Labor Day Swamp Walks 2010

Another wonderful Labor Day weekend holiday

in the swamp! We enjoyed the company of

everyone who came to experience the nature

of Florida in a way that is only possible in a

swamp walk.

Can't wait for the winter walk

when we can share this special place

with you all again!

Clyde signing books

Niki gave demonstrations on how to

hand-paint a black and white photograph

using oil paint, Q-tips and cotton balls.

Clyde signing books and note cards

for some young admirers

Jackie putting color coded bracelet

onto customers arm. The bracelet

lets him know which walk he is

going to go on.

Swamp walk guide, Johnnie, explaining

the ecosystem of South Florida before

going out into the swamp.

We'd like to thank Kayla and Cody

for taking all of the swamp walk

photos and also for helping the guides

with the swamp walks. Good Work!

Into the muck

Into the swamp

The watery path

Cody holding up a bunch of bladder wort

Most folks are amazed that we have no

mosquitoes in the depth of summer and this

plant is one of the reasons.

Bladder Wort eats mosquito larvae.

Swamp guide, Mike Owen, explaining

the periphyton and it's importance to

the environment of South Florida. It is

like a sponge. When our environment

dries down the periphyton holds water

so that tadpoles, fish eggs, etc can still

survive. It also cleans the water.

Everyone checking out the periphyton

taking a photo of the periphyton

cypress knee

Swamp guide, Rick Cruz, with group

Rick explaining the bladder wort

plant and how it eats mosquito larvae

The peace, beauty and primeval feeling

of the swamp in summer is one of our

favorite memories.

For those of you who aren't quite ready

to head out into the swamp, we have a

short dry path behind our gallery that

is a pleasure to walk.

Gallery path

Gallery path

During the summer months our gallery

path is green and lush with growth.

It was a wonderful holiday. Sharing it

with so many great folks makes it even

better! Looking forward to our winter

swamp walk!