Once again, I’ve been blessed with a house and pet sitting
assignment for a returning client/friend.
I sat Jim and Cynthia’s home and Bichons last year as I recuperated from
hand and elbow surgery. When they
contacted me to sit again, it was an immediate ‘yes’ response.
Arriving the night before their departure, we renewed our
friendship and reviewed what’s been going on in our lives, while Tuffy, Baby
(the Bichons), and I got reacquainted.
I spent the first day with the dogs and lounging around the
pool. Day two was an outing to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Enjoy the swamp pix as you ‘Travel Thru My
Eyes’.
WHAT MAKES CORKSCREW
SWAMP SPECIAL
Bald cypress, the swamp and wood storks make this Nation
Audubon Society sanctuary unique.
Wood storks come to Corkscrew Swamp during the dry month of
winter and early spring. Here, in
greater numbers than anywhere else in the United States, they mate, build nests
and raise their young.
The storks spend the rest of the year scattered across the
southeastern United States.
SUNRISE OVER THE SWAMP (top right)
A wide angle lens captures three of the distinctive habitats
that exist within the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary; Pine Flatwoods, Pond Cypress
and Wet Prairie.
NAMED AFTER THE RIVER (middle right)
Early settlers named Corkscrew Swamp for the twisting,
turning path of the coastal river they traveled up in search of fresh water.
Today, the river is known as the Imperial River.
THE LARGEST REMAING OLD-GROWTH CYPRESS FOREST (bottom left)
Corkscrew swamp contains the largest stand of virgin bald
cypress in the world. Some of the trees
here are 500 to 600 years old.
This stand was once only a part of the vast old-growth
forest system found throughout the Big Cypress Swamp.
IT ALL COMES FROM RAIN (bottom right)
Corkscrew Swamp is part of a freshwater swamp system that covers
315 miles of southwest Florida. They
system is fed solely by rain that falls throughout the watershed.
The water level is high or low depending on the season. In late spring, the swamp can be completely
dry!
THE START OF A
SANCTUARY
“We have to save the swamp a hundred times but we only get
to lose it once”
In the 1930’s, lumbermen began logging bald cypress tress
because the trunks were knot free and the wood was highly resistant to rot.
Lumber companies built railroads on levees to haul the huge
logs out of the swamp. Once the railroads
came in, there wasn’t much stopping the harvest of all south Florida’s cypress.
THE PERFECT HOST (bottom left)
Stands of Bald Cypress host and protect thousands of
species, including the wild passion vine.
SAVING CORKSCREW’S LEGACY A SECOND TIME (bottom center)
In 1952, logging began at the southern end of Corkscrew
Swamp. Because this was the largest
remaining stand of unlogged old-growth cypress forest, concerned citizens and a
coalition of organizations including the National Audubon Society joined forces
to save it.
Thanks to the willing cooperation of the lumber companies
that owned the land and the generous support of donors nationwide, Corkscrew
Swamp Sanctuary was established in 1954 with 2, 880 acres of prime cypress
swamp.
mike
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