In January, we wandered through the Everglades and happened upon Clyde Butcher in one of his studios. Famous for his massive black and white landscape photos of Florida, Clyde found solace in the swamps of Big Cypress National Preserve after his son was killed by a drunk driver in 1986. He credits the “mysterious, spiritual experience of being close to nature” in restoring his soul.
Clyde hasn’t slowed down after a stroke impacted his mobility last May. While he used to hike, kayak, and otherwise trudge through the Florida wilderness, he now uses a variety of mobility aids (including a cane with a golden alligator) and a different travel and planning mindset to get the shot.
Big Cypress Gallery, Ochopee, Florida. January 2018.
Thoughts? We’re loving it.
Well, this tiny hidden gem of a beach is in the running for “all-time best camping spot.” Popping the pop top beneath the palm trees, camping under the stars, and waking up to watch the tide roll out and the sun roll up -is there anything better than this?
(Although, it’s probably a good thing we didn’t know about the large shark population swimming nearby until *after* we spent the night next to the water.)
Shired Island, Florida. March 2018.
The Zerbini Family Circus came to town - and we went to check it out, but not without doing a little research first. A few things we learned about the family:
- The Zerbini family started performing with a circus in 1763 in Italy.
- Around the year 1900, Arturo Zerbini moved his family from Italy to North Africa. Born in North Africa (a French colony at the time) his children were given French citizenship. For the next 50 years, the Zerbini family circus traveled extensively throughout Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Turkey.
- In 1953, Charles Zerbini, along with brothers Louie, Pierre, and Antoine, became the first and only family ever to cross the Sahara desert with a circus. The 21-day, 1,900kilometer trip meant all necessary supplies and fuel had to be carried along with them. Especially cumbersome was the feed and water for the animals. (Amazingly, there were no casualties. There were numerous mechanical breakdowns, however.)
- 1n 1961, Charles moved his family to the United States to join the Mills Brothers Circus. The journey took 11 days. Caring for their exotic cats in the cargo hold of the ship was, apparently, very difficult and quite “aromatic.”
More photos and family history here: www.patreon.com/posts/little-big-top-17316229
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