Search the Community

I have gotten cabin fever recently.... those of us in Florida can get it, even though we dont have snow and ice piled up outside our houses. Mine exists because the Peace river remains well about the fossil hunting stage. A few weeks ago, I went out on the Caloosahatchee and found some nice pieces, but I have been longing to get out. So I decide this week to drive out towards the middle of the state, just slightly below Lake Okeechobee. (Boy I wish I could go through the spoil banks from all the construction going on on the south edge of the lake where the corps of engineers is reinforcing, rebuiilding the old dike.) That being prohibited, and since i didn't want to be fined, I decided to head out to a pile of lower to mid Caloosahatchee formation material that was dug a couple of years ago. When it was first left, I looked through it, and found some nice things, now after a couple of years of weathering, I thought perhaps I'd be in luck and find something new had rolled out. Since the drive is a good hour from where I live, I was also hoping they wouldn't have flattened the pile using it for fill in agricultural roads in the area. My cabin fever pushed me to try. after all the area is beautiful and I often see rare birds out there. On that trip two years ago, I saw a Scissor tailed Flycatcher ( photo # 1) This year I saw a pair of Everglades Kites..no photos, sorry, they flew up and in front of me while driving my car. Also, no photo of the Florida Panther that crossed in front of my car as i was returning home in the evening. After all that, my fossils are quite the denouement. They are not extraordinary, but I still decided to put them into a riker box and label them. Some of names may be updated from the ones I used, but for I.D. purposes I used Lelia & William Brayfields paperback , 3rd edition of "A Guide for Identifying Florida Fossil Shells and other Invertebrates." I also checked them against the Forida Invertebrate I.D. collection site.http://specifyportal.flmnh.ufl.edu/ip/?filter=oc:florida molluscabivalvia. So while I didn't end up with anything earthshaking, I was happy. I did find my first disciformis, (and the only one I"ve seen in person). And I learned alot about Anadara's as I tried to identify the species of this Genus from the family Arcidae. The various species are abundant in Florida and have always flumixed me...now I'll be able to identify at least 3 or 4 of them in the field. So while, I wasn't able to get out in my Kayak, and enjoy the hunt, the adventure will hold me till I head up to the Crystal River area in two weeks to hunt with a friend.