 Creation Speaks is a Biblical teaching ministry that uses nature writing and photography to glorify our Creator and teach the truth of creation. “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?" Job 12:7-9  March 13, 2019 - An American Bittern camouflaged in marsh grasses in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia; Stephen C Foster State Park. The American bittern , Botaurus lentiginosus, is a species of wading bird in the heron family.It is a well-camouflaged, solitary brown bird that unobtrusively inhabits marshes and the coarse vegetation at the edge of lakes and ponds. "Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power." Romans 1:20, The Living Bible My daughter and I were only ten minutes into a four day canoe trip through the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia and already we had missed something. As we were paddling up the channel to Billy’s Lake from the Stephen C. Foster State Park boat ramp, we pulled to the side to let a tourist-laden pontoon boat pass by. As they went by, the naturalist on board pointed out an American Bittern camouflaged in the marsh grasses. We had paddled right past it, hidden in plain sight! But we can’t be blamed. Even one prominent ornithology website says, “You'll need sharp eyes to catch sight of an American Bittern. This streaky, brown and buff heron can materialize among the reeds, and disappear as quickly, especially when striking a concealment pose with neck stretched and bill pointed skyward” (i). With his bill pointed upward, he blends in perfectly with the tall brown grasses that line the water’s edge. Again, perfectly hidden in plain sight.
But why don’t we see them? In part, we are blinded by an outside force. The Bible states that, “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4). And we are also blinded by our own internal biases against the Bible that cause us not to see the evidence of God in creation. When speaking of the past creation and future destruction of this world, Peter wrote, “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.” (2 Peter 3:5). Even though my daughter and I paddled right by that Bittern and didn’t recognize his presence, he was still there. He was just hidden in plain sight and merely needed to be pointed out to us. For twenty years, I paddled right through life not noticing Christ. But when someone pointed Him out on December 1, 1993, I realized He was there all along, hidden in plain sight and the overwhelming evidence became more and more obvious. i. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Bittern/overview
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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  Large American Alligator submerged in blackwater tannin swamp bog. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge; Stephen C Foster Georgia State Park. March 13, 2019. Psalm 148:7 Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: With only an occasional, gentle stroke, our canoe glides easily across the surface of Billy’s Lake in the Okefenokee Swamp. The morning air is still, the water smooth, the entire scene quiet and meditative. From a bit further up the lake, echoing across the water, comes a deep rumble. A second time, the rumble breaks the still air, this time followed by another on our left bank. We stiffen in an attentive hush. Hearing the rumble again, I whisper to my daughter, “The bull gators are bellowing.” What a sound! You hear it, not only with your ears, but with your entire body. Never will you forget those intense, guttural moanings. The dragons of the deep were roaring. This is swamp!
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  A view of Minnies Lake in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. March 7, 2017. 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  Minnies Lake in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. Cypress Trees, Spanish Moss, Spatterdock Lily Pads, canoe kayak trails. In 1875, The Atlanta Constitution funded and documented an exploration of the Okefenokee Swamp. Over the next months, newspapers across the nation released many exciting stories from the Okefenokee Swamp, like the following…
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  Great Egret; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. March 7, 2017. Excerpt from the 1926 Okefenokee Swamp journal of 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  Juvenile American Alligator basking, Spatterdock lily pad, duckweed, Okefenokee NWR, Stephen C. Foster State Park, Georgia, USA. As if signaling our departure from the swamp, a group of Ibises flew overhead, heading off into the distance. After returning to Stephen C Foster, loading the canoe and breaking camp, we went for one last walk. There was more activity on the boardwalk this time: a hammering Pileated Woodpecker, a flock of ground foraging Ibises, and a solitary white Great Egret. Several of Sophie’s babies basked in the canal; so small, so cute. Amanda wanted to grab one, but being illegal, had to settle for purchasing a resin cast of a baby gator in the park’s gift shop.
I’m so thankful that Amanda is still interested by these outings. I know I would not still be returning to the Okefenokee twenty years after my first visit if she had no interest. It is always a rewarding refresher to get away from civilization’s fast pace. But it is even more rewarding to spend the time with my daughter. These are experiences we will never forget. 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  Minnies Lake, Cypress Trees, Spanish Moss, Spatterdock Lily Pads, Okefenokee canoe kayak trail, Okefenokee NWR, Stephen C. Foster State Park, Georgia. March 2017. Photo #201703186_DT89456680 © William Wise - Dreamstime.com “This magnificent Swamp, one of the very largest, if not the largest, in the entire United States, is truly a nature lovers paradise. The scenic beauty and grandeur, with its changing vistas of island, dense bays overgrown with moss covered trees, open prairies covered with lily pads of incomparable beauty, lakes – from the miniature pools to the great ponds – infested with alligators, reptiles and fish, giant trees reaching far into the skies, and over all the flitting to and fro of the hundreds of water birds of every species, delights and thrills the heart of anyone who has a spark of the artistic in his nature.” Excerpt from the 1926 book History of the Okefenokee Swamp, by A.S. McQueen & Hamp Mizell  Big gator basking in sun on Cypress stump, Maidencane Swamp Grass, Okefenokee canoe kayak trail, Okefenokee NWR, Stephen C. Foster State Park, Georgia  Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Stephen C Foster State Park, Georgia  Basking River Slider Turtles on log, Billys Lake on Suwanee River, Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Stephen C Foster State Park, Georgia 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  White Water Lily flower, Okefenokee NWR, Stephen C. Foster State Park, Georgia, USA. Photo #201703219_DT89464564 © William Wise - Dreamstime.com When one says, “swamp”, one of the first images related to the flora and vegetation of the habitat is, of course, the towering Cypress trees and flowing curtains of Spanish Moss. On my forth trip to the majestic Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, I spent some time to learn the other floral inhabitants of this beautiful ecosystem.
