Everglade grasses, mangrove swamps, and beaches – the other great natural environment in Southwest Florida is the Cedar Swamps – there are shades of youthful imaginings. It is all personified by Georgia’s great Okefenokee Swamp. We visited two of these sites: the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, Florida and the Six Mile Cypress Slough Sanctuary in Fort Myers. A slough is a place of deep muck and mire, i.e. a swamp. And for nature lovers they are deeply contemplative and moving places. And also I should point out that as a Northeastern photographer it is a learning experience. If you spot something worth photographing along the waters edge, you learn that your first though should not be to approach it without abandon. As far as I can tell alligators are giant muscles with a lot of teeth.

Cyprus swamps live up to expectation. Giant trees with submerged roots. And speaking of roots there are the abstract and mysterious Cyprus knees that reach up from the water. I’d like to say that wildlife abounds. But the abundance here is less than hoped for and a siren call of ecological ruin.