Tequesta : Number - 50/1990 - FIU Digital Collections

20 TEQUESTA
Living and developing a place in so unique a location among the
Dade County pines was a fascinating experience, and I tried to share
what I observed, learned, and thought with Miami Herald readers. It is
through the preservation of those columns as well as from notes I kept
that I am able to write this. The following is taken from a column:
"Strolling through the woods in a leisurely way, I like to make myself
aware of the physical and chemical elements at work and the roles they
have played in the creation of this place, which only a few years ago was
a small part of a wildemess covering much of the country. Each
contributing element is a science in itself. First, there is the geology -
the structure of the land, its elevation and history. There is the soil -
the thin mantle over the limestone rock, created by the interplay of
weathering, the decay of dead plants, and the physical and chemical
activities of plant roots. There is the botany - the pines and the
understory plants, including the underfoot things that grow and bloom
without being seen unless you are particularly observant. There is the
zoology - the microorganisms, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds,
and four-footed animals that live here. There is the weather, changing
with the seasons, bringing sultry mornings and afternoon thundershowers
in summer, sometimes tropical storms in August, September or
October, then the usually dry, pleasantly cool days of late fall, winter,
and early spring.
"While my acquaintance with any of these sciences is superficial
when compared with the knowledge of an expert, I have learned enough
about them to appreciate their contribution to the landscape. And I also
know enough about the ecology of the pine woods - the interrelationship
of all the living things and nature's forces - to realize how easily
the balance of nature is upset by mankind's best intentions as well as by
his worst. But because of their subtlety and complexity, it is virtually
impossible to observe the various forces actually playing their roles,
even as you view the landscape every day with discerning eyes. At any
moment of experience the human is too insensitive to see more than the
flight of a bird, to hear the rasping of a cicada, or be aware of a falling
leaf wrenched from a twig by a passing breeze. Perhaps it is enough for
the non-scientist to know that the interplay of nature's forces is taking
place, and has been taking place for thousands of years in order to create
a pine forest, together with the adaptation of the countless living things,
both plants and animals, associated with it."
On another occasion I wrote that "sometimes as I walk through the
pine woods, or while sitting idly on the breezeway late in the day,