Bobbie the owner was a joy to meet. 

I also discovered two great things while visiting this shop. There is a web site called Tea Map they also have an app for I phone. http://www.teamap.com/tearooms/wisteria_tea_room___cafe_2819.html

You can find Tea rooms by zip code, but they also have recipes and tea reviews and information. 

The other is a bathroom freshener call Poo Pouri...

For boaters the aroma in a head can be an never ending battle. I have tried with limited success a great many products. The is a spray that you spay the bowl with before an "event" and it eliminates the order. REALLY!!!  I bought it as a joke but now I am a true believer and you can get it on Amazon if you can't find a local place to get it.

 http://poopourri.com/Aboutus.asp

Also by Riva's house there is an eagles nest so I have included those pictures. 

Next week I will get to take long walks on the beach with no spring breakers.

Bobbie Schwartz owner of Wisteria

Alligators, and a snake.... Big Cypress Swamp, florida

Now for the best part ALLIGATORS

Our guide said the gators you can see were not the ones we had to worry about, it was the one you couldn't see that would cause trouble. A few moved when we came near. I did get the impression there was not one move we made that they were not aware of. 

At the end of our trip one gator was following us and went under our boat, but did not bump us. 

Must admit it is a little disconcerting to be watched by a gator. 

Alligators have remained unchanged for millions of years and their ancestors date back to the time of dinosaurs. With their long tails, scales, and giant jaws with sharp teeth, these predators are often a symbol of fear in the swamp. Because of their bad reputation, alligators were once hunted to the point of extinction; over ten million alligators were killed between 1860-1970. We have since learned to view alligators not as villains, but as important engineers who maintains wetland ecosystems in both the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve.

An alligator's habitat consists of any location with an open body of freshwater. These areas include lakes, canals, swamps, or even your swimming pool! The natural habitat for the alligator is one they build themselves. These gator holes are dug out by the alligator using a technique called "wallowing." As the gator wallows around its hole, it is able to scoop mud and remove vegetation allowing for more water to enter the depression in the land. Wherever the water comes from, other life is sure to follow; these gator holes act as dry season refuges not only for the alligator, but also for fish, birds, and mammals… some of whom occasionally become lunch.

this alligator seem to be watching and following us, walking
through the water

baby alligator

Large male alligators are solitary territorial animals. Smaller alligators can often be found in large numbers close to each other. The largest of the species (both males and females), will defend prime territory; smaller alligators have a higher tolerance of other alligators within a similar size class.

Although alligators have a heavy body and a slow metabolism, they are capable of short bursts of speed, especially in very short lunges. Alligators' main prey are smaller animals that they can kill and eat with a single bite. Alligators may kill larger prey by grabbing it and dragging it into the water to drown. Alligators consume food that can not be eaten in one bite by allowing it to rot, or by biting and then spinning or convulsing wildly until bite-size chunks are torn off. This is referred to as a "death roll." Critical to the alligator's ability to initiate a death roll, the tail must flex to a significant angle relative to its body. An alligator with an immobilized tail cannot perform a death roll.^[11]

Most of the muscle in an alligator's jaw evolved to bite and grip prey. The muscles that close the jaws are exceptionally powerful, but the muscles for opening their jaws are comparatively weak. As a result, an adult human can hold an alligator's jaws shut barehanded. It is common today to use several wraps of duct tape to prevent an adult alligator from opening its jaws when handled or transported.^[12]

Alligators are generally timid towards humans and tend to walk or swim away if one approaches. This has led some people to the practice of approaching alligators and their nests in a manner that may provoke the animals into attacking. In the state of Florida, it is illegal to feed wild alligators at any time. If fed, the alligators will eventually lose their fear of humans and will learn to associate humans with food, thereby becoming a greater danger to people.^[13

