Pictures of the Day: Photo Series on the Kissimee Region & the Prairie Lakes of the South Central Floridian Peninsula

I spent the day driving around the great orange grove that is south central Florida between Tampa Bay and Cape Canaveral. Kissimmee and the Prairie Lakes are directly above Okeechobee Lake, which is that great round lake in Southern Florida west of Miami that merges south and westward into the Everglades that embrace the entire southern fourth of the state west of Dade County.

Tomorrow afternoon I'm going to drive down to the lake, then east to the Atlantic, then south down the coast toward Miami.

This is a watertower in an orange grove in Frostproof, Florida.

Frostproof: a charming poetical incantatory name for a citrus growing town, I thought.

Charismatic megafauna sighting: tropical jungle deer along road at Lake Kissimmee State Park.

Florida black buzzards at roadside dinner in orange grove. Not the same deer as above..

I took a cool video of them chowing down, but it's maybe a bit too visceral for public consumption? Eh? I'll post it if anyone dares me.

Driving in the "hammock" forest at Highlands Hammock State Park.

One of many pleasures particular to Florida: Swimming with Alligators. I'm still enough of a neophyte here to find signs like this novel and funny.

At first I thought they were limes, but I guess they're immature oranges. Also, my camera lens is cloudy. I've just cleaned it, we'll see if that helps, tommorrow..

Cargill has a huge juice plant in Frostproof. Their moniker's emblazoned on that watertower.

This banner was on the fence by the Cargill plant entrance.

A second sign by the Cargill gate, this one lampooning former governor Charlie Crist (who ran for the Senate as an independent against the ultimately victorious Republican tea party candidate Marco Rubio this last election cycle, so the banner's a little dated) for being polite to the President.

I guess that all pretty much clears up where Cargill's management stands on Mr. Obama.

This is the sign in front of the Masonic lodge in Sebring, Florida where I'm sleeping tonight. You can do the occult symbolism and numerology on that inverted pentagram and pentagon yourselves.

The more I look at Masons, the creepier they seem, and less I like them.

And lastly, an ugly statue of Our Lady of Lourdes in front of St. Catherine's, the parish where I'll be going to mass tomorrow. They have a 12 noon Spanish celebration, and I think that's just my ticket..



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