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Archive for ‘Observations’

Unacclimated Accident

I have a little story to share with you. While lamenting Florida’s recent cold spell, I asked for patience from my readers who know how to Winter. I am not very good at Wintering, as you’ll soon learn.

A couple nights ago, I woke up feeling cold so I needed to pull up my blankets immediately to prevent frostbite (slight exaggeration, but I’m prone to it). My bed not only had a down comforter and two cozy blankets on it but it also had dead weight in the form of a zonked out cat. Westley weighs in at a trim 10 pounds but somehow, when he’s asleep he feels much heavier.

After making that careful calculation, I grabbed a handful of blankets and yanked. Unfortunately for me, I did not have a good enough grip with my right hand and it came flying back into my face.

Now, I’ve never had a broken nose so I’m not entirely sure what one feels like but it’s been a few days now and my nose is still very tender. Warmer weather can not come soon enough!

As for Westley, he slept through the entire incident and remains insouciant about his alleged culpability.
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Frozen Water

Well, it finally happened. After several freeze warnings over the past week, this morning the conditions were just right for ice to form in the bird bath. The ice was 1/4” thick when I went out to fill the bird feeders at 8am.

Since it was still only a brisk 39°, I went ahead and broke up the ice so birds could access their water. Inland, away from the moderating influence of coastal waters, I heard they dropped down into the teens last night.

Which is worrisome for all the agricultural lands, especially growers who were in the middle of strawberry harvest. I’m sure their plants took a hit, and I imagine some of my plants did as well.

Like me, they are not accustomed to this chilly weather. Thank goodness warmer temperatures are on their way!

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Can’t Complain

I was first introduced to Todd Snider when he opened for John Prine at Tucson’s Centennial Hall on November 10, 2001. It’s a pretty classy joint so I remember thinking “Who’s this guitar guy strolling on stage without shoes?” With his hat pulled low, Todd started strumming and singing, by the time he finished he had gained several more fans.

I won’t claim the everyone in the audience liked him, with his laidback, slacker style Todd was definitely not everyone’s favorite beer. His songs ranged from self-deprecating and irreverent to politically incorrect with a dash of biting social commentary thrown in to make the average listener slightly uncomfortable. It’s not easy to perfect a simple and straightforward story but Todd was a creative genius (and if a song bombed, he was the first to laugh about it).

Over the years I’d been fortunate to see the Barefoot Troubadour numerous times. The last one was in 2000, shortly after I moved to Florida. It was my birthday weekend and I was stoked when I won tickets to his Tampa show. It was such great way to settle in to my new home.

Sadly, Todd passed away this past November, just after heading out on tour for the first time in years. He had been scheduled to play here on January 31, so Noisemakers hosted a tribute show last night. It was a fantastic show, with various talented locals taking the stage to tell Todd stories and sing their favorite songs. We may have been an eclectic crowd of mixed ages, but we were buddies as we all sang along:

“A little out of place, a little out of tune
Sorta lost in space, racin’ the moon
Climbin’ the walls of this hurricane
Still overall I guess I can’t complain
I can’t complain, no I can’t complain”

Joshua Reilly Performing “Can’t Complain”
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New Hotel in Town

I was introduced to Bee Hotels over a decade ago but only recently decided to make one for my yard. Designed with lots of holes or openings, they encourage native bee species which usually lay their eggs in naturally occurring twigs or stems.

I would’ve built one earlier but I read a compelling article that said they don’t actually work and was therefore, dissuaded.

But a chance sighting on my front porch changed my mind. One of the holes in my welcome sign had been capped with a papery substance, a sure sign of a solitary bee nest.

I’m hoping to host more bees soon!

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Teeming with Life

Underway
Tidal Flat
Gulls, Resting in Their Sanctuary
Sea Grass
Live Sand Dollar
Live Sea Urchin, Wearing Armor
Live Fighting Conch, Peeking Out
Live Lightning Whelk with Operculum Showing
Massive Whelk
Live Banded Tulip
Banded Tulip and Operculum
Horse Conch
Alive!
Walking My Kayak, So Shallow!
Lightning Whelks – Where are They Going?
Return Reflection

Yesterday morning I woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Aware of the incoming cold front, I decided to take full advantage of the weather. After checking the tide and wind, I realized that if I hurried, conditions were favorable for a paddle out to Shell Key. So, I loaded up my kayak and drove down to my favorite launch at Butler Hole. Thirty minutes later, I was paddling across flat, glassy water.

Good thing my kayak is shallow-draft because it was just before low tide, meaning there were only a few inches of saltwater between me and the sandy bottom. It made paddling a bit challenging but on the plus side, there were very few people out there.

Every time I looked up from beachcombing I was awed by the clarity and color of the gulf water. Such a gorgeous way to spend the day!

While walking the island I did not collect any shells since most of them were still alive; sand dollars, sea urchins, conchs, whelks, and tulips. It was a treat watching these creatures – I was especially impressed by the agility of a Fighting Conch.

Fighting Conch Flip
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Early Birds Get the Shells

Predawn, Minus Tide
Not the Only Ones
Decorative, but Not the Shells We’re Looking For
Lightning Whelk with Hermit Crab
Banded Tulip Egg Mass
Dawn
Found Someone’s New Year Resolutions
And Their Intentions
Alyssa and Tom
White-spotted Sea Cucumber (Actinopyga varians)
Dead Man’s Fingers (Codium fragile)
Planehead Filefish (Stephanolepis hispidus)
Chestnut Turbans (Turbo castanea)
Common Atlantic Bubbles (Bulla striata)
Atlantic Oyster Drill (Urosalpinx cinerea)



Flame Streak Box Crab (Calappa flammea), Molt
Asian Green Mussel (Perna viridis)
Heart Urchin (Echinocardium cordatum) aka Sea Potato
See the Heart?
Pretty Operculum
Shark Eye Moon Snails and an Operculum
Alyssa, Me, and Suzanne

Winter storms tend to churn up the bottom of the Gulf which leads to new and interesting items on the beach. When the aftermath of one of those storms coincides with a minus tide, the beachcombing is not to be missed. So, yesterday I drove down early to Siesta Key and met Alyssa, her dad Tom, and step mom Suzanne for a morning of shelling.

It was still dark and a breezy 47° but we didn’t let that stop us! We had our headlamps and wore multiple layers. Since I’m a complete cold weather wimp I even had on ear muffs and gloves. Believe it or not, we weren’t the only ones braving the elements, we could see other little dots of light up and down the beach.

There were plenty of shells for everyone and it seemed every couple feet there was something that caught my interest. After a few hours we left to grab breakfast and rest our necks. By the time we returned to the sand, the sun had done it’s job and it was much warmer!

While the crowd had grown there was still so much to see. Interestingly, there were a lot of occupied shells, either by the original creator or by hermit crabs. We returned all the live ones we found to the gulf. Even had the chance to carefully untangle a Sea Cucumber from the wrack and slide it back into the water.

A quick internet search identified the flat, gray, and very dehydrated fish I found as a Planehead Filefish. I collected a few more Chestnut Turbans, Bubbles, and an Oyster Drill as they are rare on my beach. Came across the molt of a Flame Streak Box Crab, a new species for me. Since I had recently read about them, I knew that the green mussel shell, while colorful, was from an invasive species (at least it was dead).

As for the highlight of the day, I have two favorites and both were firsts for me. I was thrilled to find a Sea Potato, the test of a Heart Urchin (somewhat rare as they are very fragile). While the slightly curved, amber half moon that caught my eye, turned out to be a Shark Eye Moon Snail operculum (the door to their shell).

Definitely worth getting up early for!
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