Sunshine, Swimming, Love Bugs and the Animal Safari

On Sunday we awoke to a beautiful Florida day. The sune was shining and there was not threat of rain. After our morning coffee we put on the swim suits, grabbed the puzzels and noodles and headed for the pool. There are two pools at Ocean Landings:

This is the Terrace Pool and the one that Rich and I like the best. Both pools are heated, but this one seems to attrach the older generation. Which is nice - you can enjoy the water, swim some laps or float without kids playing and splashing.

This is the Gangplank Pool. In the far back there is a nice jacuzzi and this along with the restrooms and snack bar seems to bring the familes.

There is a great little pool bar/snack bar and the food is actually pretty good. In the mornings, you can even get breakfast here for a very reasonable price. They serve the typical hamburgers and hot dogs with fries along with a special of the day and a variety of sandwiches. Candy, ice cream, chips, soda, beer and wine and some pretty good frozen drinks. Actually, after a few hours at the pool, we stopped here on our way back to the room. Rich opted for a Frozen Strawberry Dacquari and I got the Pina Colada.

There are four tennis courts here. In the top picture you see two of the courts that are located adjacent to the Gangplank Poll. The other two are elevated above the parking area. Over the past several years that we have visited here we have not seen tennis players on the courts more than a handful of times. No - we have not yet talked anyone into coming out and trying pickleball, but we did talk with the rec director and MAYBE they will come out and learn the game before we leave. They said that others have come in asking about pickleball.

So.... you are probably wondering why the pool area is so empty? Have you ever heard of Love Bugs? No I don't mean you and your significant other, I'm talking about REAL bugs.

Love Bugs are an invasive member of the fly family.While they spend most of their life underground, twice a year they come out en masse with wings to mate. They actually mate while flying; they are linked together, the female being the larger of the two ( about 1/2 inch). They female only lives for a few days but lays several hundred egess before dying. They come in swarms. They do not bite or sting - they just drive you crazy. They love the heat, the sun, and anything WHITE. We have been in Florida since 1994, and have never seen them as bad as they were on Tuesday.

If you click on this picture to enlarge it, you will see what it was like to try and sit at the pool. If you were in the water you were fine. By early afternoon most everyone headed inside or for the shade.

About 2:30 in the afternoon the Hands on Safari arrived. They are a not for profit eco-education organization based at Jungle Adventures in Christmas, Florida. They bring the zoo to various locations throughout the area. If interested, here is a link to their website: http://www.handsonwildlife.com/

We were first introuduced to the Florida aligator. What's nice about this group is that they not only teach you about the species, they let you see and hold the majority of the wildlife they bring.

Yes - I know this picture is terrible - but it was the only one of me actually HOLDING this aligator!

OH MY! Please hurry up and take this picture!!

We were next introduced to the Florida King Snake and learned that as adults they can be anywhere from 45 to 72 inches long. Non-agressive and easy to breed.

Can you tell I'm enjoying this? Here I am again, this time sporting the Ball Python, also known as the Royal Python. It is in the same family as other Boas and Pythons and is considered a constrictor. Protects itself by curling into a Ball, hiding both the head and the tail.

The snake pictured above is an albino Burmese python. They grow to be HUGE snakes. Unfortunately and increasing number of these snakes are being dumped by owners who can't handle them anymore once they realize how big they grow and how strong they are. In the Florida Everglades they have become quite established and are preying on native species. There are so many that it is now legal to hunt and kill them.

And the Tortoise...... It took only a few years to grow from the size of the tortoise on the left to the one on the right. They can live up to 100 years in captivity.

Need I say more? And they said that the tomato juice really does not work.

Unfortunately only one of the two Electus Parrots show in this picture. Unlike most birds/parrots you can actually tell the male from the female. Green is the male; Red is the female. These two are very young and just starting to talk. Unlike other parrots who can talk, this species can not only talk, but it can 'sound' like the person it is copying.

The last animal of the day was the Florida Panther. Just a baby, and so playful. And they are NOT Black!

Truly amazing what these volunteers do to help educate the public about Florida wildlife. It was not only fun, it was very educational.