They bite, even through paddling gloves and clothes. And, unlike mosquitoes, they will follow you on the water, making forays on your exposed (and unexposed) areas if they find themselves into your cockpit.
Yellow deer flies are pestilence particularly at the Gully Branch Landing on the New River.
The hornets build high above in the trees; the wasps are within paddle stroke. This particular nest doubled in size in the last week!
This is a great year for swamp dragon head. They are now blooming everywhere there is sunshine: on dead tree falls with soil, in the back swamps beyond the trees, in sunny patches along the creek.
In huge masses, they diminish the swamp roses. But those more demure blooms have a greater over reach — you can smell their cinnamon-sweet smell before you see them. Here, surrounded by narrow leaf primrose.
Butterflies and bees are attracted to the nectar of the swamp dragon head.
Soon, the arrow head blossoms will be in full bloom — they are heavily in bud throughout the creek.
In other areas, with its strong sweet scent, the sweet bays are blooming.
Juveniles — teenagers — have a lot to learn. They are more curious than cautious, but in that, for humans, is hope — perhaps a new way to see things around us. For critters, however, without an overarching adult watching, growing to adulthood is risky. Alligator, raccoons, cooters and now, this yellow crowned night heron.
Whatever it was doing when Ed came upon it, it diverted its attention to what was more interesting — us. As it went from muddy shoreline to a short step up a branch to a flight up to a higher branch, it’s eyes were upon us. But it did not fly away.
It’s attention span was longer than our over 15 minutes. We paddled away as it continued to watch from its perch.
Meanwhile on the shore, a juvenile raccoon we had seen in January with its mother and siblings was foraging for a late breakfast, a little after 10am. Then, the mother had given her brood a sharp warning sound, which none of them heeded. She herself headed into the brush, they stayed foraging in the mud for crayfish and other goodies. Now, this one is on it’s own.
Again…our interest span was shorter that this raccoon. It continued to forage; we paddled upstream. 
The non-venomous water snakes on the creek seem to be a lethargic group — they take their positions and stay there. Adults or juvenile, it doesn’t seem to matter. But this juvenile, after extending its forebody a bit, didn’t move.
And then the caterpillars. Of what species I don’t know. They were too busy eating the leaves of both the cow creek spider lily and the swamp dragon’s head to take heed of anything.
It’s a busy time on the creek and the young ones are doing what they need to be doing to continue their species.
Cow creek spiderlily, an endemic species found only in Liberty, Franklin and Wakulla counties, Florida, is at peak bloom. Next week, it will be in seed.
But continuing its bloom and its fragrance are swamp roses, throughout the creek.
Little purple bells, hanging from vines throughout the creek, swamp leatherflower, Clematis crispa, are now in full bloom. Buds indicate that they will be blooming for several more weeks, at a minimum.
Late spring, early summer colors are bolder: golden-yellows, blues and purples — narrow-leaf primrose, spatterdock, blue flag iris, pickerel weed. candy root.
And, already in massed blooming, but greater density promised next week, false dragonhead blossoms.
Soon also to be blooming in large masses, lizard tail.
False indigo continues its long bloom period.
Very early in the season, climbing aster are already blooming at the mouth of the river. These flowers, in large masses throughout the river and also along Crooked River and upper Ochlockonee, will continue blooming till late fall.
Green fly orchids, one of our favorite flowers, continue to bloom and new bud stems are appearing which promises flowering for another few more weeks.
The next masses of white blossoms will be arrow head, heavily budded shrubs throughout the creek.
It was a perfect day for snakes and while scanning the shrubs and overhanging branches, this redheaded creature popped into view, above me on an oak branch. Most snakes we’ve seen on Womack creek are at kayak eye level or about a foot above that down to the water, so not just the coloration of the head, but its location suggested that it was not a snake.
Unlike the water snakes on the river which allow one to get really close without moving, this creature quickly escaped down the oak tree and into the leafy bank below.
This is a broadhead skink (Plestiodon laticeps), the largest skink in southeastern US, which can get to 13 inches long. It is a common semi-arboreal skink from southeastern Pennsylvania, central Indiana and eastern Kansas to to eastern Texas, the Gulf coast to Central Florida.
This is a male adult skink, more likely. Juvenile and to some extent female skinks have five to seven stripes along its upper body, similar to another skink species called five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus). Juveniles have a bright blue tail. Male heads become larger and turn orange as they approach mating season, usually late spring (May 4, in this photograph).
Males smell through their tongue, the better to smell the pheromones emitted by females who are ready to mate. Females seem to prefer larger males with brighter colored heads. Once bred, a male will stay with a female for about a week, challenging other males from approaching her during this time. The male is not monogamous.
The females lay from 8-13 eggs in a nest in decaying trees or leaf debris. These hatch from 3-8 weeks from laying, the female leaving the nest only to feed.
Newly hatched skinks are on their own within a few days of hatching and are sexually mature when they reach over 3 inches long.
They feed on insects, spiders, mollusks, rodents and smaller reptiles, including juvenile skinks. They, in turn, are food for carnivorous birds, larger reptiles and cats. Skinks have break-away tails which continue to wriggle, thus distracting its predator while making its escape.
With temperatures starting at 72F and inching up to 82F at end of the trip, we knew we’d spy at least one snake. They are usually seen sunning under leaf-canopied stems of shrub branches extending over the water. Unlike cooters, skinks and gators, they tend to remain in place if one approaches them without undue motion or vibration.
We saw only brown water snakes, but we did see three, one barely discernible.
Tate's Hell and Blackwater River State Forests 