jamesp
Cave Dweller 
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Post by jamesp on Aug 21, 2016 21:52:24 GMT -5
This was a 5 mile trip to an old dock that served as a supply drop and post office a century ago. In search of old bottles. Wind had blown in 2 feet of peat muck killing any hopes. Leaving canal, well wishers  traveling the shallows avoiding the rough deeper water  Looking east, lining up on posts to find bottles using a probing rod. Storms. Docking location are poles further out. Many posts under water for structure.  Looking North, then west, then south. Sky volatile this day.    Yucky muck at bottle site. No bottle hunting today.  Old dock piling close to shore. Bottom littered with naval parts, crockery, old glass, long leaf pine roof shingles, bricks, whiskey and wine bottles, ink wells, boat hulls. Serious depot of antiquities,  Clear water just 200 yards north. No muck, but no treasures.   Deer thinking they are safe since most boats can not traverse the weeds    Deer taken by surprise, weird boat approaching them. Heading for shore.  Picking up speed, holy cow, what kind of boat does that dude have ??  Deer running, rear deer steps in a Tilapia hole and totally face plants. Photo shows beginning of wipe out.  Calm before storm  Mom w/2 fawns  Storm kicking up, water getting rough. One huge gator, 11-13 footer, tail behind head. about as big as they get. Heavy bruiser this one. Boat went right over his bubble trail. Should have jumped in and given y'all a wrestle ha. Reported this one to the gator hunters, too bold and brave.  |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Aug 21, 2016 22:07:49 GMT -5
Cool pictures, James. Too bad you didn't get the deer wiping out on video.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Aug 21, 2016 22:12:48 GMT -5
Cool pictures, James. Too bad you didn't get the deer wiping out on video. Thanks Rob and yes a shame. Deer never trip up. |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Aug 21, 2016 22:18:26 GMT -5
Cool pictures, James. Too bad you didn't get the deer wiping out on video. Thanks Rob and yes a shame. Deer never trip up. I love it when squirrels fall out of trees. They think they're all cool jumping from branch to branch until they miss. They don't look so cool then. |
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Aug 21, 2016 22:25:05 GMT -5
Findings at mouth of spring. Mouth of spring entering lake. Snails on bottom cover 100's of acres in and around lake. Hwy dept. removed one of the largest shell mounds in the world here. They used the shell midden for road underlayment. Native man lived here many years.   Underwater shot  Artifact rich shoreline at spring mouth  pottery shards  pottery shards, turtle bones, chert knappings  big bird  |
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Aug 21, 2016 22:26:51 GMT -5
Thanks Rob and yes a shame. Deer never trip up. I love it when squirrels fall out of trees. They think they're all cool jumping from branch to branch until they miss. They don't look so cool then. One landed in front of me and my sister out on the concrete driveway one day. Must have bounced a foot. Acted like nothing happened. |
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quartz
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breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
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Post by quartz on Aug 21, 2016 23:41:44 GMT -5
Nice country to see and quite a variety of things to hunt, well, except the gator. Thanks for the pics.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Aug 22, 2016 6:59:24 GMT -5
Nice country to see and quite a variety of things to hunt, well, except the gator. Thanks for the pics. Fun spot for treasure hunters. Especially bottles going back to Spanish era. This dock on high land. Next to serious water source. Rare combo on this lake. Two conclusions, white man used it, and Native man used it. White man probably found it clear of trees and foliage, a big job with out heavy equipment. Took advantage. Theory plays out, my bottle probe hits chert artifacts too. Found about a dozen chert scrapers tooling around at this particular site. About every old steamboat and freighter dock site is loaded with Native man's presence because of optimum topography. |
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Post by orrum on Aug 22, 2016 8:02:09 GMT -5
Very good Jim, thanks for showing us! How hot was it?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2016 11:15:20 GMT -5
Where did the chert come from and how did it get to central Florida?
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Aug 22, 2016 17:45:45 GMT -5
Very good Jim, thanks for showing us! How hot was it? Yes, lots of short rains kept the humidity way up, then strong sunlight. That big lake is often 10 degrees cooler than sorrounding terrain. Lake a few feet from sea level. Sorround ing terrain at 35 to 60 feet above sea level. But almost 2 freeze zones difference. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2016 17:54:12 GMT -5
Is this a freshwater species? |
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Aug 22, 2016 19:47:05 GMT -5
Where did the chert come from and how did it get to central Florida? Running down central FL north and south is a chert rich ridge. Must be 40 miles away, it is the source. So, about no rock, and if you probe and her a clink, it is glass/bottle or artifact chert. Sand probes are well designed and use thin wall conduit handles for sound transmission. Hardened music wire for the probes themselves. A good probe man may have a probe with 18 tines about 16 inches long, looks like a pitch fork, and cover 400 sq ft in a day out in the lake. The sting ray is salt water I suppose. Mullet(salt water) are so dense that old time fisheries used big nets to catch them. Cut the row(egg sack) out and trash the fish. That industry was later outlawed. Flounder tarpon croakers redfish and many more salt water fish in the lake. Limit on salt water shrimp is 5 gallon bucket per day per boat. My Uncle could fill 3 buckets a day right off his dock. And they are big breeders. Most active fishery in that lake is fresh water catfish and salt water blue crabs. Blue crabs also big breeders. This is a blue crab I took a photo of a couple of weeks ago. A real delicacy. Do you have these on the west coast ?  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2016 20:10:07 GMT -5
jamespWe have dungeness crab  Thanks
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Aug 22, 2016 20:34:08 GMT -5
Good eating @shotgunner ?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2016 20:35:25 GMT -5
Good eating @shotgunner ? Yeah, delish, but way too much eff'ing work. I'll stick to king and snow crab, plus commercial blue crab... |
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Aug 23, 2016 5:32:22 GMT -5
Good eating @shotgunner ? Yeah, delish, but way too much oops'ing work. I'll stick to king and snow crab, plus commercial blue crab... Same deal with these |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2016 9:52:03 GMT -5
Yeah, delish, but way too much oops'ing work. I'll stick to king and snow crab, plus commercial blue crab... Same deal with these On the other hand. If I had to live off the land, life could get worse than cleaning gourmet food..... |
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Aug 23, 2016 13:08:40 GMT -5
On the other hand. If I had to live off the land, life could get worse than cleaning gourmet food..... Some of these blue crabs are 23-25 inches across when stretched out claw to claw. At that size they are loaded with easy access meat. In October they go up the spring runs(warmer water) and shed their shells. Naked and easy to eat. Catch at night with strong light and long handled net from boat. |
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grayfingers
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Post by grayfingers on Aug 23, 2016 17:33:03 GMT -5
Wow, amazing photos, James. I love how you know and uncover the human history at these places. I love to imagine theses scenes back when the artifact makers were doing their thing. The knowledge the native people had and used to survive and thrive must be nearly unfathomable to us moderns. And all that sea and fresh water food, sounds great.
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