Another Good Week in Okeechobee County

Boy has it been cold here – but not as cold as up home. When I checked the computer at 7AM on Friday it said it was -11 in Akron. It was 45 here when we drove to do a little painting this morning.

We started priming the kiosk on Tuesday and it was windy and cold, but at least the sun was out – for a bit. It got very cloudy and the winds got stronger so we knocked off a noon. That afternoon and evening we got lots of rain.

Wednesday Jon spent the day working with the rangers moving a pedestrian bridge on one of the trails. It had gotten moved off the pilings and pushed about 20 feet by the rains from Fay this past summer. That meant a sewing day for Judy.

This is the kiosk at the front gate we are painting. Judy had on a long sleeved shirt, sweatshirt and another long sleeved shirt on as we painted this morning. The wind was so strong out of the North that the flags were straight out.

Thursday we rode our bikes to paint and it was soooooooo cold we knocked off a bit early. The wind and chill really takes a lot out of you. We finished putting the Kilz primer on all but the display areas so that we can start the real color painting soon. On Friday we drove over and primed the display cases and also painted them. It was fun getting the Plexiglas out and in, especially the 8 foot piece in all the wind. Boy, does it get wendy here? Nothing to block, cut or slowdown the wind. We finished that job at noon and headed to town for lunch and some shopping. By the time we got back the campground was nearly full – and will be until Monday as this is MLK weekend.

Oh yes, the difference between a Tortoise and a Turtle – the Turtle lives in water while a Tortoise is a land dweller.

Saturday we had Amy stop by on her way home from Vero Beach. We had a good visit and she said she had no idea of what this area was like. We had a good meal including fresh corn on the cob and Brumbaugh Beans. She promised to come back and spend a night to enjoy the quiet and the stars.

And oh yes, football season has ended here. Can’t get CBS or FOX on the TV so will depend on local sports highlight shows.

Moon Rise on the Prairie

Start of another week on the prairie. This is a gofer tortoise we saw on one of our rides. Know the difference between a turtle and a tortoise??

As usual the campground fills up on the weekends and this was no exception. There was a large group of “Dads and Daughters” from what appeared to be a church. They took over 4 campsites and there must have been 12 little girls ranging from maybe 4 to pre-teen. The hiked, made banners and seemed to have a good time. But there were more kids! Another group must have been three families with 10-12 pre-teen to teen aged boys and girls. They had separate boys and girls tents and you can imagine how occupied the ladies bath room was all weekend.

Saturday Judy made an apple pie and we had a couple of the other volunteers over for pie and coffee. We sat around curing all the ills of the campground – and the world.

When we went into town last Friday we bought a fruit picker so we can get to the oranges which are higher up in the trees. In the hammock by the equestrian sites there are three or four ‘wild’ citrus. They must be 35 foot high in among the cabbage palms and live oaks. The oranges down low have all been picked, but there are lots of them up higher. Judy has fresh juice nearly every morning.

Monday we started the first painting project. Because of the dampness/mold issues and the hot sun, we first are coating the entire kiosk with KILZ as a primer. But before we could begin that step, Charlie wanted us to wash it down with a weak bleach mixture. After completing that we both smelled like swimming pool. We did get started on the Kilz on Tuesday, but had to knock off about noon. The winds were up and some rain was on its way. That meant that the afternoon was spent doing whatever – and that meant more sewing and nap time.

Here is one of the burros in with the cattle on the ranch next to the park. There are three and they are to keep the coyotes at bay. Remember seeing lots of them on the ranches out west. Not sure how or why they keep the coyotes away, but it must work as there is a burro ranch on the way into town.

We arrived on New Years Eve and got to meet with folks we had worked with before. The campground was full, but things were pretty quiet at midnight, even though we had two large groups with lots of kids. Spent New Years Day getting things in order and we had sauerkraut and sausage for dinner. Did not really get to watch any football as the local channels we can get are mostly independent or show old programs - watched an old Adam-12 the other evening.

Charlie (Park Manager) told us our first job would be to remark the long trail intersections (last year we ‘marked’ them) as some of the posts were down and some of the medallion markers had disappeared. They use mowed lines/roads to separate the areas of the park and it is along these that hikers can travel. Some of the intersections are 4 plus miles apart.

We got started on that task Friday morning, after riding the nearly 5 miles to the maintenance area on our bikes. Managed to get to all but one marker but the water was just too deep. We are using a Polaris 6X6 Ranger off road vehicle. We started into the water covered road, but had only gone 20 feet when the water lapping at our feet. Even though there is a ‘hard bottom’ to this road, the water was just too deep for the 6X6. Maybe we will use the swamp buggy to get to it, but with the water that deep no hiker will be going there either. While out we saw deer, 5 wild hogs and a gofer tortoise and oh yes some turkeys too.

By Friday we had finished re tagging all but two of the trail markers. Both locations we tried to reach from different directions, but the water was too deep. We will catch the one to the northeast (it’s about 4 miles the way the crow files, but maybe 8 driving) when we take a break from our next task, which will be painting. Charlie’s list for us includes painting the kiosk at the main gate as well as ‘bunk house’ building near the shop. It’s an old trailer that has been sided and roofed and is used by the Americorp volunteer and biology intern for housing.

As we continued our trail work this week, we are amazed at the number of alligators we are seeing. Have seen all sizes of ‘gators, from 3 foot ‘babies’ to some monsters that look to be 10 foot long. The south west and central areas are extremely wet so there are lots of places for the gators to ‘lounge’ and soak up the sun. They are working on reclaiming the Kissimmee River so the water can’t flow to the river area as easily because of a construction roadwa.

Found our way back to Okeechobee for church and shopping. Not much has changed there except that the Home Depot is now open….

The pictures are of Judy driving the ranger through a sough (pronounced slew) and a spider web. When we ride to the shop in the mornings the grasses along the way are full of all sorts of webs. For those with a faster connection, if you click on the picture it will get bigger.

Froggy

This begins the winter adventures of Froggy. As you can see he is full of anticipation under the tree waiting for his trip to the warmth and sun of the south.

Froggy was what we 'won' during the RainMakers camping group annual Christmas dinner white elephant exchange.

We will occasionally show him in our travels.