February 11, 2014

Call of the Wild - Northeast Florida Edition

I live on reclaimed swampland in Northeast Florida.  They dress up the name of the property around my house by calling it a "Plantation" or a "Preserve," but let's be honest, it's swamp.  Which for a Yankee that is accustomed to concrete and asphalt environs, creates some new opportunities to get up close to nature.


While there aren't any gators (that I'm aware of), there's plenty of other critters wandering around, especially at night.  We've got deer, turkeys, raccoon, bobcats, opossum, and I hear rumors of hogs...even though I've never seen one...not to mention all sorts of other birds, reptiles, amphibians, and probably worst of all, ungodly creepy insects.  Heck, when we first moved down here, my wife found a scorpion in Lilly's bedroom.  I guess that's what happens when developers & suburbanites encroach, the animals go on the move.

However if there is one thing that has become quite clear since moving to Florida (besides the fact that thou shalt not take Tim Tebow's name in vain), it is that armadillos are unfortunately not very skilled at successfully crossing the road.

So why did I tell that rambling backstory?  For no reason other than to set up this video that has nothing to do with fishing, but made me laugh and has everything to do with those highway impaired turtle-rabbits.  Enjoy...but not with young children...


6 comments:

  1. We call them "nature's speed bumps." :) I'm glad to hear you're getting used to your new surroundings. Take the good with the bad...it's 32 and snowing here right now but you could probably be bass fishing today in Jax. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What's with the snow in the South this year...I hear both Charlotte and Atlanta are getting it...who knew? Have been fortunate, lows maybe in the high 40s here this week, which is chilly but tolerable. I need to do more fishing.

      Delete
  2. That was good. thanks for the laugh.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If you ever have any wildlife concerns (like scorpions in the house) feel free to consult your fellow fly fisher blogger who happens to also be a native of the southeast and a wildlife biologist. Armadilloes are interesting critters. If nothing else, they are survivors, which goes to show that brains ain't everything.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the offer Jay. Will probably need to take you up on that. The scorpion was a one time occurrence, but man if there aren't a bunch of critters running around down here.

      Delete