Florida 12 July 2024 - Purity

We were up early (5:30), packed and ready to go. There is a long drive back to Anniston, but we are stopping off at Silver Springs in Florida, to ride on a glass bottom boat.  So, the first part of the journey is about 2 hours.

We arrive the stated 30 minutes early and enter the park for another wait.  Finally, we are allowed on the boat - with Captain Reef.  The clue is in the name - always.

The water is clear, it rises from an aquifer, the water had been underground for a long time.  There is underwater grass growing in the stable areas, but in some places there is just rock.  This is where the water is seeping out of the rock, and that is constantly changing as paths are eroded and collapse.  As they do, new routes are opened up.

We saw manatees, who can only survive here because the water temperatures are high.  There are also alligators, lots of bird life at different times and lots of fish.  There are also some invasive species - tilapia have recently been washed into the springs and plans are being made to remove them.  

The rock is visible because the water has washed the vegetation away

10 feet log alligator, hiding in the vegetation

Ibis

One of three manatees

Statues of Zeus and other gods, below the water

There are also macaques, which were bought to the park and escaped, one ran along the roof of the visitor centre, he is, apparently, a reject from the troop. If they go outside the park they are dealt with by animal control, otherwise they are free to roam.

The water is 97% pure. There are even transparent kayaks so that visitors can see through the water as they paddle along.  The glass bottom boats are powered by electric motors to reduce pollution.

It is an amazing environment, and as usual, the infrastructure that supports it seems to work well.  State parks, everywhere I have been, are well maintained, and do not seem to suffer the vandalism and disrespect occurs so much in UK parks.

The rest of the journey (6.5 hours) was relatively uneventful., There was an accident on the interstate, so we travelled on lesser roads and saw some more of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.

The last stop was at a service station (8200 Williams Way), where the facilities were as awful as anything you will find on your way up or down the A1.  The restroom was dirty, partially functional and poorly supplied.

Alabama 2022 - July 14 & 15: Chattahoochee River

Thursday, 14 July

In the evening, after the heat of the day, we visited the latest children's play area, which is opposite Robbie's new school.  It is amazing that these facilities are built at all in America.  They are rarely funded by local government in Britain.  Funding is usually by local charities.  This play area is top quality, and designed to be inclusive. It has plenty of seating and shade for adults, too.

 

Friday 15 July

We went to West Point, a town on the state line between Georgia and Alabama, on the Georgia side.  It's where Robert works.  Karen had not visited his office.  His two colleagues were very happy to see Karen and the children, apparently she is known for the Banana Bread. 

After a short visit, we headed to a pizza restaurant for lunch, which was quite early as we have also crossed time zones.  West Point is a classic American town planned out on a grid with numbered avenues.  Only the course of the Chattahoochee river interrupts the symmetry.  

We drove to the river after lunch, there was not much to see on our side, just a lot of wasp nests under the viewing stage, so we went to the boat ramp on the other side, to see small fish reacting to our movements, and dashing to the site of a stone landing in the water.  I assume they thought it was food.

Chattahoochee River from West Point

Alabama 2022 - 10 July: TV and Wildlife

It has been a quiet few days.  This is mainly due to the heat.  Inside, in the cooled house, life is easy.  There is little manual labour and the temperature is entirely comfortable.  Even the guest bedroom is comfortable, and that is the coldest room in the house.  We have been entertained by binging on TV series.

Lost in Space

An update on the 1960s TV series, which fails on so many levels.  It falls into the trap of being 'all action' at the expense of story and proper character development. Every character has their own agenda, none are focused on the mission. There are occasional loose ends left hanging, and impossible (in the story's universe) things seem to happen - or did I doze off and miss something critical?

Ted Lasso

I was expecting the sitcom to be utterly cringe worthy - an American baseball coach comes to London to manage a Premiership football team.  It isn't. The mixture of American enthusiasm and English cynicism works to provide a few laughs an episode with some reasonable stories, The central characters are developed, as far as they need to be, so far.

Wildlife

In the evening, as the temperature starts to drop a little, the noise is incredible.  I'm told this is caused by frogs.  There are certainly lots of little frogs around the property, the children have caught one almost every day.  Tonight, coming back from the store, we found something bigger on the patio.

Using google to look up the picture, I think this is a Fowlers Toad.  There were two of them, and I speculated that their skin patters may be like fingerprints and can be used to identify individuals. Each as abut 5 cm long.  The picture was taken using one phone's light to illuminate the toad and another phone to take the picture without flash.

In the trees at the bottom of the yard and just beyond the fence, there are a couple of Northern Mockingbirds.  They regularly harass the kite that sits at the top of the tallest tree.  Tonight, they also chose to harass Mauve after I threw her ball under the tree.  I'm assuming there is a nest in the tree.
 

Autumn?

I'm expecting rain because it's a public holiday, but the forecast is good. Today I was up early (for me, on a Saturday), as I had an appointment with the Bank at 9am. Why do I need an appointment to close an account? Well, as you have surely guessed, its a marketing opportunity. So up and out by 8:45. It was a foggy morning, but already the sun was strong and my spirits were raised. "It' going to be a nice day!" When I got back I walked into the garden. My feet were immediately wet from the dew, and the garden is covered in spiders webs:This is probably normal behaviour for spiders, but it struck me how much is going on in the world. What do they catch that low to the ground - they must catch something or they wouldn't spin webs. So there is a whole 'insect' world in my garden that I've hardly thought about, until the dew made a small part of it visible.

Later the kind lady who comes to help with our garden (I fix her computer in return) was round, and more clearing up was done. The garden looks better than its been for a good few years. When she comes, we are motivated to do some as well, so real progress is made.