In summer, the female builds a nest of vegetation where the decomposition of the vegetation provides the heat needed to incubate the eggs. The sex of the offspring is determined by the temperature in the nest and is fixed within 7 to 21 days of the start of incubation. Incubation temperatures of 86 °F (30 °C) or lower produce a clutch of females; those of 93 °F (34 °C) or higher produce entirely males. Nests constructed on leaves are hotter than those constructed on wet marsh and, thus, the former tend to produce males and the latter, females. The natural sex ratio at hatching is five females to one male. Females hatched from eggs incubated at 86 °F (30 °C) weigh significantly more than males hatched from eggs incubated at 93 °F (34 °C).^[21] The mother will defend the nest from predators and will assist the hatchlings to water. She will provide protection to the young for about a year if they remain in the area. The largest threat to the young are adult alligators. Baby alligators have an egg tooth that helps them get out of their egg during hatching time. Predation by adults on young can account for a mortality rate of up to fifty percent in the first year. In the past, immediately following the outlawing of alligator hunting, populations rebounded quickly due to the suppressed number of adults preying upon juveniles, increasing survival among the young alligators

The type of food eaten by alligators depends upon their age and size. When young, alligators eat fish, insects, snails, crustaceans, and worms. As they mature, progressively larger prey is taken, including larger fish such as gar, turtles, various mammals, particularly nutria and muskrat,^[7] as well as birds, deer and other reptiles.^[14][15] Their stomachs also often contain gizzard stones. They will even consume carrion if they are sufficiently hungry. In some cases, larger alligators are known to ambush dogs, Florida panther and black bears, making it the apex predator throughout its distribution. In this role as a top predator, it may determine the abundance of prey species including turtles and nutria^[16][17] As humans encroach onto their habitat, attacks are few but not unknown. Alligators, unlike the large crocodiles, do not immediately regard a human upon encounter as prey, but may still attack in self-defense if provoked.

Birds in Big Cypress Swamp

This was an extraordinary opportunity for me to add to my bird collections.  Tommy knew when to slow to a halt and allow me to find the birds and photograph them before they scooted off into the trees. The pole boat has no engine, and although we did cross paths with a group in kayaks for the most part the only sounds were those of birds, wind, trickling water and the soft swish scrap of our boat through the water.  

Red Shoulder Hawk

Green Heron

Coot

Immature  Little Blue Heron

Night Heron

Anhingas Male

Osprey

Adult Little Blue Heron

Bitterns

Ibex

female  Anhinga

Plants, reflections, plants, Big Cypress Swamp... Florida

Slowly moving through only 2 or 3' of water that was was filled with vegetation  tiny fish, and somewhere Alligators, I was lost in the wonder of everything around us. Tommy (guide) started by explaining the ecology of the swamp and pointing out the various species of plants and birds. I took over 200 photos and have divided them into plants, and landscape, birds and alligators.  I was in photographers heaven.
There are 5 habitats with in the Cypress National Preserve, the swamp with its over story of of Cypress Trees, and under story filled with swamp fern, spike rush and marsh flea bane, buttonwood, coco-plum, willow, wax myrtle and it is home to sixteen species of bromeliads . We ..

The bald cypress is a large cone-bearing tree with needle-like leaves that are flat, soft to the touch, and flexible. Unlike many trees, which would die if they were standing in water, the bald cypress thrives in water. The trunk appears smooth and gray and spreads widely at the bottom. Submerged roots spread around the tree and come up through the water in projections that look like someone's skinny knees. The wide base, roots and knees help the bald cypress survive periodic hurricane force winds, and the knees help provide oxygen to the roots.

Spanish Moss Fun facts: “ginned” in Florida in early 1900 s; bales exported for car seats and mattresses; broadest geographical range of any bromeliads  gray leaves may indicate moisture stress or other environmental factors; can withstand extreme temperature fluctuation and low rainfall

Giant Bromeliads- can live for 20 years until it produces its flower
spike - after seeds are released the plant dies. 

Giant Bromeliads and Cardinal Bromeliads

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The limestone is very porous and water drains easily through out the area.

We saw hundreds of bromeliads in the trees. Some were in
flower and their bright red-orange spikes dotted the branches of the
trees.  Cardinal Bromeliads Fun facts: leaves longer in shade, plant smaller and more colorful in open sun