Camp

I've been mentioning ZBoy's camp sporadically all summer. I thought I'd give you a look at this fun and unique environment.

This was created 50 years ago as part the "Junior Museum" program, which was funded by the government. These museums were learning museums and usually contained a zoo of some sort as well.

The education buildings and the playground. The playground was rebuilt last year and is a VAST improvement over the previous equipment.

The structure includes a mini-climbing wall, painted with Florida scenery.

The museum also includes an 1800's farm. I have always LOVED the house. It's raised up on pilings. The front building has a desk and a couple of beds, and a loom in it. Behind it, connected by a raised walkway is the kitchen building. It's marvelously cool even in the middle of a sweltering summer. I've always wanted a house like this, but I don't suppose they're up to code built like this...

There's also a barn that houses a cow and the other shot is of the wrap-around porch on the sleeping quarters of the house.

It is a true farm, with pigs, mules, a cow, goats, sheep, and chickens. There is also a large kitchen garden with vegetables, herbs and cotton!

Right behind the playground is - a swamp!

It's fenced off so alligators can't join in the fun and games.

It's also part zoo. We get visiting animals for a few months at a time. We've had tigers, bears, lions... right now we have Patas monkeys from Africa.

They actually share the same kind of body as greyhounds!

The males literally have blue balls.

This isn't a great picture, but this one took quite a bit of pride in showing his off.

There's also a little open sided pavillion with a wall of snakes. It's a safe way to get up close and personal with some of the venemous denizens of our wild areas.

I like to go sit there and watch them while I'm waiting for ZBoy's camp session to end for the day.

It was hard to get a picture of the rattler. He moved constantly. And because they were behind glass, I didn't want to use the flash to "freeze" him. Consequently, the large diamondback is mostly a blur. The pygmy rattlesnake moved a bit too, but not nearly as much as the big guy.

There's also a cottonmouth (water moccasin). He's pretty big, and I think quite elegant.

He doesn't move around much, so it was easier to get a picture of his face.

One of the major differences between these snakes (to me) is that the rattlers always look pissed, but the moccasin looks eerily intelligent. In the wild, a rattler will run away if given the chance. But a moccasin seems to be a real predator. Perhaps it's because there's no rattle, so people don't get any warning until they are literally face-to-face. Also, the moccasin spends a great deal of time in the water where people don't always expect to run into snakes, so it may seem more aggressive than it is. I'm not an expert.

Anyway, that's a little glimpse into the camp environs that my son has been attending this summer. I'll try to go a little early today and take some pictures of the animals on the nature trail for you. We've got some really beautiful, impressive ones!