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[APD] Orchids and armadillos



Today we met up early with 15 folks and headed to Rainbow springs State
Park about 8:15am.
Ay, brave souls indeed. 
We arrived about 9:30am to the park and went down to see the invasive
Crypts in bubbling spring.
They had spent some $ on a nice garden alndscaping and the place looked
pretty nice.
 
We went into a locked gated part of the park and down a steep hill in
jungle like habitat, slipping and climbing under large palm leaves and over
logs. 
Ricky said he'd almost eaten one of the large brigth colored 8 legged
spiders that are 3 inches across and surely must be highly toxic. 
But as we came down to the section near the head spring, we saw large
swaths of peculiar red Crypts doing quite well.
 
The area was about a 10 meter diameter section about 20-50cm deep in cool
clear hard water, roughly 72F, CO2 averages around 10ppm. 
Red foxtail, pennywort, Liverwort, two moss species, some Sag kurziana,
some small tennelus were present.
The substrate was very rocky limestone mixed with some section of organic
matter and sand. 
We were allowed to walk over and get a direct good look. About 6 of us
jumped in and waded over to get better looks and photo's. 
This part of the trip turned out better than most of us had imagined.
 
We then rented canoes and headed downstream. We saw large schools of pumkin
seeds, Neon shiners, very large small mouth bass, 2ft snapping turtles, 3
really cool pieces of driftwood(due to my efforts) with lots of character
and holes, Red Lugwigia, Potamogeton, etc.
We went south to Crackertown(and the source of at least story) in search of
southern cedar roots. 
 
Lewis had a place down the road off of 40 that had several acres of roots
just sitting there. Well, I knew I drove past it bu the time we saw tidal
water.
So the crew stopped and we got out and attacked the area and came back with
many smaller branches of cedar which grows all over here. "Herds" of crabs
all over.
I apologized for Lewis not having any wood it seemed. 
But 1/2 the group headed over to Waldo to look at a store for driftwood
rather than continue on...........to the lower Suwanee.
 
They say good things come to those that wait. Waldo was an 1:15 min away.
They wanted to shoop there before it closed at 5 then they were going to
drive back down later.I stopped in a local bait shop and asked a nice lady
if she knew were I could find some of those pieces of cedar they had
outside their establishment. She said go down to the light, turn right and
you cannot miss it. 
Ghori, Cain and the bunch drove almost right by it.
It was less than 5 minutes away. 
 
We found they had better prices also. Anyway, off we went to the lower
Suwanee about 40 minutes away. Braving the fire ants bites, cuts from palm
leaves, flesh eating insects of many forms, we stropped and took some looks
at a number of different blackwater pools. The swamp lily was in full
bloom. We have pictures of this 6-8" across white beauty.
 
We stopped at the orchid spot. A large lubbber grasshopper crawled up a
blade of grass. 
There is a species of Epidendron growing on an old oak tree. Purple leavers
and yellow flowers. I decided to poke back in the woods for some cedar etc.
I found several armadillos scampering about. First just one, then another
and fianlly 2 more. Each were about 6 inches long, all babies. They ran
right in front of us.
I picked one up easily. Anton said they and humans can become lepers. I
dropped it like a hot potato. They disappear into the root of a large oak.
 
We stopped about 1/2 mile away at another place and we found more driftwood
than we knew what to do with.
I ran off with a huge beautiful piece. Others found plenty to fill their
deepest desires. 
Stopped off for lunch.
 
We drove home and then hit a local fish shop. I asked if Gilly would eat a
Nunibrach for 1 dollar and double dare."With lots of Tabasco sauce".
 
Finally had dinner and then the crew stopped off and attacked the plants I
have left at my place and absconded with most of the tanks I had laying
around. I gave away a bunch of madtom cats(Tom was mad about it, but they
went ot good home).
At about 11pm, I finally got rid of my 10 gallon tanks.
 
