Livin' On Island Time

Friday a week ago I stood on the edge of the dock watching the sun roll away behind some high flying clouds sending out its rays like big arms wrapping us all in its magic.  Friend Adrian said, "we're so lucky to live here".

The waterfront is a source of constant city planning, making plans and trying to decide what to do with it, everyone with their own ideas on the what, the when, and the how always getting tossed into the fray.  What happens is that it stays very much the same without much of anything happening as is the way with politics.

But the river runs on, the suns sets each day giving us a different show each time, the birds still fly overhead, changes do occur but we don't always see or realize it is happening.  Old timers have told me about the day when they sat on this dock and watched turtle heads pop up all over this water's surface on any given night.  That water has flowed on to become a part of the vast ocean and many of the turtles and manatees have lost their battle with the waterfront and its citizens who like to race up and down its shores in their fast boats.

The docks give way to time as private owners don't invest the money in them to maintain them and the shrimping industry which once made it profitable to do so has diminished just like the turtles and the manatees.  But to an artist the dilapidated docks give us a treasure trove of art material to do countless paintings and photos from.  We are inspired by its character and the stories left inside these old boards if they could only talk.

While we were soaking up the river breeze the town folks were enjoying another First Friday Sounds on Centre, listening to the music, chatting with friends, on a warm summer night in Fernandina Beach.  A Touch of Gray was the band and they played a selection that most of us with a touch of gray in our hair could mouth the words to as they played.

Older...sters  as well as

youngsters...danced to the rhythm of the band's music.  Fun to see that it was the boys tonight strutting their stuff and not too shy to show off their moves.  The one in the blue shirt is the son of friends of mine, James and Penka Klauder.  This is young James.  His dad asked him if he wasn't embarrassed to get up in front of a crowd and he said, "Dad, I don't even see them, I'm just dancin."

Young James was very nice to take the time in his busy evening of dancing to listen intently to whatever the younger admirer had to say.  It was obviously a very serious conversation.

Then it was back to the beat...

Another youngster can heard crying and pleading, almost certainly with Alpha and Little Girl (the parents) for just one more meal in the nest.  I am not sure her cries were heeded this time because I have not seen her in the nest any more.  I think she has finally gotten the message that she has to hunt for herself.

A potential mother in waiting, as Patricia waits to see if she has any hatchlings left in "her" first nest to find as a first year Sea Turtle Volunteer.  Last year she attended all the excavations and got so hooked on the turtles that this year she became a Sea Turtle Volunteer also.

All four of her little ones decided they might escape this newest prison if they all stood on tiptoe...

While this excitement is happening, horseback riders pass behind us.

Oops!!!  Standing on tiptoe has its drawbacks when the bucket becomes mobile.

Mary Duffy, the head of the island's Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch, carefully carries the hatchlings around so all can see and get their photos of these little ones before they are launched.  NO FLASHES, PLEASE!!!

Proud momma poses with her surrogate family

Camera's click from all directions as these little fellows head out to their "home" and are unceremoniously dumped out on the sand at the water's edge.

Off to the races...the race of life that is.

Now this is something I hate to see left on the beach in the morning when I arrive for turtle patrol.  Very dangerous for these pits to be left open on the beach.  Walking on the beach at night without light, the proper way to walk on the beach in the summer at least, could cause a serious accident with this kind of "animal trap".  It can be lethal for hatchlings which fall in and cannot possibly get out.  It can also be serious if a nesting sea turtle crawls into these pits.  It will possibly cause her to not nest and drop her eggs in the water instead.  So I yell from my pit digging soap box, that these people are thoughtless and irresponsible to dig these pits above the high tide line and leave them.  Below it, at least the next tide would fill it in but not so on this one.

While we are preparing to excavate nest #11, its siblings had hatched just beside it.  #11 was underneath the pier and did not get the direct sun on the sand all day causing it to hatch a bit slower; the same momma's nest laid a couple of week later hatched off three days later.  This one was filled with ants the next day along with a crab.  But you can see by the tracks that many made it out to the water.  We had put a black plastic light barrier behind to prevent them from seeing the lights at the paper mill and it worked.  They all headed in the right direction.

