Tropical fruit I bought in Redland. Yummy!
Driving home from the Keys on Monday I took a detour because I-75 (Alligator Alley) was closed due to smoke from fires. I took the Tamiami Trail (Highway 41) through the Everglades from the Homestead area to Naples.
After taking this beautiful drive, I’ll probably never take Alligator Alley again. Highway 41 puts you in much closer proximity to the trees, birds, and gators. Unfortunately, two of the gators I saw had lost a battle with a speeding car.
I did see a Pileated Woodpecker take flight at the edge of the cypress swamp (could it have been an Ivory-bill? Nah.)
Also saw a swallow-tailed kite hunting near the road. I was heartened to see so many healthy cypress trees and so much undeveloped land. I really wanted to stop in at Clyde Butcher’s gallery, and several other places as well, but decided to leave those for another excuse to drive down here.
The tropical fruit business in the Homestead area is booming. I stopped to visit a roadside stand and bought a papaya, a mamey fruit, and two of the largest sapodillas I’ve ever seen (photo above, sunglasses for size comparison.)
“When will Florida mangoes be ready?” I asked the vendor. “Three weeks,” he replied.
I’ll be back.
