Hello March!!! What are the odds I would make it out on the very day that Ozzy decided to emerge from Brumation??!!?? Thank you Heather Winterbottom for your picture tipping me off to this subadult out and about basking, reveling in the 70 plus degree day lending its life- giving, metabolism kicking heat. Alligators are Ectothermic, meaning they depend on their outside environment to wake up and get their circulation going.
And Many Thanks for not posting the location to protect my Gator. I actually had to stop an elderly gentleman from feeding him that day as he walked to the edge of the retention pond that Ozzy inhabits with his cup of some as yet unidentified fried tidbits. "Watch this!" he said. I quickly intercepted him, hand up as he stopped with a bewildered look on his face, my mantra of 'A Fed Gator is a Dead Gator' rolling off my tongue. I explained that when Alligators are fed they lose their natural fear of humans and begin to approach people, expecting a handout. Alligators are opportunistic feeders and who doesn't like a free meal? Unfortunately, this is how they often get into trouble, coming out of the safety of the water, sometimes even being attracted to dogs that accompany the well intentioned. If it moves, it's food. When Alligators become a Nuisance they must be removed from their familiar environments into the wilds of the Green Swamp or Holly Shelter wetlands. When they are relocated, they face new dangers in an unfamiliar terrain, full of much larger Gators which are cannibalistic. Life for an Alligator is not easy anywhere and I read somewhere once only half of relocated Gators survive the move. Most meet their demise trying to return home on our ever increasingly busy roadways. I thanked my new friend for trying to help me get an action shot and a smile creased the corners of his eyes as he refrained from feeding our friend. Ozzy fared the winter well, sleek and shiny after a few cleansing dips into his green pool. Here's to many more sightings of my Scaley Scuted Friends in this most welcome transitional month of March with its ever increasing temps, the winds and my favorite part - Daylight Savings Time! Remember, never pass up a chance to educate... Knowledge is good... Pass it on... it saves lives... Closing out 2023 with recent memories of a particular Southport sunrise shared with a dear - out of state - friend as we walked and chatted, catching up with each other's lives.
Sharing in the splendor of the promise of a new day and the coming of a new year, on this reunion, already planning our next. That's what life is all about, living in the moment and looking forward not dwelling on the past and its mishaps, focusing on friendship and connections, not separations. Get out today and revel in the Hope that it brings, grateful for the opportunities offered. Look up into the Skies with arms outstretched wide and a heart just as open. Be thankful and experience every second; create treasured memories - not regrets. For this is a New Day that will not reveal its chance again. Take it! Enjoy it and then move on. Here is to 2024 and all it has to offer to your life. Happy New Year Ya'll! It will be what you make it ... Nothing more... Nothing less... Oh how I wish I knew this history of this massive old burned out Cypress. She was easily the largest I've ever seen in my area. This past summer, she gave up the ghost of reaching Heavenwards and assumed the position of a Bow to finish out her days creek side. Oh to only know what she has seen and shaded in her prime. The lightning scarred trunk is burned from the inside out and finally toppled over. I don't know the circumference but I can tell you I can step inside this trunk with no issues. My intent was to do this yesterday to illustrate her girth but the High Tide's pull on the waters made it impossible to do so without getting soaked. Way too cold for me just after first light to attempt!! I will revisit this Gravesite @ Low Tide to revel in the wonder of this final resting place. Even in this, the demise of what once was a monumental landmark, she commands respect and deference. I can feel her Spirit still and the Spirits of those who once gathered underneath sheltering arms that soared skyward but now grace the earth. This Dead fall will continue to nourish the denizens of the Swamp as she breaks down by the natural ravages of fungi, bacteria, the dank dampness of the night, heat and humidity by day and the birds foraging on insects that make their homes in the rot. Nature's plan is a mighty well - constructed one that we as man can never approach in its complexities. Get out and appreciate it, every day, before we destroy it all. I am so thankful I am as close as I am to the place that calls to my soul - the Swamp... Please bear with me as I get this out of my system. I learned some disturbing news yesterday that wetlands here in North Carolina are no longer considered protected areas by the Corps of Engineers. That means my Swamps can be drained and slated for development. As I approached the Spirit Tree again its base has been cut into for removal. I'm assuming this is for the safety of workers placing the cable that is being installed just up the road. This just sickens me to no end. I' m honoring the life of this Magnificent Tree with a few more photos for soon it will be only be a memory Note the spray of Wildflowers @ her grave lovingly placed by none other than Mother Nature's hand. Why I don't usually take selfies.. These are taken from the burned out lightening cored trunk of my Spirit Tree. And yes, I am standing fully erect Looking Skyward from the inside of the Heart of my Spirit Tree, the sunlight reaching in, like a Torch into the charred remains.
