So much to learn . . .
So much here is so different from Maine: topography, vegetation, weather, history. Everything, really. And so darned many people, cars, and slow, slow traffic lights!
I can finally identify an osprey's call. With Tampa Bay extending its countless arms every which way, there's lots of water, and so lots of ospreys, even where there seems to be only pavement.
Growing things never fail to amaze, especially those that bloom in the middle of winter. And the adaptations to the environment, like the mangroves.
Manatees, of course. Steve lives in Manatee County, and the name is everywhere. The actual creatures, not so much. We heard a wonderful talk at a rescue center and met O'Neil, a juvenile at 600 pounds.
And the Seminoles! There was no Seminole tribe, I've learned; it was/is an agglomeration of small tribes that came together for mutual protection and opposition to those land-grabbing Americans. They fought three guerrilla wars, lasting much of the 19th Century; those who weren't killed or sent on the Trail of Tears fled into the Everglades. Among other skills, they developed amazing patchwork in the 1920s, partly to sell to the growing tourist trade.
I can finally identify an osprey's call. With Tampa Bay extending its countless arms every which way, there's lots of water, and so lots of ospreys, even where there seems to be only pavement.
Growing things never fail to amaze, especially those that bloom in the middle of winter. And the adaptations to the environment, like the mangroves.
Manatees, of course. Steve lives in Manatee County, and the name is everywhere. The actual creatures, not so much. We heard a wonderful talk at a rescue center and met O'Neil, a juvenile at 600 pounds.
And the Seminoles! There was no Seminole tribe, I've learned; it was/is an agglomeration of small tribes that came together for mutual protection and opposition to those land-grabbing Americans. They fought three guerrilla wars, lasting much of the 19th Century; those who weren't killed or sent on the Trail of Tears fled into the Everglades. Among other skills, they developed amazing patchwork in the 1920s, partly to sell to the growing tourist trade.
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Jan