Pre-Post week 2--Peace River Watershed: My Watershed

Responding to my explorations of the Peace River Watershed websites  (and the Carl Hiassen essay and Paul's essay "The Dock at Lake Holloway")

How much did I already know about my own habitat--the Peace River watershed and all the native plants, animals microbes that are district to it? As it turns out, not much. In fact, I was almost overwhelmed with all the new, detailed information, even though I had a head start exploring some of these web sites over the summer. Robby and I had an exchange about this fact yesterday.  He said it seemed like we ought to know more of this stuff.  I'm not a big fan of the pressure that comes with "ought to know and should know," but I am glad to be learning.

Overall, the web sites assigned for us to explore are wonderful. They are filled with beautiful pictures, valuable information, and good writing. ( I especially enjoyed the exceptional photographs and lovely, descriptive writing used in The Peace River: A Trip through Native Florida.) Today's assigned list is a great reference source, and I've already found myself returning to it. I particularly enjoy lingering over the color pictures of our local birds in the Southwest Florida Water Management District, "Species Guide: Common Species on District Lands" (download PDF). I'm exerting some effort to learn the names of more birds, and it's great fun pointing them out to Rickey when we circle Lake Bonny every morning coming into the university.

Carl Hiaasen's essay (download PDF) was what I expected--fine writing about what has been lost and damaged in Florida's fragile Keys. I was struck that he shared his attachment of the keys with multiple generations of his family--grandfather, father, and then with his son. The sharing started with telling but the personal experience of seeing and exploring the it is what made them all fall in love with the place.

On a side note, Hiaasen wrote about sorrow and anger being need for fighting to save the place. It seems to me that sorrow and anger can motivate folks to struggle, but they are not enough to sustain them for the long haul. I think a deep spiritual connection is what gives anyone the ability to keep going, to face discouragement, to have hope, to keep the faith for any good cause. (And saving the Keys is a good cause.)

Paul's essay, The Dock at Lake Holloway, is amazing!  I loved the thoroughness, creativity, and insight he shared.  I think the whole project is a terrific example for us to reflect on so that we, like Paul, can become "...skillful and intentional in learning in our lives." Paul wrote about visiting, reading, writing, photographing, sketching, cleaning around the dock at Lake Holloway required "an ordinary amount of effort."  Although I like everything about this project, I do think it represents considerable effort.)  On a practical note, because Paul had shared this essay with me last year, I was able to imagine helping to clean up Lake Holloway when I read about the invitation to participate in our community lakes clean-up month.   (Note: Paul, Alisa, Mariva (Alisa's daughter) and I all worked one morning in June picking up trash along the edge of Lake Hollway.)