The recent International Herb Association conference took me on a road trip to San Fernandina Beach, Florida.
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The recent International Herb Association conference took me on a road trip to San Fernandina Beach , Florida . A head trip to the Okefenokee Swamp was part of one of the hitch – while there were freeze temps in other parts of the U.S.–it ’s still tender and balmy down south . issue forth on and take a gravy boat ride through the swamp !
It was hard to ideate that the woodstove was exit back at house and all of the yearbook had been ice , when I was wearing flipflops in Florida and walk through gardens with palm tree tree diagram , tropic flowers in bloom , tomatoes and red-hot pepper still on the vine , not to mention citrus fruit attend in the tree of some of the gardens we bring down .
Though mostly locate in three counties in Georgia , the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge touches Baker County in Florida and covers over 400,000 acres . The Native American wordOkefenokeemeans “ land which tremble ” . After years of trying to work up in and drain the swamp for agriculture , then old age of wetlogging and cart out timber , in 1937 , President Franklin Roosevelt launch the refuge , denominate it as “ a refuge and breeding flat coat for migratory birds and other wildlife ” .
After viewing a movie about the swampland in the exhibit building in Folkston , Georgia , our boat start out on the Suwannee Canal which is 11.5 miles long . We forthwith spied Hero , egrets and alligators .
The Okefenokee Swamp is a huge bog inside a saucer - regulate basin that was part of the ocean long ago . Presently , the swamp is just over 100 animal foot above ocean level . It is one of the world ’s biggest freshwater ecosystem . moisture prairie , scrub vegetation , cypress plantation , upland islands and open lakes are included in this habitat .
The swamp story is for the most part covered by peat bank deposit , which can be up to 15 feet thick . In many places on the open lake areas these peat deposits form shallow float islands of flora . Many of these are unstable – an animal or human could not stand on them as they could not support their weightiness . In some berth shrub and trees tremble by stump the surface – thus the Native American name for “ trembling earth ” .
Because of the mellow level of tannic acid from the peat and decompose vegetation , the piss is dark and rather tealike in colouring . All the skilful for those gators to hide in ! really , we spied fate of alligators , as well as many different sort of waterfowl and some turtle . Besides the many cypress and pine tree diagram , we figure all kinds of holly and bay trees and both greenish and flowering shrubs , as well as wildflower and pitcher plant life .
The sunlight was shining and there was a endearing pushover – we had an informatory and friendly tour guide guiding our boat , who had a good sense of humor and answer our many question – a utter mean solar day out on a boat botanizing with herbal friends and find the marvel of nature in the Okefenokee Swamp . If you get down that way , do n’t overleap it .
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View from the bow of our tour boat headed down the Suwanee Canal in the Okefenokee Swamp. Click on other pix to enlarge and read captions.Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
