12/10/10 A Return to Mead Gardens

     I'm getting the upper hand on the Cesar Weeds here. They can't grow back as fast as I can pull them out. I got 100 of them today, along with 32 baby Chinese Tallow Trees and 2 baby African Ear Trees. In the above picture you see a thick mat of Cesar Weed and in the bottom picture they are gone, never to return.
A recent frost has burned their leaves along with the invasive Elephant Ear plants you see in the back ground.
    My hands and legs are getting stronger. Basically I do a low squat when pulling out a plant. I keep my back straight and lift with my thigh muscles.

12/9/10 Big Econlockhatchee Turk's Turban Removal I

     Using my Pullerbear tool I ripped out 100 Malaysian Turk's Turban Weeds which is about 1/10 of how many there are. Many broke off at ground level as they have evolved a break-off-joint. But some I got out along with their long tap root.
     These Malaysian Turk's Turban Weeds cost me a couple thousand dollars to get their matted roots out of my septic system.
     I've been sick with a cold for several days now. But I'm determined to get out and fight some exotics.

12/5/10 Big Econlockhatchee River

     Right next to my Cesar Weed free property is another property. Recently I stopped in for a visit and saw there was thousands and thousands of tiny to mid sized Cesar Weeds there! My neighbor has been mowing them (rather then pulling them out and burning them) so she has unkowingly aided in their spread. She also has a large fire pit, where I do not. I offered to pull out every last one and she told me I could use the burn pit any time. I said don't be so quick to make that offer I have a lot of exotics to burn.
     So today I got in there and easily pulled out 200 Cesar Weeds and 3 Chinese Tallow Trees.
     I found the above pictured animal skull among the weeds. I don't know what it is.

12/4/10 Blanchard Park

     I've come back for a second day on this main stand of Cesar Weeds. Today I pulled out 303 of them. You can see the pile in the top picture. Hidden in the Cesar Weed forest was several Ear Trees. I also pulled out 2 small Ear Trees, I cut down a medium sized one and girdled large one. This large stand of Cesar Weed is spreading seeds all over the area and it should take me a couple more months to finish it off.
     The second picture is of a Limpkin. This is one of my favoirite birds and a true symbol of the swamp. It has a Halloween erie cry that people mistake as a person calling for help.

12/3/10 Blanchard Park

     I've been pullng Cesar Weed out of this park for a year. Now I've begun an assault on the biggest and longest standing stand of plants. These plants are ten feet tall and six feet across. The rangers offered to dispose of any exotics I pull out and pile up. In the top picture you can see a large pile of Cesar Weeds the camophlaged things on the right side of the pile are my gloves.  I'd like to see them burned but there are just too many plants for me to burn myself.
    The second picture is the battle line. One the right native Florida plants. On the left a wall of Cesar Weed. I claimed about thirty more feet back from the invasive plants today.

12/3/10 A Good short book about the Exotics War

                                       

                                Science Warriors: The Battle Against Invasive Species

            I read this short and informative book by Sneed B. Collard III in one sitting.  “Science Warriors” focuses mainly on the Brown Tree Snake in Guam, The Fire Ant in Texas and the Melaleuca Tree, in the Everglades and it does introduce several other exotics. The book does give a sense of the extensive time, effort and money that goes into exotic control. In the U.S. we spend more money eliminating exotics than we do on education.

           

12/2/10 Mead Gardens

     In between appointments I got into Mead Gardens and pulled out 50 Cesar Weeds and 1 Tallow Tree. The park was getting ready to close so I had to leave or I'd have pulled out more.
     I think I may have found a Brazilian Pepper Tree in Winter Park also. I'll have to do some botany research to be sure. If it is, I'll be girdling it and cutting it down piece by piece.
     12/3/10 10:30am (See the two above pictures) I have confirmed that tree I saw last night is in fact Brazilian Pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius). I looked it up on the several websites including The Center For Aquatic And Invasive Plants and Youtube. So the war is on. I'm looking for some agency to call to report it being there, so the City of Winter Park will take the whole tree out by the roots. Otherwise I'll have to take it piece by piece and that could take years.
     This is the first Brazilian Pepper Tree I have encountered close up. This is why I was so carefull to be sure it was what I thought it was, before pulling off even one leaf.
     12/7/10 Since that day I have located several more Brazilian Pepper trees in Olando. Several on East HWY 50, and another on North Lockwood Road. I am going to report them to the city and I'll begin working on them myself. Once I find one, it's days are numbered.