Wednesday April 3rd 2024

The day began cloudy and very humid. It got worse from there. The temperature climbed into the low eighties as the cloud cover increased. The cold front arrived in the 4PM hour with lots of heavy rain and a little bit of thunder and lightening. Some locations in the area got over an inch of rain before the precipitation ended around 8PM. With the passing of the front the temperature dropped into the sixties.

Today’s weather kept the alligators in the water. A few gators poked their heads above water to watch the world go by. The birds were back in the shelter of the woods during the heavy wind leading up to the storm. After the worst of the front passed the birds returned to the water in the light rain.

The weather cut down on my exercise today. I got in one short walk early, but the rain was still coming down when as sunset approached. To check on the alligators and birds, I drove to the bridge over the river on the park road. I got a little wet taking pictures of the birds. The alligators were still playing shy.

Tuesday April 2nd 2024

The humidity is climbing ahead of another cold front tomorrow. It wasn’t the most comfortable day as I wandered in the park. The temperature was only in the mid eighties, but the humidity made it feel warmer. It is a matter of getting acclimated to Florida humidity as the seasons progress into the warmer zone.

The level of the water in the river has gone down significantly in the week and a half I’ve been at Myakka River State Park. On the river gauge near the front of the park the water is about eight tenths of a foot lower than it was when I first arrived. That is about ten inches of vertical water height. It becomes much more significant where the river is spread out across shallow ground. Many areas of the river bank are now dry and major sections of back channels and diversions are now dry or isolated from the main river flow. One thing this does is give the alligators more places to get out of the water. They don’t seem to be as concentrated at the bridge as they were earlier in my stay.

I had to stop in the park office to get the new gate code this morning. Last night when I returned to the park after the gate was closed, I couldn’t get in. The code was changed on April 1st and the new code they gave me at check in wasn’t correct. Since I was blocking the entry trying to get in last night, the car behind me took mercy and provided me with the code. Before I got in a truck arrived with the duty ranger, so I guess I wasn’t in danger of being locked out. It was a head scratcher for a couple of minutes.

The wildlife on my last walk of the day was disappointing. I walked the three quarters of a mile to the park road bridge over the river. Usually there are still a few gators on the river bank and some birds around. Tonight, just before sunset, there was only one gator almost out of the water. The number of heads in the river was also down. The birds were sparse as well. I still want to see a few deer like I have on past visits.

Monday April 1st 2024

It was another beautiful day. A little more humidity added to the bright sunny day brought the high temperature into the mid eighties.

A level of tranquility returned to Myakka State Park today. All of the people that came to the park for picnics and sightseeing over the weekend have departed. There was plenty of room to park in the parking lots and the park road was easier to navigate. The birds seemed to be a little more comfortable on the near river bank rather than staying away from the side people frequent. The alligators were a little on the shy side today. Not a lot were out on the river banks.

Later in the day I drove along some of the gulf coast communities. There are still plenty of people enjoying the Florida sun. Traffic was stop and go. In the restaurant areas people lined the sides of the narrow roads. Driving was a chore to watch for people crossing the road without regard for traffic.

My last stop along the gulf coast was at Siesta Key Beach to watch the sunset. There were plenty of beach goers remaining on the beach and others arrived for the sunset. Six mounted police officers were also on the beach. It wasn’t clear if they were there for security, an exercise or just to entertain people.

Sunday March 31st 2024

Each day since the cold front passed through the area the number of clouds in the sky has increased. Today there were longer periods of time that the sun was blocked by clouds, but the temperature still made it into the low eighties.

Myakka River State Park was very poplar with local families this weekend. Yesterday there were a lot of people using the picnic tables and pavilions. Today there were even more. In addition to the picnic tables people were spreading blankets in the open areas and putting up beach umbrellas. The parking lots were full and the roads were backed up with traffic. In addition to the cars there were lots of multiple bicycle groups and walking groups.

Of course everybody had to stop at the park road bridge over the Myakka River to see the alligators. The parking areas and road on both sides of the bridge were filled with cars. Crossing the bridge was more or less a one lane affair. So many people were lining both sides of the bridge to look at the gators and birds. Of course many of the people are oblivious to the automobiles crossing the bridge at about 2mph to avoid hitting anyone.

