Friday, August 9, 2013

Babies, Bull Sharks and Bad Guys: Seven Quick Takes

1.

There are a whole bunch of these intriguing sea turtle nests sectioned off in front of our beach, where we live on this little sandbar, really, I mean like 6 or 7 within a block.


how many blondes does it take to
read a Federal Violation Notice

Needless to say we have been fascinated and hoping, hoping we can get a glimpse of some of them in action. Joseph in particular is our resident investigator of All Things Interesting, and has been going down, morning and night, to see what's up.

 

2.

 

Well last Sunday morning, when Obi and the kids were walking to mass (I had gone earlier, alone, for one Isaac-free hour of prayer), they saw a neighbor a hootin' and a'hollerin' that a baby sea turtle had gotten lost in his yard, sadly, the opposite direction of Destination Water. Obi and the kids, including Joseph, had to hurry on to mass, but they called me, and I ran like lightening with Isaac on my hip (yes, I am completely capable of that) down to the water to see him let it go.



Apparently the nest had hatched in the middle of the night, and the majority of the little guys had been disoriented and gone in the wrong direction.  So the guy let the little feller go, to fend himself against sea gulls, ghost crabs, and general loneliness. 


Little one, be brave! Fare ye well amid the waves and water wolves!


Isaac sporting his Sunday Best

So blessed to have witnessed that, and the neighbor said that in all 20 years of living here, he had never found a baby turtle milling about.

3.

 

But oops!  As amazing that was for Isaac and me to watch, it was the wrong thing to do. We found out later that if you find a disoriented hatchling, you should turn them over to the good volunteers of Turtle Time, and they will release the baby at night, when predators can't see it, and it can follow the moon. Sorry little buddy!

4.

 

As you can imagine, Joseph was gravely disappointed he had missed watching the little swimmer on its maiden voyage, and has been more determined that ever to witness a nest hatch.
And last night it finally happened. He almost didn't go down. Annemarie was already asleep, the rest of us exhausted, and he didn't want to go alone. So he begged, like he always does, and Obi finally consented.  Several moments later I got the call that it was happening.
Peter and Jude in their underwear (not pictured) and me in my geek glasses ran on down, into the starry, lightning filled night. Obi had called the peeps at turtle time, and within minutes several volunteers showed up.  Waiting patiently in the dark, no flashlights allowed, we saw the half-foot wide hole that had caved in to let the hatchlings emerge. The funny faces, try as they might, were having a hard time getting out. The turtle time people assured us that once one or two made it out, the rest, most likely about a hundred, would swarm the beach, and it would all be over within minutes. Our job was to make sure they didn't make their way to the dunes and beach grass instead of the life-giving Gulf.
But it never happened. Only two little turtles did we ever see, and they were not exactly stellar specimens. They went in circles, their flippers looking lame from time to time, and with a bit of apathy. The volunteers, who had a good knowledge of such things, were perplexed.  They concluded that the nest, which was actually past due for hatching, had endured some trauma and that the rest of the eggs hadn't developed, and our two little friends here were probably not very healthy. 
Nevertheless, the volunteers helped them to the water, and they seemed to begrudgingly make their way off into the dark waters. Kind of depressing, really.

                      5.

We were told that tomorrow morning (this morning) the famed Turtle Lady would come by and excavate the nest and discover what had happened, count the number of eggs that actually hatched. And that she loved an audience!
Joseph was out there pretty much at dawn, waiting. And so were other volunteers who had found this charming Charlie in a sand hole:



They are waiting for this evening to let the wee one go.


6.

 

Meandering down the beach to see what was holding the Turtle Lady up, Joseph happened upon this monstrosity and called me using a borrowed phone from a stranger (he's not shy) to come check it out:


forget the shark! Why the heck is Isaac in pink jammies?
Limited wardrobe, folks.

Um, yes, that is a Bull Shark, quite possibly the most deadly shark in the world. And just a little one.


Ahem. Washed up right on the shore. Where we swim. Excuse me...
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7.

 

Unfortunately there is something worse than natural predators. Way worse. Intentional evil worse.



The hold up with the Turtle Lady was that she had discovered this in one of her nests. To be fair, the nest had already been deemed "not to be hatched," because it was far overdue, but the general public doesn't know this.



Pictured is a bottle of Clorox, A bottle of lighter fluid, a bottle of dish soap, upside down, right on top of the nest. A hand written (hand written are you idiots serious????) that said something to the effect that The Turtle Lady needs to go and that she is ruining their lives.
Now that is scary. I think the vast, incalculable majority of individuals who live on a beach are overwhelmed with the excitement of turtle season, and happily comply with issues that could effect their chances of success.  Simple things like taking in lawn furniture at dusk, and turning out outdoor lighting at night.
But I guess for some people that is too much. So much that they would risk committing a Federal offense.
That, Dear Web Log, is far, far more frightening that Bull Sharks.
All in a morning! Geez! Let's get back to the Rome report already! Stuff needs to just stop happening!

Thanks to Jen for hosting these takes!
  

 

14 comments:

  1. Turtles! AND SHARKS!!! This is so so sooooo cool! But those stupid jerks... Who the heck does that? To BABY TURTLES???

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  2. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Running away........

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  3. I agree, those creeps are way more dangerous than Bull Sharks. Your children are getting such a great education, and wow what memories. I didn't know that about sea turtles either so I've learned something new too.
    Isaac in pink jammies, glad I'm not the only one whose kids have limited wardrobe some days - if they are sleeping, I just don't care by the time we reach bedtime I'm to the point of 'whatever' please, please, please slip into whatever you think will provide the best chance of sleep!

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  4. Yikes!!! Which part of Fl are you in again? Baby sea turtles are one of the cutest things little creatures ever

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    Replies
    1. We just moved from Central Florida to a barrier island on the Gulf Coast in Southwest Florida! Too much excitement.

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    2. We're on the gulf close to Alabama and I never knew there were sharks like that in the water!

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  5. Hope Joseph gets to see a full hatching soon; thank you so much for sharing of your adventures.

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  6. Babies turtles and sharks..so awesome! Well awesome about the turtles...the shark would make me run screaming away.

    Scary about the creeps who did that to the nest...ugh! Hoping they don't live too close to you all.

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  7. Stupid jerks! But karma has a way of turning things around on them hopefully. I'm wondering what is wrong with the bull shark to make it wash ashore. Definitely exciting times for your family!

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  8. Ahhhhh!!! I don't even know where to start! I was so so excited for you to see the hatchlings, and then sad and then frightened, and then hopping mad. My emotions are all over the place!

    I seriously cannot cannot cannot believe that someone would do that to nest full of baby turtles. And ohmygoshIjustwatched shark week and you are scaring the bejesus out of me with that bull shark. So scared!

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  9. LOVE the babies...HATE the big-sharky-thing. Holy Moly that would scare me too!

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  10. Turtle saving, sharks and villains! Oh my! What an exciting and adventurous life! I thought beach living was supposed to be relaxing. :)

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  11. I dont even understand. Baby turtles ruin peoples lives how? You know what. You are right. Its intentional evil, and I guess Im glad I cant understand it. Also, my keyboard is broken, so please excuse all the typos.

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  12. I finally showed my shark loving son your photos of the washed up shark. It was the perfect top off of Shark Week. I think it renewed his hope that one day he will actually see a real shark up close. (Careful what you wish for, kid!) He assures me that whenever we pass a local pond he can see a shark fin sticking out. :-)

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