Near my home, there is a body of water called Blue Cypress Lake. I suppose I have fallen in love with this lake. While, like most Florida lakes, the water is not very blue, it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.Blue Cypress Lake is home to hundreds of alligators. In late spring and early summer, you are never out of earshot of the grunts of at least one gator. At certain times of the year, the lake has a very large population of ospreys. It seems there is a nest in almost every cypress tree along the shore and there are thousand of these trees.
Last Saturday morning, I went kayaking at Blue Cypress with a small group of hardy souls who could handle the heat and mosquitoes. The group was led (and a fantastic breakfast
prepared by) my friend Steve Cox of Adventure Kayaking in Vero Beach. Despite the environmental drawbacks, it was a wonderful experience.There is a quality of light in the early morning on the western shore of the lake that I don't think I've seen anywhere else.
Shooting from a kayak is hard work. When I go out with a group like this, I am usually far behind and paddling hard to catch up. As I get close to the others, there seems to always be an irresistible shot that causes me to fall behind again. Still, the whole experience is magical and worth a great deal of effort.
If you have visited a wonderful and unique place, I would love to hear about it.
Oh, yes! Here's Steve:
