An Aha Moment

Day 183 

I love learning new things and understand that we never stop learning regardless of how old you are. Our arrival in Savannah yesterday came with one of these learning moments. Yesterday in our campground, and in todays mini excursion to some local stores, I noticed the trees were laden with Spanish Moss. My understanding the moss was an endemic species to the bayou swamps. Much to my surprise, I found the moss was growing on trees all around me. We decided to do a little research on this and discovered it grows in tropical and sub tropical climates all over the world. To add to my aha moment, I learned the moss is not really moss but was named that by the French settlers who felt it reminded them of the Spanish conquistadors beards.  

The city of Savannah

This is where I originally thought Spanish Moss grew. 

You can find the moss in any forest in Georgia. 

The moss was used as stuffing for beds, pillows and vehicles seats in the old days. Over time, a belief came about that the moss had a microscopic pest called Chiggers living in it and these pests would leave rashes on the person using the bedding or seats. Modern day science has debunked that theory, stating that Chiggers-which are a close relative to the tick family, live close to the ground and do not venture into the trees. What is believed to have happened is the Spanish moss was pulled from the trees and left lying on the ground for an extended period of time allowing for the Chiggers to infest it.