Every time I come upon the bald cypress at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, I stand in awe of them. It’s difficult to hold all of their wonder in my head so I just hold them in my heart. Along with the warmer weather the canopy has grown in and as you look up, the branches are full with more than just needles…so many life forms living together! And as I look up, my eyes are brought back down to the action in the water. I wonder if James Cameron received inspiration from these giants for his movie.
Comparatively diminutive and more delicate in nature, the pond cypress swamp is bustling. I know it’s only May but summer is here with all its wet and lightening noise! Walking on a day like this after the rain with pig frogs punctuating the thick air with their loud guttural voice, is like pushing your way through clouds that have fallen and can’t get up. How do birds do it? Well a bird’s got to eat so you can always count on seeing them. This afternoon I saw a family of Mottled Ducks on the edge of the pond cypress swamp behind my house and two molting immature Little Blue Herons, just before a Tricolored Heron flew over my head. I spotted Red Bellied Woodpeckers on a number of oaks before a Downy caught my attention. The insect population has exploded with larvae still in the water and dragon flies on the prowl. I was told that they eat deer flies, which is fine by me!
We are out of the ordinary in our experience for this time of year with wet instead of the dry down but the cypress swamp is still a magical place. The petals from the pond apples are falling on the water…and the white lilies have started to bloom three months early.
So, whatever inspires a mockingbird to sing is happening all the time now.
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