[B52gundog]

Thanks for the info, poco. Yeah, no matter how I filtered the water it always kept its brown color. One batch of water, I filtered with just crushed charcoal and a bandana and the water had a charcoal aftertaste. So far, the best results I've had was filtering using grass, dirt, charcoal, dirt, and a bandana. I did use a coffee filter on one batch as a final filtering. It was nice as it removed the sediment in the water. So the water was nice and clear except for the brown color. When I didn't use a coffee filter, the sediment usually settles to the bottom. So, as long as I didn't drink every last drop it wasn't really a problem.

I was surprised the water doesn't taste bad. It does smell bad at the swamp area and before filtering, but after filtering and boiling I don't notice any smell. There is a mild taste that's hard to describe. I'd say it tastes kinda like tea like you mentioned earlier. Maybe the psychological effect confuses my senses. When I see and get the mucky swamp water and smell it before treating it, it's hard to think of it as a nice cup of tea when drinking it.

When my buddy came to the camp the next day he'd used a pee bottle that night (when ya have to pee at night, but don't wanna have to put your boots on and go outside to wiz). The next day, we took a picture of his bottle of pee next to the bottle of swamp water. The bottle pee looked better esthetically than the bottle of swamp water. He was smart enough to label the heck outta the pee bottle to make sure there was no confusion, ha ha.

Yeah, I've read that parts of palm trees and palm plants are edible. I keep forgetting to give it a try. Thanks for the reminder.

Yup, you're right! There are some greenbrier/catbriers-like plants there. I've scraped up my legs pretty good walking through these damn thorny vines. They also grip to your clothes as ya walk by 'em. Very annoying.

Yeah, I do need to learn more about edible plants. I've purposely put it off wanting to learn more about the things I know I could eat without fear of misidentifying anything.

I wanna also be more observant at the swamp (ie. looking for crawfish). I guess when I walked up to the swamp and saw the alligator's head hovering above the water then suddenly submerging I didn't wanna get too close trying to see what else was in the water. Next time I'll be a little more daring and see what else the swamp has to offer. I did see a couple areas where it was all muddy (like mud bogs) where it looked like hogs had been wallowing. I haven't actually seen any hogs in this area, though.

I'll make it a point to learn more about these things on my next trip out. I'm gonna be up in Maryland in a couple weeks spending some time out on the AT. It'll be interesting to see how the environment differs (and the temperature too, ha ha).

For the camera fish-eye problem, I've learned not to get too close when taking a picture of something. Instead, I'll backup a bit then use the zoom (only optical zoom). I try not to use zoom if possible so the picture quality doesn't diminish (especially using digital zoom). I like using the pics as desktop wallpapers on my computer.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

B52, I forgot to tell you an easy way to estimate the size of a 'Gator when all you see is the head. If you can guesstimate the distance between the bump on the end of the snout(where the nostrils are) to it's eyes, convert the inches to feet and you will be pretty darn close to the actual length of the gator.
As for those Greenbriers they are probably plentiful in those type areas.

Yup, you're right! There are some greenbrier/catbriers-like plants there. I've scraped up my legs pretty good walking through these damn thorny vines. They also grip to your clothes as ya walk by 'em. Very annoying.

This is the very reason they are locally known as "wait a minute vines"!! You get tangled up in them and that's what you would tell your buddy..." Wait a minute I'm caught up in those damn vines again"
An easy way to get the crawfish/crawdads, is to take a replacement bait type dip net and fix it to a forked branch. Drag it along the bottom and flip the contents out on the bank. Scoop up as many as you can before they get away. Next trip you will be having fresh crawfish ettoufe for dinner!!

[Foxfire]

Florida Striped Scorpion - Florida eco travel guide

Scorpion - Florida Poison Information Center-Miami - Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami

[Omega]

Those palmetto hearts you mentioned are better when boiled up with some salt, garlic and other seasonings. We call it swamp cabbage 'round here!

[B52gundog]

UPDATE! Just got off the phone with the Myakka River State Park Biology Office (Sarasota, FL). The Ranger lady said there's only 2 types of scorpions found in the park. The Florida Bark Scorpion and the Hentz Striped Scorpion.

She said the Bark Scorpions tend to be bigger and darker in color than the Hentz Striped Scorpions. So, I think the scorpions I've encountered were all Hentz Striped Scorpions since they've only been an inch or so in length (2 -3 cm) and not so dark in color.

There are only 3 types of scorpions found in Florida (the other is a Guiana Striped Scorpion) and none of them are fatal. The Hentz Striped Scorpion being the most common of the 3.

More on Florida Scorpions

The sting is comparable to a wasp or bee sting. No medical attention is necessary unless the person has an allergic reaction.

[B52gundog]

Originally Posted by pocomoonskyeyes

B52, I forgot to tell you an easy way to estimate the size of a 'Gator when all you see is the head. If you can guesstimate the distance between the bump on the end of the snout(where the nostrils are) to it's eyes, convert the inches to feet and you will be pretty darn close to the actual length of the gator.
As for those Greenbriers they are probably plentiful in those type areas.
This is the very reason they are locally known as "wait a minute vines"!! You get tangled up in them and that's what you would tell your buddy..." Wait a minute I'm caught up in those damn vines again"
An easy way to get the crawfish/crawdads, is to take a replacement bait type dip net and fix it to a forked branch. Drag it along the bottom and flip the contents out on the bank. Scoop up as many as you can before they get away. Next trip you will be having fresh crawfish ettoufe for dinner!!

