Blackwater River State Forest

The pine flatwoods of Blackwater River State Forest where the wild boar roam.

These two photos illustrate the effects of "managed"
wildfires. Not the young, red-colored pines and the charred
black trunks of the adults.

I was at Blackwater River State Park more than any other state park this spring. It is an incredibly diverse region, from pitcher plant bogs to cypress swamps to pine flat-woods. Most of the photos taken on this post were taken by Andrew, a friend of mine. While I creep around looking for reptiles and amphibians, my friend seemed obliged to take on the role as the trip photographer. On my first trip to the park, it was only the first week of March, and the day was mostly overcast and quite cold. There were four to our party. We found that the trail, boardwalks and all, had been swallowed up by the swollen river. It was quickly decided (not by a majority vote) that we should simply wade through the cypress swamp. The water usually didn't pass my thighs; however, one crossing came a little higher. Here, one of my friends let out a shriek and thrashed out of the water. I chuckled and used my net to move a large, surprised wolf spider out of the frothing water. There happened to be a drop off into the river at that point as well. "Watch your step," I said. "There's a big drop into the river right here. I moved out my foot over the submerged edge. No sooner had I finished my warning, that one of my company dropped off the bank and up to his chest in cold water. Besides the spider, cricket frogs, darters (a small fish), and a few ranids (large semi-aquatic frogs) where all the wildlife we saw that trip. To cold.
The next venture into the park was little better. Cricket frogs were encountered once again, but we trekked higher into the pine flatwoods, away from the river. Sign of dear and wild boar where evident, as well as a possible set of coyote tracks. Some songbirds were spied. The primary highlight of this trip was the discovery of a pitcherplant bog. These are carnivorous plants that fill there attractive, cup-shaped flowers with a digestive fluid. Woe be tide the hapless insect that falls in and watches, with blurring compound eyes, the pitchers lid closing over its last glimpse of the sky.
The plant to the left is Sarracenia leucophylla, the whitetop pitcherplant. Unfortunately, the beautiful colours of this plant were faded on my specimens so the significance of it's name isn't clear here. Ideally, however, the plant would have a reticulate colouring of red on white. Just stunning. Many pitcher plants are endangered and caution should be taken when identifying the species of pitcherplant. In the case of S. leucophylla, the endangered S. rubra looks very similar when not in full colour. In my experience, S. leucophylla is a tall species, equally happy growing on the edge of the bog or pond, or up a creek bank. It grows tall and conspicuous.
The two photos on the right are of a different species, S. purpurea. I was delighted to discover that this is a rarer species in the region I was in. Apparently, it is usually found further inland. This species is a lover of swampy ground, appearing dry, brown, and withered if it is any distance from moisture. Perhaps this is because it grows so much closer to the ground and has less opportunity for expansion (though I don't know how these plants reproduce).
This little excursion has wet my appetite for botany. Especially carnivorous plants. In the final photo, I am creeping about the bog spying on cricket frogs.