Excerpt from the 1926 History of the Okefenokee Swamp by AS McQueen and Hamp Mizell: “It is rather hard to determine how these so-called “prairies” of the Okefenokee came by this name. These prairies are better described as marshes, for they are covered by numerous water plants, such as the water lily, maiden cane, saw-grass, etc. OneContinue reading “Okefenokee Prairie Ecosystem”
Tag Archives: Cypress Swamp
Outside the Okefenokee: Greenfield Lake Park
When I visit the Okefenokee Swamp, I expect to see alligators. So when I find alligators in a small, local park, it is a special treat… I recently went on a short trip to attend a pioneer pastor’s conference in North Carolina. Even though we spent most of our weekend driving, my wife and IContinue reading “Outside the Okefenokee: Greenfield Lake Park”
He has come here to die…
A spooky excerpt from A Florida Sketch-Book, by naturalist Bradford Torrey, written in 1895: There—going one day farther than usual—I found myself in the borderland of a cypress swamp. On one side was the lake, but between me and it were cypress-trees; and on the other side was the swamp itself, a dense wood growing inContinue reading “He has come here to die…”
Like an Umbrella
– Excerpt from William Bartram’s Travels; Part II, Chapter III “From the buttress, the Cypress, as it were, takes another beginning, forming a grand strait column eighty or ninety feet high, when it divides every way around into an extensive flat horizontal top, like an umbrella, where eagles have their secure nests, and cranes and storksContinue reading “Like an Umbrella”
Here Lived and Loved Another Race of Beings
In an 1825 oration, early American poet Charles Sprague beautifully laments the extirpation of the American Indian that once roamed the lands like the Okefenokee: “Not many generations ago, the rank thistle nodded in the wind, and the wild fox dug his hole unscared. Here lived and loved another race of beings. Beneath the sameContinue reading “Here Lived and Loved Another Race of Beings”
Young’un Screaming Bloody Mercy
Excerpt from The Last Remaining Indian in the Okefenokee Swamp, by Tommy Hartley: “Old man Lee was laying on the end of the porch sunning, same as the gator. He heard the young’un screaming bloody mercy as the gator was get’en her and draggin’ her to where he could get into the water with ‘er. TheContinue reading “Young’un Screaming Bloody Mercy”
Okefenokee – Dark, Dangerous and Foreboding
“The artist can find in this Swamp scenes for masterpieces – from the beautiful to the somber – for a while there are scenes of unsurpassed beauty, there are others dark, dangerous and foreboding.” Excerpt from the 1926 History Of Okefenokee Swamp by A S McQueen And Hamp Mizell iNaturalist observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/29933513
Okefenokee Blackwater River
The Suwannee; a mysterious blackwater river. Textured cypress tower high above, doubled in their height by their reflection in the obsidian-glass water. Their knees bumping and hindering the passage of the canoe. Pale green lichens and mosses creep out of the waters, ascending the base of every tree. Like swaying specters, the Spanish moss hauntsContinue reading “Okefenokee Blackwater River”
Okefenokeology Video Series, Episode 9
The Okefenokee Swamp Park is broadcasting Professor Don Berryhill’s video series, Okefenokeology! Subscribe to their YouTube channel to receive updates. “Watch this episode of Professor Don Berryhill’s Okefenokeology Program. In this episode, he discusses cypress trees and the cross section displayed at the Okefenokee Swamp Park in Waycross, GA.”
Okefenokeology Video Series, Episode 8
The Okefenokee Swamp Park is broadcasting Professor Don Berryhill’s video series, Okefenokeology! Subscribe to their YouTube channel to receive updates. “Watch this episode of Professor Don Berryhill’s Okefenokeology Program. In this episode, he will provide information about ‘How did the Okefenokee Swamp get here?’”
