Return to Flamingo Gardens

The first time I ever visited Flamingo Gardens in Davie, Florida, was in September 2017, when they were about to reopen. For a few months before, Hurricane Irma had devastated that urban paradise, downing trees and destroying much of the flora.

Sonja left Rosa right

I only returned there Sunday November 5^th 2022, along with friend Rosa, to spend quality time with Sonja, who was celebrating her birthday.

It was a wonderful day, despite the rain which kept coming down regularly, followed by brilliant sunshine, as if to remind us that it was still hurricane season. And of course, I had left my umbrella in the car, so got wet despite my two well prepared friends sharing theirs with me on occasion.😊

Flamingo Gardens is a 60-acre tropical oasis, which is popular among families and also as a wedding avenue.

The Wray home is now a museum

It was originally the property of Floyd L. and Jane Wray, who in 1927 built a weekend home there. They established a botanical collection of rare and unusual plants and eventually willed the property to future generations.

Their home is now a museum.

Today, the gardens boast more than 3,000 species of tropical and subtropical plants, including 200-year-old Southern live oaks, and 300 plus species of palms. It is an absolute paradise which you can tour in a tram with knowledgeable drivers imparting valuable information all along the way.

Flamingos galore

In addition to the flora, the Gardens has a fully developed aviary with a wide variety of birds common to the Everglades. In addition, it is a sanctuary for animals which have been hurt and have to be rehabilitated before being let back into to the wild. 

Some cannot however be returned, so they have to stay there for life.

Beautiful peacocks hang out in a tree covered with orchids

An interesting attraction, is the animal show which is extremely popular among children, but I too learnt a great deal about Owls, snakes and falcons.

 I was especially impressed with the courageous young man who volunteered to assist in the demonstration, with a small boa around his neck.

As one who has also developed a love for that very maligned reptile, I was impressed how easily he fulfilled the role.

The only animal I saw on this trip was a Florida Panther, although I hear there is also a Bobcat and a Black Bear there. We never saw those but did get to interact quite a few friendly domestic cats.

No only were the Gardens themselves refreshing and wonderful, but so was the camaraderie among us. 

It was even more enjoyable when the visiting band started to play reggae music.

That certainly got me in the spirit!

Unfortunately, the intermittent rain kept people away from where they were, but the band played on!

Another pleasant surprise was the Gallery. Here we saw the most amazingly detailed black and white photographs of sections of the Everglades, which had been taken by what is now a very ancient camera.

This ancient camera takes amazing pics!

Flamingo Gardens is an absolutely marvelous place in the middle of metropolitan Fort Lauderdale, where one can enjoy some treasures of nature and learn so much.

I am happy Rosa suggested that we celebrate there with Sonja.

GREAT MEMORIES 

 

 

Glamping

                                      A full moon shines brightly through the trees.                                                                                         

 My initial reason for joining Meet-Up on moving to Florida, is that I love to find out as much as I can about my environment, especially the outdoors, while getting maximum exercise and meeting interesting people.

Jennifer gets the campfire going

Sticking with the Boca Raton Outdoor Adventures group led by the knowledgeable  Floridian Jennifer Weise, has allowed me to do just that.    

Our latest trek was to Camp Chowenwah in Clay County, just outside of Jacksonville, Florida.

On this trip, I dragged a long-time school-mate, Sonia along, only to hear we have now been dubbed Columbus and Vasco de Gama by another. 😅 

Only hope we don’t turn out to be as wicked as those two were!

As usual,  I stray.

It was supposed to be a camping trip, but I am overjoyed that it was instead a glamping affair, with only one person Stephanie, camping in a tent. 

And because she lives in the area, she also  proved to be an invaluable guide.

                       Stephanie, the authentic trooper.                            

Chowenwah was just up my street, as it has comfortable log cabins with private indoor bathrooms, microwave and fridge. Some even have air condition, but those do not have the other private facilities outlined above. The camp even has a swimming pool and tree houses but both areas were closed due to a little damage caused by hurricane Ian.

Our comfortable cabin

In the main section, the creek came up about thirty feet, but caused no damage as it quickly receded.

The camp is a beautiful 150-acre recreation site on Black Creek, located in Green Cove Springs near its confluence with the St. Johns River.

This river is more than 300 miles long and 3 miles at its widest point. It is the longest river in Florida. It also flows in a northerly direction.

My only problem with that location is that a housing scheme was allowed to be constructed right beside the beautiful recreation area, so the animals that one would normally see in areas such as this, were nowhere to be found. 

Isn't this housing scheme just too close? 😡

 I did however run into a small water snake near the tree house area but he disappeared quickly into the pond when I tried to video tape him.

Birds however abound and one night, a din sounding somewhat like a convention of rowdy owls, appeared to be quite close.

A tree-house 

On our first night as we gathered around the campfire as a bright new moon peeped through the trees. There were loud, frequent sounds of hickory nuts falling from great heights, to the point that some of our campers suggested that if we were struck one, it could cause a lot of damage. 

Luckily, that never happened.

Ian brought water about 30 feet up

I had never seen hickory nuts before though and was curious as to why people never ate them,  although squirrels do, so clearly they are not poisonous. That spurred a fellow camper Chrissy to break one of the nuts to try it. It was no easy task and the nut crumbled, so that’s clearly one reason why humans do not bother to eat them. The pieces she gave me to try were tasty though.

With our convenient and comfortable base at Camp Chowenwah, we were able to do quite a few interesting hikes and explorations.

 So stay tuned.

Link; https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2022/10/anti-immigrant-crap.html?m=1

 Memories

Bridge to Jacksonville

 

Flamingo Gardens

Some trees are over 200 years old

Today I went on our first Meet Up trek with the Boca Raton nature group since hurricane Irma hit Florida causing much damage all around.

One place that apparently had a lot of tree and plant damage was Flamingo Gardens in Davie and today ( 23rd September) was the first day they were reopening  section of the gardens to the public.

These gardens are an important section of the Everglades Wildlife Sanctuary and are home to a myriad of birds, butterflies and flora.

The aviary is the most impressive I have ever seen with a large variety of owls, eagles, pelicans, storks, birds of prey and of course huge spectacular flamingos.

The great thing I like about Flamingo, is that these gardens are also a refuge for Florida's small, native wildlife that have been hurt. They rescue, nurse, heal them and if they are able, return them to the wild or else they remain at this sanctuary.

At this time they have panthers a black bear, otters, alligators, possums, otters, bobcats, turtles etc.

An iguana basks in the sun beside the flamingo pool

I love that aspect of the gardens but it is really mainly a botanical garden which was established in 1927 and once had over 3000 species of rare and exotic, tropical, subtropical, and native plants and trees. Some of the magnificent oak trees which thankfully are still standing are in excess of 200 years old.

Not all the trees are native to Florida however as over the years, to diversify, they have brought trees and plants from all over the world. However a number of them were damaged and are being carefully pruned and rehabilitated where possible. 

So while only about two thirds of the garden was open to the public today, it is still extremely impressive.

A bobcat sleeps in his cage in a tree

There is also a museum which had been a weekend retreat of the Wray's who used it in the 1930's and later donated the property to the state.

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