November 23, 2020

Paurotis Pond to Mahogany Hammock

Flamingo Campground Everglades National Park Homestead, Florida Day 4

The mosquitos were hateful early this morning after all the rain we had yesterday.  I only walked a mile and a half.  I knew though that we would get plenty of exercise later today.

Crawfish maybe??? This one was poised for a fight. remains of his friends lay scattered on the pavement. I think the birds like them!

The hawk of the morning!

We left the Jeep at Paurotis Pond and rode our bikes.  It was a lovely morning with bright blue sky.  The few clouds were lavender smudges.  This part of the park road took us through open Everglades.  This national park is over one million acres.  Here, you have a sense of vastness.  The long swaying sawgrass, golden in the morning light.  The prehistoric looking birds, delving into the swampiness for their breakfast.  As you look across the great expanse, you are apt to see a tall white neck peeking above the grass.   The silence is complete.  We have always loved coming here.  To us, it is an amazing place.

A Halloween pennant…a kind of skimmer.

Often when we are riding, I am reflecting and sometimes composing an essay in my head…most of the time, “un-blogworthy.”  But today, I as thinking about how fear prevents us from enjoying life.  Several people have expressed their fears for us as we travel.  Certainly, there are many things that we could and should be afraid of.  COVID, political mayhem, economic uncertainty, weather, crocodiles, snakes, alligators, mosquitoes, sunshine…But each day we choose.  Primarily, we choose to be as smart as we can and protect ourselves the best way that we know how.  My current perfume could be called “eau de skeeter” and nobody is more socially isolated than we are…But we also choose to embrace life, to soak up the warm sunshine, to exercise our bodies, to appreciate the beauty surrounding us, to seek experiences that bring us joy and we choose to bask in the restorative power of nature.  That’s what we are doing here.

We biked the 5.5 miles To Mahogany Hammock.  We sat for a while under a shade tree at the hammock.  A hammock is a slightly higher and drier piece of land that exists in the midst of all of this flowing water.  Hardwood trees are able to grow here.

Then we biked back to Paurotis Pond.

We had decided to make a trip back into Homestead today.  Our first stop was at Chipotle for salads with grilled chicken.  We placed our order online and then ate outside on the adjacent patio.  We had the company of these grackles.

We stopped at Home Depot for a special tool to adjust the Jeep headlights, and then at the grocery store, the gas station and of course at Robert’s.  The Kent mangoes from Ecuador are outstanding as are the large Florida avocados and we enjoyed these for our dinner with smoked fish dip made in the Keys.

This is a good life.

After dark, we went for a Jeep ride.  It is both creepy and thrilling to ride out here in the absolute dark!  We did get out and walk around at the marina.  It was such a gorgeous evening.  The moon won’t be full for another week but it was already bright enough to cast shadows.  We saw a night heron devouring a fish but no crocs or gators or manatees tonight.  Driving down the park road, we saw birds and bats.