BIG
Cactus

Betty Maus, my day's geocaching companion, is dwarfed by this huge Florida cactus plant we found while caching in the D. J. Wilcox preserve north of Ft. Pierce, FL.

Betty, from Tupper Lake, NY, is slightly height challenged but otherwise nothing was done in this photo to change the apparent height of this giant plant.

I suspect it towered above 12 feet and, believe me, a strong sense of self preservation prevented closer examination.

Just before encountering this giant, we met a security officer on the property of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute.  He enjoyed learning of our geocaching effort and went on to tell us about sightings earlier that week of wild cats within sight of where we were standing.

He also told of an institute professor who had recently been bitten by a young raccoon on the property.  At the institute, cache site I was visually probing a cavity up on a tree trunk with my flashlight and a mirror--and discovered a small, very bright yellow snake in residence.

I promptly begged its pardon.

Flora and fauna, vastly different from our home-state, Ohio variety, are a very interesting part of the geocaching experience here in sub-tropical Florida.