2012-11-30 29 -82

[edit] Location

Publically accessible land in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Watermelon Pond

[edit] Participants

[edit] Plans

I should be there around 2:00 pm. The aerial makes it look as if I can drive right on top of it but I'm betting those tracks are FWC vehicles and I'll have to park out on the road.

[edit] Expedition

Those tracks on the aerial were from FWC vehicles (as well as fire breaks). But I never would have driven down the road anyway. In several areas the sugar sand would have swallowed my car up to the axels and I was alone and mostly in the middle of nowhere. Foolishness and carelessness don't mix.

It was a nice mile hike (round trip) in any case. With temperatures in the mid 70's there were just enough spots of shade to keep me comfortable. I brought along a hammer to pound the marker stake into the ground but left it in the car. If I came across a FWC officer I was well within my right to be there (it being a public area) but a lone male walking around carrying a hammer would possibly be suspicious. And a youth spent full of recorded indiscretion has a way of keeping me scrupulously within bounds these days. Then again, carrying around a wooden stake and a hammer enables the perfect excuse...vampires.

So, target reached I planted the stake in the sand and snapped a few pictures. I was well aware when I stepped off the trail that this was a perfect spot for the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. I narrowly avoided a 6 footer a few years back and still haven't lost the respect gained in that episode. Those things are far better at hiding than I am at finding. And this time of year with the cool nights and sunny days can really bring them out.

It is a beautiful area and perhaps in the coming months I'll take the family out there.