The amazing thing is how quickly everything emptied out. I walked the three quarters of a mile from the campground to the bridge about 7PM and there was nobody there when I arrived. A few people came and went while I was watching the birds and gators. Earlier in the day there were hundreds.

I got my walks in today and managed to roast a pork loin and some potatoes with onions for dinner. It was a good meal with plenty of leftovers for future meals. The only down side was the cleanup that followed.

Saturday March 30th 2024

Add a few clouds and a little less wind to yesterday’s weather and you get today’s weather. It was a beautiful weather day with a high temperature in the low eighties.

I really got a slow start to the day. It was afternoon before I left my RV home. I expected to find a very busy state park and that is more or less what I found. The nature of the activity in the park was what surprised me. There weren’t as many cars going up and down the main road or flooding the parking lots at the turnouts, but there were plenty of people gathered in the picnic areas and pavilions. The big pavilion near the front of the park was even setup for something fancy. The picnic tables were all moved aside and rented round tables complete with white table cloths and chairs setup in there place. There weren’t a lot of people around, so I don’t have any idea what was going to happen. More significantly it was already 3PM when I saw the setup. Who knows when the event was happening. Maybe it’s tomorrow.

The alligators were more active today. There were a few taking the sun on the river bank, but there were also more gators than usual swimming at a good pace in the river. Seeing an alligator head in the water watching the shoreline is common, but watching an alligator reposition up or down river at a good pace is a more unusual sight. Today I watched a big gator come down river right to where I was standing safely on the bank. It stopped and watched a space on the bank just a little down river from my location. What it expected to find is a mystery. I’m confident it wasn’t me.

Today was a day for great blue heron sightings. I saw at least six today. Usually I don’t see more than one or two. All of the great blue heron are in their matting plumage. A few extra feathers and colors make them an even more interesting bird to take pictures of.

Friday March 29th 2024

After the cold front cleared the area late yesterday, the humidity has dropped way down. It was a bright sunny day without a cloud in the sky all day. The temperature was a little cooler than the norm for this time of year. It peaked right around the eighty degree mark. The wind was still a factor, but nowhere near the strenght of Thursday’s wind.

The state park was very busy today. The holiday weekend is getting off to a fast start. All of the parking turnouts at the attractions and trailheads were full to overflowing. People were parking on the paved surface of the park road. It was very narrow in areas as I drove deeper into the park this morning. When I left the park this afternoon the line at the guard station to enter was ten cars or more long. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad by late in the afternoon. I suspect tomorrow will be even worse.

There weren’t as many alligators on the river bank today. A lot of gators were half in and half out of the water, while others were swimming with only their noses out of the water. The birds seem to be little more numerous today. I even saw a couple of deer today.

Thursday March 28th 2024

I expected to wake up to rain this morning, but it was just a cloudy start to the day. All signs were the storm front had passed through overnight. I was getting ready for my first walk of the day at 10AM when the sky opened up. For the next hour several waves of heavy rain passed through the area. The front didn’t go through earlier than forecast. It went through a little later than expected. By noon the sun was shinning bright, the humidity was down and the wind was up.

Walking in the woods along the river bank was a little dangerous, but the birds and gator sightings were worth it. The heavy wind and gusts was causing things to fall out of the trees. Later in the day I noticed a few downed tree limbs in another area. This evening the wind has subsided and the overnight temperature is forecast to be below normal in the fifties.

This afternoon I managed to get my time with the washing machine and dryer. The dryer was in use when I loaded the washer and the washer was in use when I removed my stuff from the dryer, so the machines are getting rather constant use. This set of machines were cheep at $1.50 a cycle, but that didn’t allow any flexibility. My clothes were not completely dry after the dryer cycle. Since I didn’t want to spend another forty minutes and $1.50, some of my clothes are now scattered around my RV home to finish drying.

The weekend seems to have started today based on the turnover in the park and the party nature of some of the new arrivals. People may have Good Friday off. Comments on the TV news indicate that some of the schools are off tomorrow.

