Today we stopped at Mixon’s Orange Grove. They don’t just have oranges there though, despite the name. They grow oranges, grapefruits, and kumquats, as well as making their own orange juice, grapefruit juice, orange marmalade, and other citrus-related products. They also give tours of their groves and their new wildlife preserve. We took the tour by way of the Orange Blossom Express.
The firs stop was in the orange grove. We learned about the growing process and how Mixon’s protects their trees from the cold and frost. In the early days, they used large logs which gave off a dark, black smoke. This smoke would hover above the trees, keeping them warm. They were outlawed from using these though in the early 1900s because it polluted the air.
The next method of tree protection was called smudge pots. These were large, metal containers that looked similar to a Mexican adobe or “oven”. They too gave off a heavy, hovering smoke which lingered above the trees. These were also more expensive than the logs, because the smudge pots cost $50,000 to run. After a period of time, Mixon’s was outlawed from using these also because it gave off the heavy smoke.
Today in the groves, they use windmills to keep the air around the trees moving. By moving the air, there is not much of a chance for the trees to freeze.
Once we were finished in the groves, we moved onto the new wildlife preserve. The man who runs it takes in animals who are endangered, hurt, or victims of animal abuse. He puts them in this preserve and gives them a good habitat and food. May of the animals are not able to be released back into the wild, so they live on the preserve until they die. So far, there are two miniature deer, a baby alligator and its mom, an owl, a falcon, a hawk, two raccoons, and a Burmese python. We first saw the raccoons. Both of them are not able to be released because they are too used to humans. The larger one was not brought out because he is harder to handle. He stayed in the cage and then paced back and forth until the keeper came back in to give him a cookie.
The next animals that we saw were the miniature deer. They originated in China, but were brought over here to the east coast. They like the warm climate here, which is why reproduction programs have been set up throughout the state. The mature deer grows up to be about 17 inches high, making them the smallest deer in the world.
After seeing the deer, Matthew (the keeper), brought out a 14-foot Burmese python. Grandpa wasn’t very thrilled about that! The python was actually taken out of someone’s back yard. These animals are reproducing rapidly in Florida. People buy them as pets, not realizing that they will get so large. As they grow, people get tired of taking care of them, so they do the humane thing and release them into the wild. Pretty soon, these pythons find mates and begin to reproduce. Now, because of this, the python population is rapidly increasing in Florida which is how the python at Mixon’s got there. She is 56 pounds and 14 feet long. Matthew plans to feed her until she grows to be 28 feet in length. Believe it or not, I held this python!
Then he brought out a baby alligator. The mother was too large to bring out to show, but the baby was obviously small enough to display. The baby had a problem with his mouth, which hinders him from eating normally. This is the reason that he can not be released into his natural habitat. They feed him a special diet of foods that he can swallow. Remember, alligators do not chew their food, so they do not break it down into smaller chunks. A grinding mechanism at the back of their mouth breaks down their food for them. This alligator has something wrong with this mechanism. For this reason, he can never be released.
After the baby alligator, we saw a great horned owl. This owl actually goes home with the preserve keeper and lives with him. The owl likes to watch TV…especially Animal Planet. He sleeps on his own perch in the keeper’s living room.
Once we finished at the preserve, we saw where the fruit is sorted and processed, and where it goes into the store. I enjoyed the tour, and I am definitely looking forward to the Strawberry Festival tomorrow!
The firs stop was in the orange grove. We learned about the growing process and how Mixon’s protects their trees from the cold and frost. In the early days, they used large logs which gave off a dark, black smoke. This smoke would hover above the trees, keeping them warm. They were outlawed from using these though in the early 1900s because it polluted the air.
The next method of tree protection was called smudge pots. These were large, metal containers that looked similar to a Mexican adobe or “oven”. They too gave off a heavy, hovering smoke which lingered above the trees. These were also more expensive than the logs, because the smudge pots cost $50,000 to run. After a period of time, Mixon’s was outlawed from using these also because it gave off the heavy smoke.
Today in the groves, they use windmills to keep the air around the trees moving. By moving the air, there is not much of a chance for the trees to freeze.
Once we were finished in the groves, we moved onto the new wildlife preserve. The man who runs it takes in animals who are endangered, hurt, or victims of animal abuse. He puts them in this preserve and gives them a good habitat and food. May of the animals are not able to be released back into the wild, so they live on the preserve until they die. So far, there are two miniature deer, a baby alligator and its mom, an owl, a falcon, a hawk, two raccoons, and a Burmese python. We first saw the raccoons. Both of them are not able to be released because they are too used to humans. The larger one was not brought out because he is harder to handle. He stayed in the cage and then paced back and forth until the keeper came back in to give him a cookie.
The next animals that we saw were the miniature deer. They originated in China, but were brought over here to the east coast. They like the warm climate here, which is why reproduction programs have been set up throughout the state. The mature deer grows up to be about 17 inches high, making them the smallest deer in the world.
After seeing the deer, Matthew (the keeper), brought out a 14-foot Burmese python. Grandpa wasn’t very thrilled about that! The python was actually taken out of someone’s back yard. These animals are reproducing rapidly in Florida. People buy them as pets, not realizing that they will get so large. As they grow, people get tired of taking care of them, so they do the humane thing and release them into the wild. Pretty soon, these pythons find mates and begin to reproduce. Now, because of this, the python population is rapidly increasing in Florida which is how the python at Mixon’s got there. She is 56 pounds and 14 feet long. Matthew plans to feed her until she grows to be 28 feet in length. Believe it or not, I held this python!
Then he brought out a baby alligator. The mother was too large to bring out to show, but the baby was obviously small enough to display. The baby had a problem with his mouth, which hinders him from eating normally. This is the reason that he can not be released into his natural habitat. They feed him a special diet of foods that he can swallow. Remember, alligators do not chew their food, so they do not break it down into smaller chunks. A grinding mechanism at the back of their mouth breaks down their food for them. This alligator has something wrong with this mechanism. For this reason, he can never be released.
After the baby alligator, we saw a great horned owl. This owl actually goes home with the preserve keeper and lives with him. The owl likes to watch TV…especially Animal Planet. He sleeps on his own perch in the keeper’s living room.
Once we finished at the preserve, we saw where the fruit is sorted and processed, and where it goes into the store. I enjoyed the tour, and I am definitely looking forward to the Strawberry Festival tomorrow!
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