 Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Wildlife Feeding Strictly Prohibited sign. Stephen C Foster State Park campground. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. Feeding wildlife can lead to a number of serious problems. Animals accustomed to people often lose their fear of people and can become aggressive. Throughout the Stephen C Foster campground in the Okefenokee Swamp, there are signs warning against the feeding of wildlife. These warnings are no joke. It is now commonly known (hopefully) the dangers of pitching handouts to wildlife. Feeding of bears and alligators causes them to associate humans with food, and that can lead to future adversarial contacts. Typically, it is the animal that eventually loses out. They have to be drugged and relocated, or even killed.  The Savannah River Ecology Lab writes, “Don't feed alligators. This is a most important rule as feeding alligators threatens the safety of both people and animals. Providing food for these wild animals (that are naturally afraid of humans) not only makes them bolder and encourages them to seek out people, it also alters their natural diet in an unhealthy way. Feeding alligators trains them to associate humans with foods. Feeding alligators is punishable by law with fines jail time.” For all of those reasons, I take seriously the admonition to not feed the Okefenokee wildlife… except for a couple of species. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to not feed the mosquitoes and flies! No amount of repellent seems to keep these little bloodsucking critters from feeding on your flesh if you visit the Okefenokee in late spring and summer.  Horsefly; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia.  Profile portrait close up of an American Alligator laying in the grass in the Stephen C Foster State Park campground. Showing teeth, scales and details. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. May 2020.
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Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  American White Water Lily flower blooming on a lily pad in the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia. Nymphaea odorata, also known as fragrant water-lily, beaver root, sweet-scented water lily, is an aquatic plant commonly found in shallow lakes, ponds, bog, swamp and permanent slow moving waters in North America. Medical uses by Native American Indians: rhizomes for coughs and colds, stem for tooth aches. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. One thing that is pleasantly noticeable in the clean and pristine wilderness of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge it the absence of pollution of all types. The light pollution, noise pollution and 'people pollution' (trash) so common is our regular lives is rarely seen, heard or smelled in the Okefenokee Swamp.
Until I attempted recording bird calls, I had no realization of how much noise surrounds us in every day life. Even in my "quiet" subdivision, I had a hard time getting a clean bird recording without the noise of leaf blower, barking dog or cars off in the distance. Except for the occasional airplane that passes far overhead, the noise of man's ingenuity is mostly absent. Until I got an overnight permit to stay at Big Water shelter, I had know real idea how dark "dark" could be, and how bright stars could shine. Without bright parking lots, shopping centers and cities shining nearby, the stars shine brighter in the Okefenokee Swamp. Those distant points of light, which are usually few and far between from an urban viewing point, were so many and so dazzling that even a cellphone camera could record them. And what a joy to paddle for miles and miles and never see a piece of discarded trash or floating plastic grocery bag. On my Saturday morning long runs through my home town, it seems the entire route is littered with trash, like a grotesque bread crumb trail leading to "civilization." Thankfully, it isn't that way in the pristine Okefenokee… and let's keep it that way! Remember to pack out everything you bring in. Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Stephen C Foster State Park International Dark Sky Park refuge main entrance sign, Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. The Stephen C. Foster State Park on Jones Island comprises a very small portion within the entire swamp. The park was named after Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826 – January 13, 1864), known as "the father of American music." He was an American songwriter primarily known for his parlor and minstrel music; among his best-known are "Oh! Susanna", "Camptown Races", and "Old Folks at Home", which laments about a return to the Suwanee River, whose headwaters make their origin in the Okefenokee swamp.
