Wednesday, November 2, 2011

'Walking trees'

The more you observe and learn, the more you realize how little you know about this wonderful, complex Creation we've been commanded to be good stewards of.

An encounter with a fellow dog lover at the harbour near here (where I made my current header shot) provided us with the location of a doggy beach near appropriately-named Lover's Key state park. We spent several hours there yesterday, and although I limited the number of shots I made, I saw all sorts of interesting things, among them - mangroves.( I'll share some others at a later time).

Of course, there's a lot of interesting information to be learned about them, not the least of which is that they thrive in salt water and yet are uniquely created to filter salt out. They provide habitat for many species of fish, crabs, and birds. And they can be severely damaged by as little as a few hours of freezing temperatures (if you're interested in learning more, check this out). I learned that the ones we saw, and are pictured below, are known as red mangroves.


16 comments:

Dawn said...

It never ceases to amaze me- just how much there is out there to learn about. It's a BEAUTIFUL creation to be sure!

Cloudia said...

your spirit makes this even more delightful than mere pictures & words!


Aloha from Honolulu

Comfort Spiral

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darlin said...

I find this very interesting, too bad I don't have time to check out your link tonight, maybe when time permits.

There's so much to learn, I think that if we lived to be 1000 that we'd still be learning. This big ole world just amazes me, I love to see your photos of what you're learning and discovering. Thanks for sharing!

Leslie said...

they do look like walking trees! there's a place around here where you can kayak through the mangroves. it's a bit creepy - all these tiny black spidery looking crabs are apparently part of the mangrove habitat. i just don't want one dropping off the "walking trees" onto me!

imac said...

Wonderful Rick, nice photos with info, look forward to seeing more my friend.

My name is Riet said...

Prachtige foto´s Rick en fijne info.
Fijne dag!

Fábio Martins said...

The nature is amazing!

Saz said...

Absolutely gorgeous photo's Rick!

joey said...

Lucky you, Rice ... all looks grand and I love your mangrove shots. Have fun ... weather looks awesome!

Elizabeth Grimes said...

I love exploring new places. You found a good one!

Marty said...

wow, tu as complètement changé ton blog !
il va falloir que je m'habitue !!!
c'est très beautiful !
tes images sont belles et me font envie de partir
pour trouver le soleil ailleurs !!
je t'embrasse Rick and wish you a lovely weekend
wet bisous of rain today !!!

Rick said...

It truly is, Dawn - if we just take the time to look around us and really 'see'. Have a great Sunday !

Mahalo, Cloudia. Aloha from the warm south ;-)

I agree, Darlene - we can't even begin to really see or understand during our lifetime more than a small fraction of what's been created - never a dull moment ! Have a great weekend !

Ha ha, Leslie - it would be a sticky situation to have one of those mangrove creepy crawlers fall on you while you're in a kayak - you'd likely set a speed record getting to shore though ;-)

Thank you, Stewart - I'll put some more up next week. Enjoy that trip to the Canaries.

Rick said...

Dank je wel, Riet - ook een fijn weekeind toegewenst.

Agreed Fábio !

Thank you so much, Saz ! I hope your weekend is going well.

Hi joey, and thanks; yes, the weather is far from frightful and we're enjoying every moment !

Thank you, Elizabeth - we're happy that a fellow dog lover pointed this one out to us.

Bon soir, Marty ! Yes, j'ai trouvé a new feature in Blogger to display a blog so I thought I'd try it (I hadn't changed it since I started almost 2 years ago). j'espère que tu t'aime ! I send you sunny bisous to dry up your wet ones ! ;-)

Lisa Gordon said...

Beautiful images Rick, and I look forward to learning more about the mangroves.

magda said...

My dear friend
What beautiful photos!!!
I did not know about those trees!
Very original!
many greetings

Rick said...

Thank you, Lisa. I'll share some more of my 'wilderness adventures' soon ;-)

Hi Magda - there are lots of mangroves in this area with 3 main types - red, black, and white. Thank you for stopping by.