Cypress Swamps

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

We took a boat tour of the Cypress Swamps on Lake Marion today and it was a very interesting tour.  

When they were preparing to dam Lake Marion in the 1930's they first had to relocate 900 families, their homes where possible and many of the cemeteries.  With WWII approaching they did not have time to clear all the land and it is really weird to see all these trees standing in the middle of the lake surrounded by water.  The Cypress trees adapted to the flooding and have survived.  

Here's an Osprey nest that sits a lot lower than others I've seen. 

This tree full of holes appears to be the work of a pilleated wood pecker, but was in fact a relative of the pilleated that is now extinct!   Although the bird is gone, evidence of it is not.   This tree is hundreds of years old. 

There is a lot of water hyacinth in the swamp.  

That produces a beautiful flower....

.......with an interesting root system that floats. 

Although we were disappointed in not seeing a lot of wildlife (especially alligators), it was still a very interesting day.  

We have been playing a lot of Sequence since Don and Darlene arrived.  

Don and I have been pounding them as usual, always leading by 5-6 games.   The girls only lead once.  That was the last game where they defeated us 27-26 in games!!

Damn!!!!!! :(