Way down upon the Swanee River, Far, far away. That's where my heart is yearning ever, Home where the old folks stay. The State Park serves as a great base camp for daily swamp excursions. The campground is comprised of two loops of RV spots with electricity and water spigots. Though somewhat close together, each site is separated by thick brush and saw palmetto, and seems somewhat isolated from neighbors. Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  American Black Bear, Ursus americanus, paw print track found in the mud along Georgia hiking trail. Car key shown for scale. Nature hike along the Upland Pine Trail in the Stephen C Foster State Park. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. Photographed May 2020. Alligators aren’t the only megafauna of the great Okefenokee Swamp! I’ve made several excursions to the Okefenokee, but have never had the privilege of spotting a bear. I get a bit jealous as I see iNaturalist observations of Black Bears lumbering through the Stephen C Foster campground, or in other places throughout the swamp. Most of my visits to the Okefenokee have been in March, and the bears may still be safely tucked away in hibernation dens at that time, which typically lasts from December to April. But on my May 2020 trip, I came across a long line of tracks on the Upland Pine Trail in the Stephen C Foster State Park.  American Black Bear, Ursus americanus, paw print track found in the mud along Georgia hiking trail. Nature hike along the Upland Pine Trail in the Stephen C Foster State Park. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. Photographed May 2020. With their numbers declining because of habitat loss, the Okefenokee is truly a refuge for this handsome ursine inhabitant. The Okefenokee affords them some remote location to get far from their human predators as possible. They are often not seen, as I can attest, more than their signs are discovered. Claw marks on trees and prints in the swamp mud are often the only evidence found of the Black Bear by most Okefenokee visitors. Bears have a varied diet, but are reportedly a major predator of alligator eggs. They are a true omnivore and feast upon the abundant floral and faunal inhabitants in the swamp ecosystem. And, of course, they love honey! They often got the blame for tearing up the managed hives of the swampers that once lived in the Okefenokee.  Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message Before the industrialist loggers of the early 20th century arrived, the Longleaf Pine dominated the upland areas surrounding the Okefenokee Swamp. Because of its ability to survive wildfires in its fire resistant “grass stage”, the Longleaf is well suited to the fire prone South Georgia landscape. The thick, grassy clump of needles protects the bud as fire sweeps through.  Longleaf pine, Pinus palustris, is a pine tree native to the coastal plain of the Southeastern United States. Seen here in bottle brush sapling stage. The red-cockaded woodpecker is dependent on mature Long leaf pine forests. Nature hike along the Upland Pine Trail in the Stephen C Foster State Park. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. Photographed May 3, 2020. It can remain in the grass stage for years, but once the root base is established, it will rapidly take off into the “bottle brush” stage – a four-foot tall, branchless seedling that resembles a cobweb duster. It may stay in this stage for a period of time, but can adequately take in needed sunlight by staying above the lower scrub and vegetation.
After about 30 years from germination, the Longleaf Pine stands tall and nearly branchless up to the crown, resembling a green topped telephone pole. Mature stands of Longleaf Pine are essential habitat for the Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Close up of Bar Winged Skimmer, Libellula axilena, dragonfly. It is found in North America, dragonflies are abundant throughout the warm season in the swamp. They have large compound eyes and intricately veined wings. Photographed on the Trembling Earth Nature Trail in Stephen C Foster State Park; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. May 3, 2020. Skimming all throughout the Okefenokee are the gorgeous Odonata. The dragonflies adorn the swamp with their vibrant greens and blues. In the heat of the day, when most of the birds hide and the alligators sink in the cooler waters, the dragonflies are constantly buzzing about. If your camera’s autofocus is worthy, and your skill at tracking fast moving critters is even more worthy, you just might catch a flight shot. Not me… for now, I’m happy to get a photograph if one stays on a perch long enough!  Common Green Darner, Anax junius, dragonfly. One of the most common and abundant species throughout North America, dragonflies are abundant throughout the warm season in the swamp. They have large compound eyes and intricately veined wings. Photographed on the Trembling Earth Nature Trail in Stephen C Foster State Park; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. May 3, 2020. Despite their innocent looks, and harmless alighting upon an extended finger, dragonflies are voracious carnivores! In fact, their insectivorous habits gave them the name odonata, which is Greek for “toothed”. And I suppose cannibalism isn’t out of the question, as I have once sat and watched a darner devouring another dragonfly head first. Strange Lives of Familiar Insects claims a dragonfly can ingest their own body weight in 30 minutes.  Close up of Bar Winged Skimmer, Libellula axilena, dragonfly. It is found in North America, dragonflies are abundant throughout the warm season in the swamp. They have large compound eyes and intricately veined wings. Photographed on the Trembling Earth Nature Trail in Stephen C Foster State Park; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. May 4, 2020. But in a dog-eat-dog world, sometimes the predator can become prey...  