Cool, thanks for the gator length tip. I'm gonna guess the gator I saw wasn't that big, maybe 4 - 6 feet long. Hard to say, cause it was in the middle of the swamp a good distance and he dipped his head as we arrived. I'm thinkin' it feeds mostly on birds. I don't know if it's the only gator in the area.

The first time I went to this swamp I filled my water bottles at the water's edge. Seemed like it took forever filling 'em. I was just waiting for the thing to leap up and grab my arm (I had my knife ready in my other hand). My imagination was probably running a bit wild. Guess I'm being too cautious as I'm not used to hangin' around swamps. Maybe I'm watching too much of the National Geographics Channel, ha ha.

This is one reason why I was interested in finding a collapsible bucket (can't find 'em locally). The dry bag I used worked pretty well, though. I didn't feel nearly as vulnerable getting water this past trip as I did before.

That'd be cool if there's some crawfish there. If so, I'll definitely be tryin' 'em out.

On one hiking trip, I've walked past a few alligators (maybe 30 ft away) at Myakka River State Park. They were in a canal wallowing in drying mud holes. So, they're out there.


I coulda walked right down and petted him, ha ha.




Kinda hard to see but there's a baby alligator in the middle of the pic


Here's a skeleton of a small gator seen along one of the hiking trails in Myakka.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

Another little 'Gator tidbit for ya'.They grow about a foot a year for the first 5-6 years. After that it all depends on a number of factors, health, food, climate, etc. but their growth rate slows down drastically after 6 years of age. So after 6 foot it is kinda' hard for laymen to guess the age of 'Gators. They also eat a lot less than you would expect. Like a lot of cold blooded animals their digestion is better than ours, getting more from their food than we do. Those hatchlings eat a lot of really small things like insects, tadpoles, frogs, stuff like that. When I worked in the swamp, we hedged our bet so to speak and fed them about every 2 weeks. While this is contradictory to what I suggest, that people DO NOT feed wildlife, we did this to insure that they weren't hungry and likely to attack someones poodle or something. DO NOT FEED Wildlife!! This gets them to associate people with food,until eventually they think that people ARE food. If you feel that animals must be fed do it in a way that people/food connection is NOT made. Like bird feeders, the animals "Find" the food, not people feeding them, there is a difference.
From the size of the "gators in the pictures, I don't think you will have to worry about being attacked, They would have to be pretty hungry to "try" a human,unless it were a small child. They usually don't hunt anything bigger than they can eat. I have been swimming where there were bigger 'Gators, than the ones in your pics, which appear to be no bigger than 6 feet. A 6 footer would probably be happy with a small/medium raccoon a week. You would be enough to feed it all summer long which is a lot going to waste for them,and not really worth the risk. That doesn't mean they won't hurt you if THEY feel threatened. The thing to really be cautious of is nesting females. They are VERY protective of their nests and will attack Other larger 'Gators and Bears even. A 'Gators nest looks as if someone has raked up a large mound of leaves(Which is exactly what the Mama 'Gator does, The rotting vegetation incubates the eggs). A nest will be about 2'-3' high and probably about 3'-6' in circumference. All depends on the size of "Mama".
The thing to keep in mind, that like juvenile humans, Juvenile 'Gators don't yet fully know their capabilities, Sometimes they will "Try" something bigger than they can handle. It's a learning process.

Now about the "Dip net" for crawfish. When you attach the net to the forked stick. Keep it taut across the gap between the forks. That way less crawfish can escape. Keep it against the bottom and drag it across the bottom. You will get a lot of "trash",that's OK just go through it and find some of the crawfish that is sure to be in it. If you have a good area it will only take a few "dips" to get enough for a meal.

[kevin]

cool "real life" gator pics b52!! I like to see stuff like that; we don't have any here.

[LaRemnant]

Usually, I heard that crocs will kill their prey, and sometimes take it to the bottom of the water to let it rot. They like it fermented I guess.

This is a really good thread. I am learning a lot! Especially the post by Foxfire, with the different species of snakes and scorpions in Florida. Thanks Fox!

As for the crawdads, what do you do, boil them and then pick off the exoskeleton like shrimp? I wonder if they have that poop strip? Has anyone eaten one? Maybe I should invest in a small net of some sort. Not one big enough for a load of fish as they are heavy (or at least the good ones I've heard?) but a small 4x4 net?

[pocomoonskyeyes]

Originally Posted by LaRemnant

Usually, I heard that crocs will kill their prey, and sometimes take it to the bottom of the water to let it rot. They like it fermented I guess.
Yes Alligators will do this too. However this is not what is "Normal" for them. Crocs live in "warmer" areas than 'Gators as a general rule, so have a slightly higher metabolism and eat a little more.
This is a really good thread. I am learning a lot! Especially the post by Foxfire, with the different species of snakes and scorpions in Florida. Thanks Fox!

As for the crawdads, what do you do, boil them and then pick off the exoskeleton like shrimp? I wonder if they have that poop strip? Has anyone eaten one? Maybe I should invest in a small net of some sort. Not one big enough for a load of fish as they are heavy (or at least the good ones I've heard?) but a small 4x4 net?

What I was referring to was what is termed a dip net. It is a larger version than what is found for use with an aquarium. About the same size as a landing net you would use for fishing but with a tighter "bait" weave. This could fit in a pocket. It is used to replace a torn net on your old dip net,and can be attached to a forked stick/pole using zip ties or string.
Boiling is the usual method I have used,although I have "flame broiled" some on a stick when "in a hurry". In B52's neck of the woods I would use some Common Wax Myrtle Myrica cerifera leaves to season them with, they are a good substitute for bay leaves. If you are really tough you can eat the carapace (same as shrimp), but I just ain't that tough.