reeldrlaura's WunderBlog

If you live ANYWHERE IN FLORIDA.....contact your local representatives and IMPLORE them to pass meaningful legislation to SAVE OUR SPRINGS!!! YOUR WATER supply is dependent on Florida's springs.

River of Dreams

by John Moran

Sometimes I lie awake at night and think about the ceaseless flow of the miracle we call Ichetucknee Springs. Even as we sleep, the river is always out there, silently yielding its gift; a daily offering of two hundred million gallons of life-giving water flowing onward to the sea. In my mind's eye—from the comfort of my bed—I often journey to the springs, alone in the dark, to relive in memory the experience of being at the sacred river.
The Ichetucknee has long been heralded as Florida's most pristine river, but in recent years a dramatic spike in the level of nitrates in the groundwater feeding the springs has fueled the growth of noxious algae, a thick sludge that is choking native river grass and upsetting a delicate balance of flora and fauna thousands of years in the making. The sacred river is polluted. Fertilizer from farms and homes, animal waste, stormwater runoff, failing septic tanks and Lake City's municipal wastewater spray field have all been implicated. Public awareness is rising, and a river awaits a solution.
Early in 2006, at the invitation of the river advocacy group Save Our Suwannee, I presented a program at Lake City Community College to show in pictures and discuss the changes I've seen on the Ichetucknee in the past 20 years. I spent a week on the river in advance of the program, making new pictures to add to my archival edit.
By nature I'm an optimistic person. I've long believed that you tend to find in life what you look for, and I've found few places in Florida that have inspired me like the Ichetucknee. It was my time spent here twenty years ago—days of wonder and gratitude—that set me on the path of photographing natural Florida with real passion. But my days of bliss and beauty on the Ichetucknee have become an exercise in painful avoidance; a calculated effort to selectively focus on the remaining beauty of the river. And to be sure, there is still plenty to celebrate here........

Don't let happen to the Ichetucknee, what has happened to Silver Spring......sold out to Coca Cola/Wild Waves, Silver Spring....once THE MOST PROLIFIC SPRING ON EARTH.....now has phosphate levels so high there are no longer ANY fish there, and the amount of water the spring pumps has decreased by 50%......THE MOST PROLIFIC SPRING ON EARTH!!! THAT'S SHAMEFUL. :(

{{{EMMY}}} PAT....oh, YOU so funny!!! I bet you saw Exactly what you saw!!! :)

GAMS.....thanks for stopping by.....posting here the url for anyone in FL that would like to have their voice heard. In south FL, you'd be wise to take a look at what's happening at Crystal Spring.....NESTLE again. I'm pretty sure Rays and those in the Tampa area are well aware of what's happening to the springs AND their water supply. CORPORATIONS, by and large, tend not to be very good stewards!!!

http://www.worldwaterwars.com/UnitedStates/Florida/SOS/

GO NOW......SAVE FL SPRINGS FROM EXTINCTION!!!

Thanks calpoppy!! I'm really looking forward to next October when the Luna's will once again cover my door with their bright wings!

Lest ANYONE misunderstand my intent. The message here is about STEWARDSHIP......I clearly understand that we have to find a balance between economy and environment. Corporations aren't ALL bad.....they just need to take some stewardship training so that the resources we share are being tended to at their source in a manner that benefits both people and environment. The population growth of FL, I will leave in someone else's hands......we must each choose our own battles......stewardship is mine!

Hey {Barefoot}!!! Family in Joplin doing OK......the long cleanup begins. Brother will close up house as soon as he has power, and then he plans to just get away for a couple of months. Will be nice to have him here. :) Thanks for checking in. Hoping for another QUIET season here!!! :)

Thanks, Patti! We need the rain SOOOOO badly!!! The Ichetucknee Springs Basin and it's rivers are in terrible shape, after two years with no substantial rain. Got my tomato plants, etc. tied up though, on the off chance we get some of those heavy downpours!

BAREFOOT!!! Rivers beginning to back off a bit & while it's been a real challenge for some, I'm fortunate to be on high ground, even this close to the river. We needed the rain SO badly, that nobody's really complaining. I think we'd all rather be dealing with flooding than with fire! Hope all is going well for you too, my friend!