ECLIPSE FROM A CONTROLLED BURN--
On yet another otherwise delightful day of geocaching

We noticed this huge wall of smoke to the east as we approached the Middleton Fish Camp on Blue Cyprus Lake near Vero Beach, FL and were relieved when the camp owners verified it was indeed "controlled".  "Our home is right over there," she smiled reassuringly.

With the winds arriving from a dangerous direction and "Florida Snow"* showering the area this is no place to be without such reassurance.

*(Dark and gray ash from such fires blowing on the wind.)

It was a large fire indeed, but quite a distance away with the huge lake between us and the brushy inferno.

Caching partner Greg Cornett and I quickly scored a cache located in the fish camp, took a look at another and decided kayaks might be the best way to approach that one, then headed south to work on a string of hides bordering the long access road to the camp from SR 60.

This hide was called "Swamp Trail" and we hoofed it from the camp's parking area a half-mile or so down the road then along a diked trail through the palmetto under canopy.  Greg, being also an
accomplished birder, kept a close eye and often his binoculars, on avian critters flitting through the canopy.

Sometimes the birds were difficult to find visually but Greg could identify an amazing number of them by their call.  This cache also became our day's first of four "First to Finds"--a special treat for geocachers who win that oftentimes race to make the first find after a cache is published.

After making this grab we made our way back to the car and headed south along the access road, nabbing seven more caches and the remaining 3 FTFs, sliding out from under the ominous smoke and quietly celebrating a fine start to our cachin/birding outing.

Hope you can tune in again next week when Greg, Betty Maus and I load up the kayaks and head to the southeast branch of the St. Lucie River for a tranquil glide on that pristine waterway--and some more geocaching, of course.