Giant Lichen Orbweaver, Araneus bicentenarius, trapped and eating a dasher dragonfly in a web. Found on the Trembling Earth Nature Trail in Stephen C Foster State Park, Georgia. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. May 2020.  Irridescent blue Bar Winged Skimmer dragonfly on Fetterbush branch, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. May 4, 2020.  Blue Dasher Dragonfly; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. May 4, 2020. Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Spider Web in woven in morning grasses. Found on nature hike along the Upland Pine Trail in the Stephen C Foster State Park. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. Photographed May 2020. Each Okefenokee morning, the signs of the night creatures are evident throughout the swamp. From tracks in the mud, to watery trails through the sphagnum moss, and down to the delicate details, a careful inspection reveals much about the inhabitants of the swamp. As the orange glow of morning passes over the Okefenokee uplands, numerous webs glint and glisten across the grasses as the sun rises. Their delicate designs are highlighted by the descent of morning dew that adds crystalline droplets to each strand of the web. But the finespun designs will disappear as they tatter in the afternoon heat. Their delicate beauty passes away… until re-spun as darkness settles once again.  Spider Web in woven in morning grasses. Found on nature hike along the Upland Pine Trail in the Stephen C Foster State Park. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. Photographed May 2020. Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  American White Water Lily flower blooming on a lily pad in the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia. Nymphaea odorata, also known as fragrant water-lily, beaver root, sweet-scented water lily, is an aquatic plant commonly found in shallow lakes, ponds, bog, swamp and permanent slow moving waters in North America. Medical uses by Native American Indians: rhizomes for coughs and colds, stem for tooth aches. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. "A man who has spent his entire life in and near the Swamp describes the setting of Gannet Lake as follows: From this lake one can look across a five-mile stretch of prairie and see the large green lily leaves floating around and the magnificent white bonnet lily blooms, which look as white as snow, shaded by the green leaves, and can also see trees here and there draped with long wisps of gray moss, all making one of the most beautiful landscapes ever been held by the eye of man.” - Excerpt from the 1926 History of the Okefenokee Swamp by AS McQueen and Hamp Mizell; page 50.
Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Dead cypress tree snag with large woodpecker holes; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. The flooded prairies and hammocks of the Okefenokee Swamp hold acre after acre of standing, dead wood. An abundance of snags (dead trees) means abundant woodpeckers. There are currently eight species of woodpecker found in the Okefenokee, and one formerly occurring species - the Ivory Billed Woodpecker - that is now extinct. The excavations of the Okefenokee woodpeckers creates suitable habitat and nest cavities for other birds and wildlife as well. Taylor Schoettle writes, “Without the Pileated’s carpentry, there would be few natural cavities large enough for wood ducks to rear their young. There is hardly a time when visiting the Okefenokee that this grand woodpecker is not encountered.” (A Naturalist’s Guide to the Okefenokee Swamp; Sea to Sea Printing and Publishing, 2002). Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Yellow Water Lily pad, Nuphar luteum, also called bonnet lily or spatterdock. Mixon`s Hammock and River Narrows on the Suwannee River canoe kayak trail in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. Photographed May 2020. "WE approached the savanna at the South end, by a narrow isthmus of level ground, open to the light of day, and clear of trees or bushes, and not greatly elevated above the common level, having on our right a spacious meadow, embellished with a little lake, one verge of which was not very distant from us; its shore is a moderately high, circular bank, partly encircling a cove of the pond, in the form of a half moon; the water is clear and deep, and at the distance of some hundred yards, was a large floating field (if I may so express myself) of the Nymphea, with their golden blossoms waving to and fro on their lofty stems. Beyond these fields of Nymphea were spacious plains, encompassed by dark groves, opening to extensive Pine forests, other plains still appearing beyond them." - Excerpt from William Bartram's Travels; Part II, Chapter VI William Bartram was a botantist, artist, and nature writer that explored the southeastern United States around the time of the American Revolution (1773-1776). He was a scientist, creationist and Christian that gave glory to the Author for all the wonderful works he observed and documented in his book, Travels Through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida.  Yellow Water Lily pad, Nuphar luteum, also called bonnet lily or spatterdock reflected in the black water of the Okefenokee Swamp. Mixon`s Hammock and River Narrows on the Suwannee River canoe kayak trail. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. Photographed May 2020. Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Open prairie swamp ecosystem of maidencane grass, blackwater river, and towering cypress trees. Suwannee River canoe trail in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. Photographed in Mixons Hammock prairie swamp. May 2020. Excerpt from the 1926 History of the Okefenokee Swamp by AS McQueen and Hamp Mizell:
 Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Anhinga bird perched atop a large Pond Cypress tree with Spanish Moss. Billy`s Lake on the Suwannee River canoe kayak trail. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. Photographed May 2020. "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 storks their temporary resting places; and what adds to the magnificence of their appearance, is the streamers of long moss that hang from the lofty limbs and float in the winds. This is their majestic appearance, when standing alone, in large rice plantations, or thinly planted on the banks of great rivers." - Excerpt from William Bartram's Travels; Part II, Chapter III William Bartram was a botantist, artist, and nature writer that explored the southeastern United States around the time of the American Revolution (1773-1776). He was a scientist, creationist and Christian that gave glory to the Author for all the wonderful works he observed and documented in his book, Travels Through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida. Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message Earlier in the year, the Okefenokee made the news as conservationists sounded the alarm against a proposal to mine thousands of acres alongside the National Wildlife Refuge. This isn’t a modern day gold rush, but a search for titanium dioxide. Even so, there’s Gold in the Okefenokee! A different sort of gold…  Yellow Bidens bur marigold wildflowers growing along Mixon`s Hammock canoe kayak trail in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. Splashes of yellow dot the Okefenokee landscape as wildflowers of the Bidens genus bloom in the spring and summer. I have seen them growing on the prairies, in shallow waters alongside Spatterdock, and in tussocks upon old stumps in the middle of the larger lakes. They are commonly called Beggars Ticks, Bur Marigolds and Tickseed Sunflowers. They are a sun-loving wildflower and generally found in moist soils such as marshes, wet meadows and roadside ditches.  Yellow Bidens bur marigold wildflowers growing along Mixon`s Hammock canoe kayak trail in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. Burned cycpress stumps in background. Fire is an essential part of the swamp ecosystem. Suwannee River Sill. Photographed May 2020.  Yellow Bidens bur marigold wildflowers growing along Mixon`s Hammock canoe kayak trail in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. Suwannee River Sill. Photographed May 2020. Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Wide open spaces of the Great Okefenokee Swamp. Mixons Hammock canoe kayak trail. Towering Cypress Tree, and Spanish Moss, maidencane grass prairie, Suwannee River canoe trail in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. “Every cloud has a silver lining.” While I’m typically not one to use happy little inspirational poster quotes, this one held true for me in May 2020. The coronavirus shutdown of the entire world gave many of us weeks of free time as we isolated at home. I chose to take isolation to the extreme and made a second 2020 trip to the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. There were only about twenty occupied campsites within the sixty-plus RV lots of the Stephen C Foster State Park. We all had plenty of room and privacy. And consider that us few campers were just about the only people within the Okefenokee’s 438,000 acres, that’s some serious social distancing!  Live streaming our church service from the Okefenokee Swamp.  Pond Cypress Trees, Taxodium ascendens, and Spanish Moss in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. Suwannee River canoe kayal trail. Photographed in Mixons Hammock prairie swamp. Native to southeastern United States and grows in still blackwater rivers, swamps and ponds. As I suspected, visiting at a date further into the summer, the “environmental challenges” (as my daughter coined them) were greater than our usual early spring excursions. It was quite a bit more humid, the sun rose earlier, higher and hotter than in March, and the armies of gnats and flies were mustering their ranks in greater numbers. Because of the heat, most of the alligators were now spending the majority of the mid-day submerged in the swamp waters. Still, it is always a wonderful time to explore the Okefenokee. I concentrated a bit more on plants and “bugs” than in the past in order to contribute some diversity of Okefenokee observations to my iNaturalist Project and Okefenokee Blog. Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Virginia Chainfern, Woodwardia virginica, fern growing from a Cypress buttress in blackwater swamp. Suwannee River Narrows canoe kayak trail in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. Photographed May 2020. From the broad, sweeping bird’s-eye-view, down to the smallest detail of living organism, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is full of beauty and charm. Perhaps alligators and snakes are the first thing conjured in the mind upon hearing the word “swamp”, but peace, solitude and fascination come to my thoughts. My first visits to the Okefenokee were to photograph alligators and wildlife. Later, birds became the focus of my interest. And more recently, after several swamp excursions, the minute details of fern and twig, insect and web, lichen and flower have captured my attention. Even when not paddling through the swamp in my canoe, I am at home perusing through book after book about the habitats and ecosystem of the swamp. If you are fascinated by this natural world, you must make the Okefenokee Swamp a destination on your list of must-see parks. It is truly a place of beauty and charm!  Maidencane grass tussock growth reflected in blue Okefenokee Swamp water. Delicate marsh bog wetland ecosystem. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. May 2, 2020.  American Alligator patrols Billy's Lake; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. May 2, 2020. |
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In December 1993 I came to know the Designer and Creator of this wonderful planet and its creatures: Jesus Christ.
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