Our trip to the Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge was a most successful trip.  I had seen Key deer in zoos before, but never in the wild.  It was our mission to see them in the wild and see what they were like.  As always, I love to take big and long hikes through natural settings that portray the various Florida ecosystems.  Vincent is a great sport.  He waits for me in the car.  The trip was worth it....I was not disappointed.  Not only was I immediately greeted by the deer; I was introduced to a different type of ecosystem with features different than I have experienced before

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The pine rocklands, which used to occupy more than 186,000 acres from Miami to the lower keys.  Development has all but obliterated them from the map.  They now occupy less than 4,000 acres.  Most of this habitat is found on Big Pine Key and several privately owned segments of 20 acres each or less.  There are a variety of plants and animals that live there.  Blolly, key thatch palm, wax myrtle, butterfly orchid.  Pine rocklands support nearly 200 species of native plants found endemic to the pine rockland.  Part of the walk I was on wound into a hardwood hammock as well; you can see the difference in the plant life in the hardwood hammock from the pine rocklands. Dotting the pine rocklands are freshwater pools called lenses that float atop salt water.  The fresh water lens still has a high chloride content (and would taste salty).  Key deer are adapted to drink it, and because the largest fresh water lens is found on Big Pine Key is more than likely why the deer are also so concentrated here.  You can see neat cutouts in the limestone aquifer that peeks out of the land, called solution holes.  It is here where rain has worn holes in the limestone and then fills the hole with fresh water.  The hydrology of the keys is quite different than the rest of florida; beginning with the substrate over the water table.  Karst makes up the ground of mainland Florida and the keys are made up of compact Miami Oolite.  I didn’t see many of the iguanas that I have seen on Marathon.  I did see one young one… so they must be there, too…. invasive to all the keys.  

One of my “new” animals was a white crowned pigeon.  I thought I was hearing an owl gently cooing…. or was it a mourning dove?  No…. neither… and it was momentarily frustrating…. but eventually it presented itself to me.  They fly for many miles to find their favorite foods.  Blolly berries are one of them.  

There was a brown anole who displayed his “bumpy” phase to me.  He posed for pictures, so I had to take a few. 

I witnessed a mosquito control method where canals were cut out and a small fish known as gambusia (eastern mosquito fish) are inserted to eat the larvae.

  One of my favorites, butterfly pea, poked its head out to greet me.  

Another, the delicate sensitive partridge pea was also there.  

The refuge had 2 very short walks (but for what it lacks in length, it makes up for in wildlife, peaceful places to sit and wait for nature to walk by you, and small surprises.  On the longer walk, there are a variety of things to see; a change of environments, bits of history, wide variety of wildlife, and places where one can sit and reflect.  For more photos of the day, visit our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/TheTravelinDennens/

 Even in the hot Florida summer sun it was a joy to experience.  Onward to new adventures… tomorrow it is a trek to Key West to celebrate our 16th “honeymoon” anniversary.  We are going to take in the sights and end up with dinner at Lattitudes on Sunset Key (a short 6 minute ferry ride from Key West) which has tables on the beach…. facing the sunset.  Afterwards… a trip to Better Than Sex for dessert. It is going to be a fabulous day!  Can’t wait to share it with you.