Florida’s big “O” – Lake Okeechobee

Lake Okeechobee means “big water” in the Seminole Indian language. It has a surface area of 730 square miles with an average depth of 9 feet. Dave refers to it as a larger version of Red Lake in Mn., just as a reference for us northerners. If you are a fisher person, there are multiple options for freshwater fishing from largemouth bass, speckled perch and of course, alligators. Yep – some 30,000 alligators make their home in this amazing ecosystem. Dave has been tossing a line in at night and so far has not had a single bite, or a peek at an alligator. However, the birding and fauna surrounding this area are definitely something to behold.

Bird watching at Lake Okeechobee

No matter where we travel in this area, we see birds. They are outside Homer in the park, they are along the roads, they are perched all around the lake and the odd one likes to land in the pine tree and stare down at the pups when they are outside. (We keep a careful watch on the vultures and that osprey!)

Knowing it’s fall and most the birds from up north are headed this way for the winter, it’s interesting to see not only the ones in this area, but all our northern friends that are arriving daily. There is a large flock of black birds that swing over us every morning and I’ve started seeing more and more finches in the trees. It makes it feel like it’s spring down here rather than winter with the blooming plants and all the birds.

Blooming Plants and Flowers abound

Wherever I walk in our area, I see some kind of new and colorful plant or tree. The most fascinating to me are the large Norfolk island pine trees. If you are a northerner, you have seen them at Christmas in our stores. The little pines, with the soft needles, usually in a small bucket that we try and keep alive through the spring. Here, they just plant them in the ground at the end of the holiday season and they grow, huge!

Enough about the pines, I am visually astounded that orchids are grown in the middle of trees here. People plant them right against the bark and they just keep growing up the trunk and blooming in multiple colors. Then there are all the beautiful flowering bushes I see everywhere just on my walk around the park.

Wildlife in the area and not so much wildlife

When you go out walking, don’t be surprised to see the little lizards that are running around everywhere. They are so quick that no matter how many times I have tried to get a photo, they turn out as a blur. This one however, (above), decided to just hang out on the side of a pot in the Walmart garden center and gave me the opportunity to capture it on my phone. Let’s just hope he didn’t end up going home with some unsuspecting shopper!

Fun fact: Okeechobee is number one in the state of Florida for cattle/calfs and that type of ranch. I think what gives me pause is whenever I see them, I think of Wisconsin pastures, which I love, and then get a glimpse of the palm trees in the background and realize I’m in a whole new area. I also have to laugh whenever I see the cows in the pastures and all the white, cattle egrets that are with them. The egrets follow them around because the cows kick up bugs and grasshoppers when they walk, and this lets the egrets eat away.

We’ve spent the last couple of weeks in Lake Okeechobee, or rather, Lakeport, Florida and are set to leave on Monday for St. Augustine to finish out our fall season. While this is small town living and the tourism is focused on fishing the big “O”, there’s a definite peacefulness here that we haven’t experienced in our other travels in this state. The traffic is minimal, you can actually hear the cows all moo’ing around us, the birds are singing in the trees, and the flowers are constantly changing shapes and colors all around us. After experiencing our first hurricane, and it was a huge one, it’s been a good break to just regroup and relax for a few weeks.

As a side note, Dave’s shoulder is doing really well. He’s been swimming every day again and has no pain with it. He can raise his arm higher and higher. He has his yearly checkup next month, so we’ll see what they say regarding his next steps. As of right now, he’s thinking no surgery and just keeping the remaining tendons strong to provide him his strength.

Max and Rocky have switched to a new dog food and who knew that would make such a difference! They are like pups again and Rocky doesn’t get his “funky” smell any longer. They are digging the Florida vibe and Dave and Max continue to walk their 3 miles each day.

I just made some new curtains for Homer, thanks to Miss Pat allowing me to use the sewing room in the park and am thrilled with how they turned out. It’s our new “winter” look, because as you know, I can’t leave anything the same for too long. Even if it’s a “Homer”.

See ya on the road,

Dave and Theresa