Where the Bison Roam

Home from two days/three nights in Gainesville… A whirlwind visit to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and Sweetwater Preserve, plus we squeezed in a quick stop at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, and the Florida Museum of Natural History along with its Butterfly Rainforest. We had a houseful – KT, Bonnie, Tammy and Marshall Tucker came along on the trip. The days were seriously hot and humid, and the evening thunderstorms fierce. Below – a good glimpse of a Paynes Prairie Bison. Bison had roamed as far south as Florida during the time of the Conquistadors, so the thinking was to reintroduce them here. Paynes Prairie received ten of these beasts from Oklahoma in the mid 70’s. Today the herd size is kept under 60. The Preserve also is home to wild horses and cracker cattle… which we did not get close to. Also pictured, a Juvenile Purple Gallinule grazing on Alligator Flag flowers at Sweetwater Preserve.