WaterNotes

Remember the other day when I waxed philosophic about the chances of late-season turtle nests producing any viable hatchlings? Well, if the nests were laid in Palm Beach County, we could’ve added poaching to the list of potential harms. A man in Juno Beach lifted 120 eggs from a single nest for the purpose of [...]

Few things are as adorable as loggerhead hatchlings.  This little one’s hotfoot-scurry to the sea was captured by Lisa Morse, working in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida area (via Marine Photobank). Loggerhead nests abound on the east coast of Florida. During a long beach walk today I was thrilled to count dozens – leading to hundreds [...]

Well my friends it’s May 1st and sea turtle nesting season in Florida has officially begun.  (Yeeeeeeehaw!) I can’t quite get out to the Canaveral National Seashore today to look for fresh nests, but here’s hoping in the next few weeks that we have a successful start to the season. Sea turtle biologists and naturalists [...]

One Ton Landed got a nice bump in the weight totals today with an additional 40 pounds added to the tally. (Unfortunately it was probably more weight than this, but I forgot the scale on my way to the site. )  We returned to the site of our Earth Day cleanup, two extra volunteers/teachers/nerds on [...]

This morning’s wake up call was nicely provided by NASA and the crew of Discovery, as it thundered into orbit just before dawn broke over the Florida horizon. I have seen a number of launches, even the luminous and beautiful night time variety, but this one was unique for perfect and gorgeously highlighted clouds and [...]

Behold, the mighty horseshoe crabs of the Indian River Lagoon are spawning again! While out and about for a quick shoreline cleanup this afternoon I spotted ten females digging into the sand with several males either attached or hovering about hoping to sneak in on all the action.  Such males are not uncommon in mating [...]

Spring weather has finally set in with mild sunny days and no danger of frost. I set out to tame the wild jungles of dead brush in the garden this afternoon, enjoying the sunshine and the heady smell of confederate jasmine blooms intermingling with the orange blossom drifting in from the nearby grove.  I love [...]