Regards, 
Tom Barr
 
Today we met up early with 15 folks and headed to Rainbow springs State
Park about 8:15am.
Ay, brave souls indeed. 
We arrived about 9:30am to the park and went down to see the invasive
Crypts in bubbling spring.
They had spent some $ on a nice garden alndscaping and the place looked
pretty nice.
 
We went into a locked gated part of the park and down a steep hill in
jungle like habitat, slipping and climbing under large palm leaves and over
logs. 
Ricky said he'd almost eaten one of the large brigth colored 8 legged
spiders that are 3 inches across and surely must be highly toxic. 
But as we came down to the section near the head spring, we saw large
swaths of peculiar red Crypts doing quite well.
 
The area was about a 10 meter diameter section about 20-50cm deep in cool
clear hard water, roughly 72F, CO2 averages around 10ppm. 
Red foxtail, pennywort, Liverwort, two moss species, some Sag kurziana,
some small tennelus were present.
The substrate was very rocky limestone mixed with some section of organic
matter and sand. 
We were allowed to walk over and get a direct good look. About 6 of us
jumped in and waded over to get better looks and photo's. 
This part of the trip turned out better than most of us had imagined.
 
We then rented canoes and headed downstream. We saw large schools of pumkin
seeds, Neon shiners, very large small mouth bass, 2ft snapping turtles, 3
really cool pieces of driftwood(due to my efforts) with lots of character
and holes, Red Lugwigia, Potamogeton, etc.
We went south to Crackertown(and the source of at least story) in search of
southern cedar roots. 
 
Lewis had a place down the road off of 40 that had several acres of roots
just sitting there. Well, I knew I drove past it bu the time we saw tidal
water.
So the crew stopped and we got out and attacked the area and came back with
many smaller branches of cedar which grows all over here. "Herds" of crabs
all over.
I apologized for Lewis not having any wood it seemed. 
But 1/2 the group headed over to Waldo to look at a store for driftwood
rather than continue on...........to the lower Suwanee.
 
They say good things come to those that wait. Waldo was an 1:15 min away.
They wanted to shoop there before it closed at 5 then they were going to
drive back down later.I stopped in a local bait shop and asked a nice lady
if she knew were I could find some of those pieces of cedar they had
outside their establishment. She said go down to the light, turn right and
you cannot miss it. 
Ghori, Cain and the bunch drove almost right by it.
It was less than 5 minutes away. 
 
We found they had better prices also. Anyway, off we went to the lower
Suwanee about 40 minutes away. Braving the fire ants bites, cuts from palm
leaves, flesh eating insects of many forms, we stropped and took some looks
at a number of different blackwater pools. The swamp lily was in full
bloom. We have pictures of this 6-8" across white beauty.
 
We stopped at the orchid spot. A large lubbber grasshopper crawled up a
blade of grass. 
There is a species of Epidendron growing on an old oak tree. Purple leavers
and yellow flowers. I decided to poke back in the woods for some cedar etc.
I found several armadillos scampering about. First just one, then another
and fianlly 2 more. Each were about 6 inches long, all babies. They ran
right in front of us.
I picked one up easily. Anton said they and humans can become lepers. I
dropped it like a hot potato. They disappear into the root of a large oak.
 
We stopped about 1/2 mile away at another place and we found more driftwood
than we knew what to do with.
I ran off with a huge beautiful piece. Others found plenty to fill their
deepest desires. 
Stopped off for lunch.
 
We drove home and then hit a local fish shop. I asked if Gilly would eat a
Nunibrach for 1 dollar and double dare."With lots of Tabasco sauce".
 
Finally had dinner and then the crew stopped off and attacked the plants I
have left at my place and absconded with most of the tanks I had laying
around. I gave away a bunch of madtom cats(Tom was mad about it, but they
went ot good home).
At about 11pm, I finally got rid of my 10 gallon tanks.
 
Regards, 
Tom Barr
 


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