I'm starting with a few shots of the deceptive beauty that is Greenfield Lake. As a Wilmington Watershed, it hides a dirty little secret. These black waters are an aquatic cesspool, full of a toxic stew of elevated levels of Coliform Bacteria, industrial by-products like the ubiquitous PFAS/PFOAS (the most notorious being GENX) and even mercury washed out of our Carolina blue Skies from rains. Let’s not forget the Pesticides and Herbicides applied to those well-groomed lawns and golf courses that dot our region. Friday I accompanied lead NCSU researcher Dr. Scott Belcher and his team from SAFEwater-NC on an expedition to test alligators for the presence of these immune-altering chemicals in our targeted sentinel species. Alligators are at the top of the food chain in this environment ingesting the fish, birds and turtles that eat the smaller fish and frogs that consume, on down that food chain to the minnows and insect larvae and to even algae and Protozoans (one-celled organisms). I will use the more familiar term GENX to include the entire gamut of the thousands of these waste products that have been discharged into the mighty Cape Fear River (the source of our drinking water) from the DuPont/Chemours Plant upriver in Fayetteville, NC. Don't think that these chemicals are only affecting alligators. They are present in the bloodstreams of people living in our region. They are in crops irrigated by GENX laden waters from wells and our municipal water systems. They are in the fish caught from our river. These poisons are in everything we consume from this region. It is terrifying because our government is now allowing the Chemours Co. in the Netherlands to export their toxic wastes to plants in the US, including the one in Fayetteville, NC to "recycle" these wastes. That means not only is Chemours continuing to dump its own wastes into our precious water from its local operations, now it is importing wastes from overseas manufacturers. Yup. The root of this is money. Chemours is receiving millions of dollars to process (dump) these forever chemicals into OUR water source. Our government, fueled by corporate greed has turned a blind eye on this billion dollar industry which has been polluting our environment for 4 decades now. The time is past to call everyone who shares life in this region to stop this practice of profit over people. We need to band together. To stop fighting amongst ourselves and to realize we are all of the same species and we are the only ones who have the power to change this onslaught of pollution from Chemours/DuPont which is already proven to have changed the very DNA of the (my) alligators. Immune systems are designed to protect us from viruses and bacteria and even cancer. When immune systems are targeted on our own bodies it is called Autoimmunity and it is unfortunately a powerful foe. We are doomed by diseases like Lupus, Diabetes, Ulcerative Colitis, Thyroid disorders and even Cancers. I could go on and on. Do you know anyone who has any of these ailments I just listed? Well, our water is a big trigger for them all. Just like in "my" alligators these changes are occurring in humans who choose to live in the Cape Fear River region. We need to STOP it now before we become extinct as a species. When alligators, which have survived for over two hundred million years, are succumbing to the ravages of Autoimmunity, we, as a much more delicate species to say the least, are surely doomed to extinction! ...How ironic that our own bodies are killing ourselves. Rant over. For now... Thank you Gators from the Cape Fear River Basin for allowing NCSU’s own Dr. Scott Belcher and his team of dedicated researchers to draw a correlation between GENX contaminated waters upstream from Chemours and Autoimmunity. This is the first time Autoimmunity has been demonstrated in a Reptile - my favorite Reptile at that. Although an amazing discovery, it is NOT good. Our Wilmington alligators are sick. They have exponentially increased Interferon levels in their systems as compared to the gators from Lake Waccamaw (which are untouched by the Runoff from Chemours). Interferon is one of the generals in the Immunity Brigade. Unfortunately, this leader is crazily directing its forces against itself - catching itself in the crossfire so to speak. Basically, the Wilmington gators' immune systems are attacking themselves and showing signs of Lupus type illnesses, slowed wound healing and skin infections - Autoimmunity. I have seen firsthand Polypoid lesions on alligator skin, slick slimy grey appearing coverings on flesh and infected appearing longstanding wounds and gators generally in poor condition there. We all need to take heed of these findings before it's too late for us all. Alligators historically have had an ironclad immune system which allowed them to live untouched in stagnant, muddy tepid bacteria laden environments. This is no longer so for our study group of gators in Greenfield. Where will this end? We have to Stop Chemours before it kills us all. It's up to each and every one of us!!
|