Breaking News: The Senator Burns to the Ground

What a shame! In August of last year I wrote an article on The Senator. The Senator at Big Tree Park is one of the largest Cypress trees in America. The Senator was used as a landmark by the Seminole Indians, as well as the other Native American tribes in the area. During the Hurricane of 1925, the top of the Senator was destroyed, lopping off 47 feet of the original 165 feet.

© Ancient Digger

© Ancient Digger

© Cf New 13

Today, the Senator fell to the ground in a blaze, just minutes from my home.  The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that "they are awaiting a complete explanation for why investigators ruled out arson. If the fire wasn't set, how did it start? It's important to get answers because another massive cypress tree, Lady Liberty, is still standing at Big Tree Park. Though smaller and less elderly (2,000 years old instead of 3,500), it needs to be preserved and protected if security at the park is lacking."

Lats year I shot footage of my trip to the Senator, accompanied by music by Mary Gunderson. You can see it here in all its grandeur. What a sad day for Florida, as part of our history is lost

Madagascar Unmasked and Mystifying

© WildJunket

See, now this is why I love Twitter. It’s amazing, the kind of people you can meet and the places they’ve been around the country.

This particular shot of a dugout boat in Madagascar was taken by Nellie Huang, the founder of WildJunket. As a professional travel writer, she travels around the world with her notebook and camera in hand, to seek out adventurous and quirky corners.

Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. The island of Madagascar broke away from the African continent 165 million years ago. The first settlers of Madagascar were of African and Asian origin, and 18 separate ethnic groups emerged, derived from an African and Malayo-Indonesian mixture. About 80% of the animals found in Madagascar do not exist anywhere else on Earth.

Nellie Huang just visited the island of Madagascar and here’s a snippet from her travelogue,

Over the past few days, we experienced the wilderness of Madagascar – sleeping in the forest, watching lemurs and chameleons in their natural habitat and flowing down rivers on dugout canoes. In the Kirindy forest, we saw the adorable grey mouse lemur upclose and personal and watched sifakas leap from one tree to another. At the Tsingy de Bemahara, we climbed sharp karst rock faces to get a awestriking view of the jungle from above. Back in the town of Belo-sur-Tsiribihina, we wandered through the colorful and bustling central market, taking in Malagasy culture. By the time we got to Morondava, we were thrilled to be feasting on cheap and delicious seafood at Chez Maggie.

Read more: Madagascar Unmasked: Wildlife, Nature and Beautiful People

Thanks Nellie Huang from Wild Junket

More Madagascar articles:

Dinosaurs in Madagascar

Ancient Digger Archaeology Featured On Nature Center Magazine

June 6, 2011--Nature Center Magazine just featured Ancient Digger as the Nature Site of the Week.

Emma Springfield writes,

The history of our wildlife and people is wrapped in the past. As we learn more about the past, we learn more about why things are the way they are now.

It's good to know where you come from in order to know where you are going." This is an old Irish saying. It basically means that your ancestors are part of who you are. In the world of nature there are people who study the past. These are the archaeologists and anthropologists. They find remnants of times past, study them, and tell us where we came from.

I'm so honored to be featured at a site which introduces readers to some of the most fascinating nature sites, news articles, videos, and travel guides. Although Ancient Digger does explore a variety of topics outside the realm of nature, the topic of archaeology regularly featured at Ancient Digger Archaeology, couldn't be understood without relying on the contexts of the natural world.

Thanks again to Nature Center Magazine and Emma Springfield for presenting the site of the week in such a professional and artistic manner.

Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire's Roman Archaeological Dig

During 1500BC the area of Lincolnshire, soon to become a nature preserve, was flooded by the sea. During the Iron Age the area dried out and was commanded during the Roman period, where herding of cattle and production of salt took precedence.

"Archaeologists from the Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire got the chance to re-visit an area of rich roman history to scour the land for artifacts and treasures from the Roman period before the area was to be turned in to a nature reserve. Tom Hughes went along to join the team and see what they found."

Video is copyright Taken from Lincolnshire Living on Channel 7 (Virgin Media 879/ (www.channel7tv.co.uk)

The Madara Rider of Bulgaria

The Madara Rider sits 246 feet above ground, on a cliff face in the Madara Plateau of northeastern Bulgaria. The relief is inaccessible, adding to its mystery. How were they able to create it?  Either way, the relief is extraordinary.

Including the inscription in Medieval Greek, the rider covers close to 1400 square feet on a vertical 328 foot cliff face. The horseman is depicted in a hunting scene, spearing a lion. The lion is being trampled by the horse and a dog is trailing behind the rider.

Read this article on the Madara Rider: The Mysterious Stone Horseman of Bulgaria

The Temple of Apollo

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