Preserving Nature

by Ross

Yesterday we left Ormond Beach and drove to our friend’s condo in Fort Meyers. Today they took us to the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Lee County. Yes, a slough (pronounced “slew”) is just a swamp, what’s so important about visiting one. Well, all wetlands should be looked upon as resources, not a useless puddle needing to be filled in and paved over. Sloughs retain storm water, reducing flooding; provide rest stops for migrating birds; replenish ground water levels; filter the surrounding drainage area; create an area of biodiversity useful for measuring the health of a locale. Really nothing important in this day and age. Let’s fill them in and build houses and shopping malls, stuff that will make money for the developers and bring in tax dollars for the city fathers.

The frogs don’t stand a chance!

Six Mile is a great place to visit. Nice boardwalk to stroll on, a variety of vegetation (much of it new to me), the tapping of an unseen woodpecker, the singing of a Carolina Wren, the grunting of a feral pig. Still a few Wild Iris’ blooming. Oh yeah, ‘gators too.

The above photo brings a new meaning to the expression “tree hugger”.