Second to the Cypress trees, the next most common image of swamp vegetation is that of the “lily pad”. Like shiny green dinner plates floating upon black water, the white Fragrant Water Lily, Nymphaea odorata abounds in the Okefenokee. These verdant saucers are garnished with large, white, sweet-scented flowers. Not only is the White Water Lily a picturesque part of the swamp, but it is an important part of the ecosystem. Wildlife such as Deer, beaver, and muskrat will eat the leaves and rhizomes; while the seeds are consumed by various waterfowl. The underwater parts of the plant also provide food and habitat for invertebrates, which are also sustenance for reptiles, amphibians and avian life. iNaturalist Observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/35934505 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  Baby American Alligator sleeping in the sun; Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. Paddling up the red trail just before 9:30 AM, we came to a pod of juvenile gators. What a serene scene. Many lay sleeping in sun, content with life and protected from their mother nearby. But not far above them, in winged an unobserved danger. A Red-shouldered Hawk silently perched above the baby reptiles’ refuge and cocked an eye to look down upon the spatterdock where the gators relaxed. Had this hawk become accustomed to picking off baby gators and was coming back for more? Life can be tough for young alligators. Hawks, large wading birds, mammals and even other alligators will dine upon baby gators. If they make it past this vulnerable state, wild alligators can reportedly live around fifty years. But a very low percentage of hatchlings make it to adulthood.  Red-shouldered Hawk in a nest. If you enlarge the photo, you can see the tip of its tail feathers poking over the edge of the nest on the right, and its head, eye and beak just above the nest on the left, right next to the limb. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. While we waited to see if the hawk would dive for a baby gator, a second Red-shouldered Hawk flew in. Diverting its gaze from the baby alligators, the second hawk was quickly chased away with piercing screams from the first. My daughter then spotted a nest high up in a Cypress where the hawk returned. I do not know the meaning of the interaction between the two hawks, but I do know the baby alligators were, for the moment, spared from becoming lunch.
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  Panorama of Billy's Lake in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. March 7, 2017. An excerpt from the wonderful nature writings of naturalist and explorer William Bartram, published in 1791:
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  Raccoon in a dead tree cavity in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. March 7, 2017. Excerpt from the 1926 History of the Okefenokee Swamp by AS McQueen and Hamp Mizell:
 Raccoon in tree cavity, Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge 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  White Ibis foraging in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. March 7, 2017. ©www.williamwisephoto.com Excerpt from The Last Remaining Indian in the Okefenokee Swamp, by Tommy Hartley:
In my search for anything Okefenokee, I came across The Last Remaining Indian in the Okefenokee Swamp by Tommy Hartley (LAH Publishing Company, 2003). Hartley writes in the inside cover, “Both of my parents were raised as swampers in the late 1800’s... We were swampers and spoke swamper and now I enjoy speaking and writing swamper.” Hartley passes down entertaining swamp stories that were told to him by his mother. It appears the book may be out of print, but I recommend it for reading, especially if you enjoy southern culture and history.  Little Blue Heron bird, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge  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  Cypress trees and Spanish Moss, Minnies Lake, Okefenokee canoe kayak trail, red trail Suwannee River, Okefenokee NWR, Stephen C. Foster State Park, Georgia Excerpt from Francis Harper's Mammals of the Okefinokee Swamp, published March 1927:
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  Wooden platform rest dock with outhouse on Minnies Lake, Okefenokee canoe kayak trail, red trail Suwannee River, Okefenokee NWR, Georgia. After a few hours of paddling, the thought usually comes to mind, “What about using the bathroom.” If you’re not prepared, this can be a leg-crossing conundrum!
Thankfully, along some of the canoe trails, distinct, man-made features oddly stand out amongst the swamp scenery: large wooden platforms topped with a roof, picnic table and outhouse! Even more strange, but welcomed, is fresh toilet paper and hand sanitizer! Besides being a great place to stop for lunch, it is a welcome relief to the full bladder. But what about when nature calls away from a rest dock? Getting out of the canoe is not always an option, and can in fact be dangerous. Although the water may look shallow, there can be a layer of peat and mud several feet thick that could suck down the unknowing paddler like quicksand. And standing up or squatting over the edge of a canoe or kayak can be quite a tricky balancing act resulting in a soaking experience! For those who plan to remain in the wilderness areas for an extended period of time, or may have a weaker constitution, a portable camp toilet, bottle, or 5-gallon bucket is a helpful item to add to the packing list. A little bit of cat litter in the bucket can help keep things tidy. Remember to empty any waste and trash when returning to civilization, rather than contaminating the Okefenokee’s waterways or campsites. 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  Minnie's Lake in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. Cypress Trees, Spanish Moss, Spatterdock Lily Pads, canoe kayak trail. March 2017 Excerpt from Travels by William Bartram, published in 1791:
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. |
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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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