Sunday, February 12, 2023

Boyd Hill to Hammock Park February 11-12, 2023

the anthropocene question

Alligators survived the asteroid impact

The one the dinosaurs didn't

That allowed new species of mammals to evolve

The reason we humans came to exist


Dogs exist only because humans do

Selecting breeds to serve their purposes 

Now sometimes eaten by alligators

Here in Florida where we winter 


Everyone wants to see an alligator

In the lakes and swamps we frequent

To get a look at this fearsome predator 

While keeping a safe distance away


It's something else that draws us there

To see the avian descendants of dinosaurs 

Though we take everything in including them

And often have close encounters


Stepping past alligators sprawled on a trail

Keeping on high alert ready to react

Seeing their shining skin and glinting eyes

Their sharp claws and toothsome jaws


That the birds evolved from dinosaurs

And the asteroid crater found in the Yucatan

Two things learned by humans in my lifetime 

Who best not walk their dogs where we go 


Which species will survive the current die off

And what new life forms will evolve in their place

That is the anthropocene question

Asked of alligators birds humans and their dogs

Friday, February 10, 2023

Honeymoon Island February 10, 2023

Thursday, February 9, 2023

Fort DeSoto February 9, 2023