Gator Bites is a cutesy name for a seafood restaurant appetizer.
But now I’ve seen the real thing…
I don’t mean alligators in general, I saw my first in the wilds of the Okefenoke Swamp in the 1980s, when the population was in decline.
The species has rebounded well.
I saw a group of young gators, all about 2 – 3 feet long, lounging in the Harris Neck
NWA (Georgia).
Suddenly one leaped lightning fast and snapped up a large grasshopper, sliding back Into the water chomping happily.
Now that’s a REAL gator bite!
Storkery
I first saw Wood Storks in Sarasota, Florida, in 1988. A friend told me that large numbers of them had suddenly showed up after a big fire in the Everglades destroyed some stork rookeries.
In 1987 Wood Storks also began frequenting Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge in the Georgia coastal marshlands.
Refuge personnel made accommodations for the nesting birds, and in late March 2021 I saw literally hundreds in what has become a huge rookery.
The photo is just one hammock. Imagine turning your eyes to the left to behold a line of such inhabited hammocks that extends further than I could see!
PERSPECTIVE
perspective
/per’spektiv/
a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.
Perspective determines how we see the world around us.
Changing my perspective, even temporarily, teaches me many things… like, that how a thing… or situation!… looks from where I stand is not the same as how it can be seen from from another viewpoint.
Example: in the first photo it appears that I stand on the brink of a weird hole in the ground.
In the second photo it becomes clear that this is a rotted out tree stump:
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Try changing your perspective.
You can change your world.
Free But Not Easy
There is a dark side to foraging: wild food is labor intensive.
Wild plants should always be washed, and especially greens need multiple rinsings.
Other non-edible plants, trash, bugs, and even parts of the edible plant must be removed.
Then, the chopping: wild greens are tougher and more fibrous than their domesticated cousins.
Perseverance is the price of these “free” foods.
I think the meal is worth the work.
Weedy Spring
Moving north through the state of Georgia, Spring shows herself off in stages: from full-blown in Valdosta to barely peeking out in Blue Ridge.
Opportunities to forage free food bloom everywhere, and even better than the price – FREE! – is the value: wild foods, edible “weeds”, are higher in nutrients than supermarket produce.
The proof for me is that when I eat some wild plants every day I feel better.
And that’s enough for me.
Flute Notes
My grandmother’s attic was dark and mysterious, filled with wonderful things.
I found a little flute up there, a tin whistle really with only six holes, and I worked out a tune on it.
So when Mr Roy M. Lee, director of the West End Elementary Band, asked me which instrument I wanted to learn, of course I chose flute.
Imagine my horror when he handed me a concert flute with its many holes and complex mechanisms!
Recently a dear friend gifted me a flute.
So I joined the Azalea Winds community band.
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Band music sounds best from one of the front row seats in the flute section!
Be Prepared
My Mother wanted her daughters to have long hair, so she was willing to brush and braid our hair every day.
At first she gave us double braids but soon tired of the extra work so my sister and I sported long thick single braids.
My Brownie Scout uniform beanie would not fit properly over my braid… so Mother cut a hole in my beanie and threaded my braid through the hole!
My current favorite Girl Scout cookies are the Lemon UPs; each cookie carries an inspirational message.
The Girl Scout motto is BE PREPARED… and with Lemon UPs I am prepared for both self-affirmation AND self-indulgence!
Slog to the Bog
On the east side of Highway 133, between Doerun and Moultrie GA, lies a treasure trove of rare plants: the Doerun Pitcherplant Bog Wildlife Management Area.
I visited in March 2021, too early for the pitcherplants to be up, but many other wildflowers were: arrowleaf violet, mouse ear chickweed, Ohio spiderwort, etc.
The private piney scrubland is a fine spot for solitary reflection.
According to my guidebook, the pitcherplants should bloom any day now…
Make THIS the year you see them!
LISTEN to The Old Lady!
Radium Springs
You don’t need a Geiger counter to find Radium Springs Gardens; it lies tucked away just outside the southeastern city limits of Albany GA USA.
Swimming is not permitted, but just being near one of the Seven Wonders of Georgia gave me a radiant feeling.
The old stone structures give off a serenely historic vibe.
I give Radium Springs Gardens a glowing review!
LINT ART
Art, like adventure, is where you find it… and it IS now the season of Lent…
What I found while cleaning dog kennels was a dryer filter full of doghair and purple fibers from one of the dogs’ blankets.
What I did was shape the lump of lint to create a new breed.
Introducing: the very rare Purple Lint Hound!