In honor of International Cat Day Not all cats purr in your lap. Some slip between mangroves in the middle of the day, silent and golden-eyed, staring you down from the tangled edge of the wild. I didn’t know what I was looking at, not at irst. A Wild Gaze in the Wilderness It … Read more
Florida is famous for its alligators, but the Sunshine State has a much weirder side when it comes to wildlife. . If you’re planning your own quirky Florida adventure, here’s where I’d go first. Monkey Island – The Monkeys of Homosassa This one tops my list simply because it sounds like something out … Read more
(Mangrove Day Special) Dear Mangroves, You don’t ask for much.Just a little brackish water, a little mud, and the patience of tides. And in return, you give everything. Your roots cradle life—tiny silver minnows darting between your toes, baby snook hiding from what hunts them, herons stepping carefully through your shadow. You are nurseries, safe … Read more
(Mangrove Day Special) They don’t roar when the storms come. They don’t creak or groan like pines in heavy wind, or splinter under flying debris. Mangroves stand silent. Rooted in brackish mud, their tangled legs—prop roots and pneumatophores—lock together like a shield wall. When hurricanes push walls of water toward Florida’s coast, mangroves meet them … Read more
There’s a certain stillness to Florida’s waterways in summer. The air hangs heavy, dragonflies skim over glassy ponds, and the light reflects silver off the surface of lakes and canals. But sometimes that shimmering blue turns to green—thick, almost paint-like in places—and the quiet beauty hides a growing concern. These are harmful algal blooms, or … Read more
If you heard that scientists are releasing robotic bunnies into Florida’s swamps, you might think it’s the start of a sci-fi movie. But it’s real, and these “roborabbits” may be one of the most creative tools yet in the fight to save Florida’s native wildlife. Sound weird? It is—and it’s also genius. … Read more
Imagine standing at the edge of the sea at dawn, toes sinking into cool, damp sand. The horizon glows with that first wash of pink light, and somewhere—miles away—a sound you can’t quite hear rolls through your chest. A low, steady hum. A story told in the oldest language on Earth. A whale is speaking. … Read more
Before theme parks, before glossy beach resorts, Florida lured visitors with something far wilder: alligators. By the early 1900s, alligators were the state’s first celebrity attractions, and nothing screamed “Florida vacation” like pulling off a sandy roadside to watch a man in khaki shorts wrestle a 10-foot reptile into submission. These shows weren’t just entertainment. … Read more
Imagine paddling on the edge of a mangrove island, feeling the tide swirl around your kayak, knowing that more than a thousand years ago, this very shoreline buzzed with life. The Calusa, Florida’s “Shell People,” ruled these waters long before Spanish ships ever touched the Gulf. They were master engineers, building water courts to farm … Read more
Long before Florida became the “Fishing Capital of the World,” the Calusa—an Indigenous people who once ruled Southwest Florida—were mastering the art of aquaculture. These resourceful “Shell People” built intricate water courts, a sophisticated system of fish traps and holding ponds that functioned much like today’s fish farms. For the Calusa, the sea was their … Read more