Wednesday March 27th 2024

Another weather transition began today. It was much more humid. The day began with more cloud cover than the pervious couple of days and it just got thicker as the day progressed. The temperature peaked in the low eighties again, but because of the humidity it was a less comfortable day than the previous low eighties days. Rain has begun as I am writing this blog entry in the evening.

I intended to get some laundry done today, but alligator and bird viewing got in the way. There is one set of machines at each of the two bathhouses in the campground. Catching them available is the challenge. I had the laundry bag full and ready to go. Each time I checked the machines they were in use. I decided to take a short walk to the river while I waited for a machine to become available. The short walk turned into a long walk. By the time I got back someone else was using the machines. The pattern repeated with lunch taking the place of a walk to the river. It will get done eventually. I just have to keep checking.

On today’s walk I spotted a log with three small alligators. Each alligator was about two feet long. The log was in the same area that I saw a group of young alligators last year. That group was about a foot long. Alligators are supposed to grow about a foot a year, so I’d like to think these are the same alligators I saw last year.

Today was also the day of the Limpkin. It seemed everywhere I walked there was a limpkin or two on the river bank. I think only one has been in my area of observation on this trip until today. They aren’t a particularly pretty bird, but they are very vocal and interesting to watch.

Tuesday March 26th 2024

Today’s wind was out of the south instead of the east, but otherwise it was a clone of Monday. It was a windy day with fluffy clouds and a high temperature in the low eighties.

In a previous blog entry I commented on not seeing any turkeys or turtles on this visit to Myakka Rive State Park. That deficiency was rectified today. I drove along the park road to the northern side of the park this afternoon. My destination was the boardwalk into Lake Myakka for bird watching. The boardwalk wasn’t open on my last two visits. It was damaged in September of 2022 by hurricane Ian. The first section of boardwalk was destroyed by tree damage near the shore. The temporary solution was to provide a path along the ground to temporary stairs onto the remaining boardwalk. Unfortunately, that path was flooded last fall. Today it was home to a turkey and a turtle.

The turkey was out of place hiding behind trees and bushes to stay away from the people using the boardwalk path. The turtle on the other and was oblivious to people walking by within a couple of feet. The Florida Softshell turtle was digging a nest for her eggs. A state park volunteer was guarding the reptile while she did her thing. I don’t usually see softshell turtles out of the water. Most of the turtles I see are Cooters taking the sun on logs along rivers and lakes. Today was my day to see softshell turtles. Driving back to my RV home along the park road I saw another one along the side of the road. Later I saw one stick its head out of the river before diving deep.

This was also a day that a few more bird species made appearances. Wood storks and Rosetta Spoonbills were among the new arrivals. They seem to have no problem hanging out with the alligators enjoying the sun.

Monday March 25th 2024

The wind was howling out of the east today. It was a real hold on to your hat kind of day. There were lots of big clouds in the sky, but the sun managed to shine around them most of the day. The temperature still managed to climb into the low eighties.

Probably because of the wind, the birds were in different locations today. Some of the long necked birds were really leaning into it. The new locations made it easier to take pictures of some of them. The great blue herons were particularly visible today.

My chief accomplishment of the day was restocking the refrigerator. I made a run to Walmart this afternoon. Since I didn’t want to be away from the alligators and birds for long, I chose to go to the nearest Walmart. It is not a purpose built Walmart. The building was something else before it became a Walmart. Consequently, they don’t have the same amount of space and things are organized much differently. The building has far more roof support columns than more modern buildings. It seems like every aisle has a post or two in the middle of the usable space.

Despite the unusual layout I got everything I wanted. The fact that I’ve been there before has a lot to do with my success. The other Walmart stores in the area are fifteen to twenty miles further away. There are a couple of Publix grocery stores nearer, but my purchasing is oriented to Walmart. The prices of the same or similar items at Publix always seems to be more expensive. If I was structuring my purchases around Publix stock, Walmart might seem to be the more expensive option. Next weeks grocery run will probably be to one of the newer Walmarts.

My second and final walk of the day to check on the alligators and birds was just before sunset. Everything was still as expected. Other years, this late hike was often an opportunity to spot other animals. I’ve seen deer, turkeys and wild hogs during my late walk other years. So far this year I haven’t seen anything but birds and gators. I have about ten days to go.