Cypress Swamp May 30th 2011

Memorial Day we took an afternoon drive along the North shore of the Ross Barnett Reservoir. This drive is on the Natchez Trace Parkway. We had heard of a  pull out called Cypress Swamp and that it was a cool place to visit. 
It has water tupelo and bald cypress trees that can live in deep water for long periods. After taking root in summer when the swamp is nearly dry, the seedlings can stay alive in water deep enough to kill other plants. The trail leads to an abandoned river channel. As the channel fills with silt and vegetation, black willow, sycamore, red maple and other trees gradually replace the bald cypress and tupelo. It's also a good place to spot some reptilian friends. We were able to see three alligators and they were all young ones. The big ones were hiding well. Here are some photos.

The Hummer finds the spot.

Cypress swamp - Can you see the gators?

Can you see them in here?

Looks like a Turtle maybe for lunch!

A young Alligator

Here's the one hiding in the emerald green water. No photo doctoring here this is what it looks like.