Douglas Everglades

Sun Setting over the Everglades. Photo from http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/click/2009/06/the-everglades-one-of-the-unique-regions-of-the-earth.html

"When the original saw grass thrust up its spears into the sun, the fierce sun, lord and power and first cause over the Everglades as of all the green world, then the Everglades began" (Douglas, 109).

This quote by Douglas immediately stuck with me. The sun is powerful; the sun holds the power of all life. Without the sun there would be no life. Plain and simple we need plants to survive and the plants would not be a thing without the energy harvested from the sun. The sun is an amazing star. It is the perfect distance from the earth to sustain life. It would not make sense for Douglas to talk about what makes up the Everglades without mentioning the powerful sun. Formerly it was believed that the sun revolved around the earth. That thinking perfectly summarizes the relationship humans have with nature, 'we are what is important and we will take everything as ours', a selfishness that still has not disappeared. Personally, I have a deep appreciation for the sun and the life it has given to earth.

Florida Summer Storm. Photo from: http://www.weathersnapshot.com/top-10-weather-photographs-10182014/

"Below all that glistening water will be rising, shining like beaten pewter, and the light will lift as if itself relieved of all that weight of the rain. It will change from pewter to silver to pure brightness everywhere" (Douglas, 115). 

 Having been born and raised in Florida, I am all too familiar with the Florida summer storms. In a short period of time you will see the weather change from sunny, to cloudy, to raining, to storming, then just like that it will be sunny again. The only change will be the floor will now be wet and the air even more humid than before. I have seen all the colors the sky can become and Douglas' description fits well. Though the weather can be ugly the quickness in the changes of the sky can be beautiful. In fact, I have a vivid memory of walking into my yard during the eye of a hurricane. The extreme quietness and stillness after such a disruption was breathtaking. Hurricanes scare me but I would love to experience the eye one more time.

Custard Apples. Photo from: https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/12982

"Southwest it was all custard apple, a subtropic, rough-barked, inconspicuous tree, with small pointed leaves and soft fruits. It grew fiercely, crowded on roots that became gnarled trunks or trunks twisted and arched into bracing roots in the drag of the water. The spilth and decay of the custard apple, the guano of crowds of birds that fed on them, whitening the leaves, built up in the watery sunlessness below them an area of rich black peat, denser than muck, two or three miles wide and six feet deep" (Douglas, 135).

Before reading A Land to Remember I had never heard of a custard apple tree. Reading "The Nature of the Everglades" by Douglas was my second time hearing of them. His description allowed me to visualize what they looked like. Now, I hope to try them one day, if edible. However, the reason this quote stuck out to me was because it described a relationship between the plant and the animals. The bird depends on the custard apple and the custard apple trees depend on the soil, sun, and water. Not only that but the bird guano will further fertilize the soil creating more custard apple trees. These animals have a mutualistic relationship. In fact, many of the organisms and animals have learned to share the resources. It is humans that just take.