Last week I left before dawn and drove down south to explore. My ultimate destination didn’t open until 10am so I decided to swing through Myakka River State Park first.

There was a line of cars waiting patiently for the park to open at 8am. Good thing I wasn’t there for alligators, as I didn’t see a single one. Once the rainy season starts to fill the watershed, they spread out across the park’s 37,0000 acres.

Since sunrise was 30 minutes earlier, the first flurry of hunting and scavenging was over and most of the birds were absorbed in their postprandial ablutions.

A pleasant start to the day…