Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

     On the bus ride down to Corkscrew Swamp, I couldn't help being a little frustrated that I was wasting valuable study time for this university required course. It was impossible to get a wireless signal on my Kindle (try as I might), and as we pulled into the swamp, I noticed I only had one bar on my cell phone. I wasn't really expecting anything really exciting, so I prepared myself to go through the motions and get it over with. I had been on plenty of trips like this for my Environmental Science of Southwest Florida course, and I thought I knew exactly what I was walking into, again.

Then, on the boardwalk, we turned onto a straight-away and I saw this...

     A no-mans land between the place where the pine flat woods ended and the cypress swamp began. This prairie looked like it stretched for a few miles on either side of the boardwalk. The stark difference between the tall tree-ed areas on either side of it was something I don't think I've ever seen before. It was dead and alive at the same time. Hawks flew over the brown brush and a family of raccoons scampered under the boardwalk, creating paths in the wind-blown vegetation.
     I guess at that point I forgot about studying, my Kindle, and the lack of cell phone service I had. I took a picture, but mostly I just looked around. It was unexpected, maybe even made the trip worth the time I lost - maybe. Slowly, we continued into the cypress swamp. The open air was replaced by tangled bare branches, and we were consumed by the trees.