Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed

Honoring CREW volunteers, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

CREW’s management honored a selection of their volunteers for their dedication to the cause and to the trails. After some goodie bags were awarded, they all posed for a few photos. Congratulations and well done, all of you – and thanks you to CREW for a lovely evening.

The full wolf moon, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

I looked it up on my Farmer’s Almanac app – it’s the moon that the wolves howled at, also known as the Old Moon. It sure did illuminate the path back to the parking lot – quite nicely!

The marsh overlook, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

There’s a strange phenomenon at the overlook. A wall of warm envelops you, until you lean over the railing. Suddenly, you’re hit with a layer of cool air. My friend Linda wisely observed that cooler air sinks, so this phenomenon is entirely expected.

Sunset at the CREW Marsh Trails, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

The day goes down in flames behind the pines, but we have a night of enjoyment stretched before us.

Tonight’s adventure: wine and cheese under the stars, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

As a member if CREW – Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed – I was invited to a wine and cheese party this evening under the stars and the Full Wolf Moon. Fun and nature geek friends shall ensue. lets go!

Remind you of anything?, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

No this is NOT the Kilimanjaro Safari at Disney

I smell a rat, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

Found dead in the trail -ewwww

Yes we are going to hike through that, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

This is no place for the squeamish. Just watch for snakes!

The drought in Southwest Florida, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

A small puddle in Corkscrew, as compared to what we should be seeing this time of year. Pray for rain!

Today’s adventure: counting butterflies in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

We are headed into the bird rookery park of the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary to count butterflies. Let’s go!

Hooray for the Boy Scouts!, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

A young man named nick McNamara created the kissing gates as his Eagle Scout project. Well done, Nick! 🙂

Well. We finished the five miles well within the prescribed three hours. Now it’s time for a shower and some ice cream to cool off.

Wild orchid, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

Someone said this was last tresses but when I google that, I get a completely different flower. Quest for a positive ID continues!

Barred owl, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

Someone with very good eyes spotted this fellow, who was very good about the paparazzi surrounding him.

Cow trail, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

Cows follow each other in a long train, single file, while the forage. Surprisingly narrow, considering the width of a cow!

Old pulley in the woods, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

9:47 AM – We speculated that maybe this was used in connection with hunting. You can see that it has been kissed by the prescribed burn that occurred back in December.

The bone yard, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

Cattle ranging here can die of disease, or they can die if thirst during the dry season. Ranchers have taken to placing large kiddie pools here and there, pumped full of water so they can drink.

The intrepid dung beetle, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

He was so quick burrowing under, I did not get the chance to switch to video.

Cow dung – a growth medium!, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

9:24 AM – I am told by some of my hiking companions that these are "magic" mushrooms! The two people who recognized them exchanged fond memories of their college days. Me, I must have been absent that day, LOL 😉

Through the kissing gate, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

These gates are designed to prevent cattle from passing through.

Crossing the ditch into Caracara Preserve, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

Deb regaled us with a cautionary tale about never attempting to drive a truck into a ditch filled with water lettuce…

The amazing Florida sky, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

Slash pines and cabbage palms frame the sky.

Wildflowers on the trail, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

8:56 AM – Pink, snapdragon-like wildflowers bloom alongside the trail.

Unfortunate rodent, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

A dead shrew in the path. Cause of death unknown. Ants opportunistically feasting.

Orientation for the Caracara Preserve "soft opening", originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

Melissa Henning of Conservation Collier and Deb Hanson of CREW prepare us for the hike. We’re going through the Cypress Dome trails to get to Caracara.

Today’s Adventure: Caracara prairie Preserve hike for National Trails Day, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

8:14 AM – It’s National Trails Day! I’ve got my hiking shoes on and I’m going on a five-miler at a brand new trail in Immokolee, Florida. It’s gonna be hotter than the hinges of hell! I must be out of my mind. Let’s go!

End of the CREW Marsh hike, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

What an awesome place! I am coming back soon, for sure. I hope to learn more and more by just going out on guided hikes over and over. Repetition, repetition, repetition!

Corkscrew Marsh, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

Five thousand acres, storage for millions of gallons of storm water. Flows south to Everglades and Florida Bay, and also west to the Imperial River and the Gulf of Mexico. Filled with sawgrass, which is not actually a grass, but a sedge.

Pine flatwoods at CREW, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

This property once belonged to ALICO – Atlantic Land Improvement Company. They’ve got a road named after them around here. It is the first land CREW acquired.

Paying homage o the founder of CREW, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

Joel Kuperberg founded CREW in 1989 for the purpose of ensuring the availability of clean water for South Florida.

Today’s Adventure: Hiking through the marsh, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

We’ve been to the cypress dome down here at CREW – now lets check out the marsh 🙂 Our tour guide is David Cooper, a Florida Master Naturalist who volunteers here. I can tell I will learn a lot from him. Let’s go!

The geocaching check-in table at CREW, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

A couple of laptops were set up to help people refresh their devices before setting out. I read that 71 caches have been placed in new locations in time for this event!

Geocaching at CREW: the crowd gathers, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

I got there a bit early and was able to chit-chat with a few folks prior to starting out, letting them know why I was there and what I hoped to learn. Everyone was super welcoming and friendly. The infamous "Jungle Pete", Kenny Jenkins, and CREW’s executive director Brenda Brooks were just a few of the folks who were generous with their time and knowledge.

Today’s adventure: Geocaching at CREW’s Cypress done Trails, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

Yes, we were just here a couple of weeks ago for the Wildflower Festival. Now we’re going geocaching! Was conferring on Thursday with some classmates in the Florida Master Naturalist Program about final projects, and the subject of safe and ethical geocaching in the uplands was floated as a possible candidate. Since this event was coming up, I thought I would try my hand at it. I did some last spring when my niece was here, so I was not a complete novice but now I have "an app for that", so watch out! Here we go…

Arriving at the CREW Cypress Dome Trails, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

This is where the CREW Wildflower Festival is being held. I am scheduled for an 11:30 am hike.

The CREW Land and Water Trust, down in Immokolee FL is hosting their annual Wildflower Festival today. There will be hikes, exhibitions and fun. It promises to be a very warm day, too. Oh, and I’ll be hitting the new Trader Joe’s in Naples on my way home. CLICK the flyer to the left to see the details.

What’s not to love about this day? 🙂