Lake Munson

This lake has a primeval quality. Kayaking around the cypress trees is just plain awe inspiring. But these photos don't really capture the thrill. You'll just have to visit it by boat yourself.Great blue herons are a frequent subject on my blog. But I never tire of watching them fly. The aerodynamics are thrilling.
Those of you who may know Lake Munson and any of its noted residents, might think upon seeing this structure , "Oh, how lovely for Mr. Martin to have built a Tiki Bar in the middle of the lake . When is cocktail time?" hahaha. It is a bird blind, though. Probably to watch wood storks who nest on the lake in the winter. And it has some names on it but they are probably biologists or ornithologists I dont' know. I only know two, one a bagpiper and flutist and the other brother to a fiddler.
At any rate, I saw one woodstork yesterday but he sailed off as I approached the cypress stand he was perched in. Not like our visitor on The Wacissa who swooped almost on top of our boats one day while Peggy and I were out. When things like that happen I swear the birds are inhabited by my ancestral ghosts. Not every bird seems like an ancestor though, just certain ones...at certain times.

This cormorant looks graceful and supple to me. In reality, their flight is somewhat ungraceful , I think. But they have the most beautiful blue eyes, like someone I would like to know better!
This stand of cypress echoed with a tatting woodpecker as I crossed the lake. I was almost certain it was a pileated from the sound and I was correct... but he flew out of sight after I got enough of an eyeful to be certain he was pileated. Lake Munson has the right kind of environment for ivory bill woodpeckers, though. I might see one there if any actually still fly... sometime in the dim future, don't you think? This lake is rimmed so beautifully with bald cypress and domed cypress. The trees make me feel awe, reverence, and a sense of history. I wish I could tell them apart. Not as old as a bristlecone pine of course, but old and rooted!