Today the crew took the afternoon off to go visit a farm of a different sort, just outside the Everglades.

Bill raises tropical fish for the pet trade, but he’s also an animal collector, tank upon tank of everything from albino frogs to african cichlids.

The sheer diversity of agriculture in the Redlands is incredible. There are nurseries that specialize in growing braided ficus for export to europe. Some grow only ornamental grass in plastic pots. Strawberry farms. Avocado groves. Long trellises laden with dragon fruit. A place down the road raises koi and tilapia. Bill is next door to a gator farmer. I’m sure there’s so much more I’m not even aware of.

Some of the fish were housed in massive circular outdoor tanks, blue tubs with little portholes. Others lived in concrete tubs under shade shelters, or in glass, or in the case of the tarpons and gar fish, a large freshwater pond.

Gar fish, by the way, are pretty insane. The ones Bill is raising he’s had since Hurricane Andrew, so they’re about seventeen years old and maybe five or so feet long. I didn’t really see what the big deal was. But given more time, alligator gar can reach ten feet long and weigh in at 200 pounds. According to wikipedia, they’re “popular amongst bowfishers because of their size and tendency to brawl.”

We just sat on the dock and tossed dog food into the water, watching them surface and snack on the floating pellets. It was all very civilized. But I do not see alligator gar farming in my future.

As always, I found something small and pretty to hold and photograph

It’s the empty shell of a ram’s horn snail. I put in my pocket, for remembrance on a gray afternoon in New England, when I return to my real world.