Cypress Trees

The bald cypress tree has to one on my most favorite trees.  They have such a mysterious quality to them.  They sit in swamps and rivers with their limbs full of hanging moss and numerous cypress knees protruding out of the water.  They provide a superior nesting platform for many birds, especially the osprey.  As I glide around these magnificent trees in my kayak I get to see the wildlife that depend on these trees with the refuge they provide.  Most all of the large cypress trees were logged off at the turn of the twentieth century in the state of Florida.  I sometimes try to imagine what these swamps and wilderness areas must have looked like before then.  The trees are now protected, and in time a new generation will see them as they once were.  I am always searching to locate a new strand of cypress trees to explore.  To be able to glide in my kayak under their canopy of moss and hear the osprey's cry overhead is an experience I will never tire of.