Catching up is Hard to Do

Hopefully, we can get back on track with days and dates with todays blog.  Brenda and Ro arrived Saturday afternoon and we have been seeing and doing some “stuff”.  First thing Sunday morning found us at Shell Mound.  An archeological site which could also be called a dump.  Located at the edge of an estuary, it is a mound of shells.  Oyster, clam, mollusk, and others, along with animal bones and broken tools that were discarded beginning 6000 years ago.  It once had a footprint of over five acres and reached a height of twenty eight feet. Just imagine how many shells it took to create a mound that large. Much it was hauled away years ago to be used as fill material and roadbeds before its true value was appreciated.

Now covered with a thin layer of soil, it has huge trees of many kinds, as well as all the understory plants growing on it.

Just to stand there on the mound, looking out at the marsh flats and imagining the generations of people that it took to discard all those shells in one location, is mind boggling.  What did they look like, how was their lives, why here, etc?  So many questions.

There are two hiking trails at the mound, so we had to do both.  One was on the mound itself, and the other was around and through the marsh.

Fiddler crabs and coon tracks.

The crabs were everywhere, moving like armies upon the battlefield.

Another trip we took found us in the Suwannee wildlife refuge.  The only wildlife we say other than birds was one shy coyote.  If you look hard, you can see him behind the bush.

We spent a little time enjoying the quiet of the river,

and had a fine lunch at a small, out of the way, café.  Thanks, Janna for mentioning it.

We had a fun two days with great friends.  Monday found the  girls shopping and Ro and I riding some  backroads. Last evening was covered in yesterdays post. We went back into town this morning and had breakfast together before they headed out.

Since their departure, we have just been hanging out in the rv park. Wanda did laundry and I cleaned up the trailer.  Got to do those things, even if on the road.  Did a little reading and a lot of loafing. We went back into town tonight for a light supper and another sunset. 

Tomorrow, we plan to head South on a day trip to see some manatee’s, hopefully…….jc