Sabbatical Soundings 6 - Not so dry land

We were finally off the ship and it seemed pretty straightforward to acquire landlegs. We picked up our hire car and ignoring all the other undoubted delights of Miami, we set off for the Everglades. For this bird-deprived lover of birds, it was a treat for the eyes and the soul. I am particularly fond of birds of prey and the immediate sight of dozens of vultures soaring made my heart sing. But amongst the rivers of grass, we saw many different varieties of egret, anhinga, vulture, osprey, spoonbill, ibis, heron and kite.

I'm not sure why I'm so fascinated with birds. I'm not a real expert and I wouldn't go searching for miles or sitting for hours in search of a rare sighting, but little gives me more joy than watching the birds on the feeders in my garden or the huge eagles, hawks and vultures that are encountered at my favourite place for a day out, the Hawk Conservancy Trust. There are quite a lot of different birds to be found in the Scriptures, and special mentions for my favourite -  eagles. I find myself drawn to their ability to see the world from a completely different perspective - and to be able to change that perspective frequently and quickly - in contrast to the entrenched positions humans are so capable of adopting.

The Miccosukee village

But we went to the Everglades to see an alligator, and we were not disappointed. We went out in an airboat, at a site run the Native American  Miccosukee tribe, where we also saw some traditional alligator wrestling and learned more about the struggle for indigenous people to survive in North America after the uninvited arrival of European colonists. 

On our airboat, we found our first alligator (as well as a camera-shy crocodile) in minutes, and enjoyed a small taste of this vast landscape whose ecodiversity makes it of enormous environmental importance.

Everglades alligator

A couple of days later we found ourselves in the Corkscrew swamp sanctuary boardwalk where a different swamp environment is rich with two hundred year old Cypress trees - as well as birds, alligators, turtles and raccoons. 

The green at the bottom of the trees is not solid ground - it is weeds on the water

Exploring the Everglades and the Cypress swamps was balm after a journey devoid of green leaves and birds. What a blessing to have been able to experience some of the richness and diversity of creation, including the humans who call it home.