Care to try to count them?  We know that over a hundred of them got out.

Nest 15 had also hatched as well as the one that was too far outside the "Indexing" area to count.  Three in one night what an evening.  Sunday morning will be a busy one with 3 nests to dig up.  This is a perfect nest hatching.  Almost no light disorientation (looks like 2 went sideways) and that perfect cone shape to the tracks as they spread out from the nest and disperse into the water.

Our Ameri Corp worker Alicia actually was the one down on her knees and got to feel these three little wiggly fellows as one by one she discovered them in the nest.  Another happy surrogate turtle mom.  I hope Alicia will become the next real ranger hired because she certainly has the interest and knowledge of wildlife to be a good one.

These three were raring to go.  Not even a piece of wrack slowed their progress as they were over it in seconds just like hurtles racers.

Neck 'n neck they approached the finish line.

The whitish color of their backs quickly gets it color back as the water begins to wash over them.  I can imagine that first wash of water must feel so good as the sand is washed away and they can drink for the first time.  They are equipped to be able to drink the salt water.

A new nest on Friday, just outside the park, so there still is hope we could get another one.

Sunday morning is not my day for Turtle Patrol, but I always show up for our excavations.  The ranger on duty was a new one and had been brought on staff after turtle training, and since he had transferred in from another state park we all assumed he knew the ropes.  However he met me at the beach as planned but he walked in from the parking lot--no buggy, no report book, no supplies.  We managed by finding a scrap of paper to write the stats on, however my biggest concern was for the nest filled with ants, and I would have no gloves to wear.  This cute little girl from another country, I'm not sure which, as I could not quite put my finger on the accent, was very interested and excited to get to escort this one to the water.  She was later in the restaurant behind the gallery when I finally got away from the beach where my helping sister and I had a nice brunch.  Digging 3 nests and then doing Turtle Patrol made for a long Sunday day off.

I gave the young lady a photo of a very similar Sea Turtle which was waving goodbye.  This was a very energetic fellow from the first of the three we excavated, nest #15.  It was a good nest with no dead ones and 133 had all gotten out 3 days prior and were probably already hanging out in the Sargassum Sea, eating Seahorses and tiny Crabs with a seaweed side salad by now.

I held up a fire ant bitten hand to show off this little ones eagerness to swim.  Without the gloves I will soon have numerous blistery bites on my wrists and arms, especially my right one.  The ants and crabs had killed 17 in this nest but miraculously there were two which were very, very ready to rock and roll.  A big thank you to my sister and friend Susie for helping with the counting and recording of my data with the three nests.  The last nest also had two babies in it but although we turned them loose they were "not the sharpest knives in the drawer" so to speak.  They were very sluggish and unenthused about swimming although they finally did swim away they will probably be one of the larger group in stats recorded when we say 1 in a 1000 will make it.

Monday morning the moon was very beautiful and the air had a slight coolness in it that reminded me that the end of summer will not be that far away.  I kept looking at it and thinking, wow, that sure is pretty this morning.  Then it hit me that it has probably been that nice many mornings prior but this time I am looking at it with my new glasses and seeing it without a blurred shadow image for the first time in about 3 years.  Even my last glasses did not give me a really clear edge on the moon.

I had the beach almost to myself except for a few familiar faces, 'strangers' I encounter who stop to chat a second asking about the turtles and other beach things as they walk the shoreline.  The rain from the night before had left the beach smoothed out from the weekend's high traffic foot prints giving me a smooth surface to check for Turtle Tracks.  I rode low at the edge of the last high tide not wanting to mess it all up and also to protect the little beach bugs and other small critters who live there.  I stopped on the river looking across at Cumberland and at the Osprey in his usual fishing spot this time of the morning and then....

..I looked to the left to the dune side of the beach and saw the beauty of the dunes, the Oak Maritime forest and the full heads of the ripe Sea Oats and said, Wow, I really am lucky to get to live here and enjoy this all the time.

I finished the Western end of the ride just checking the beach.  Without a turtle nest on this end any more to watch, it becomes just a routine to ride this part.  As the numbers dwindle now and hope for more nests diminishes the rides will become that way more and more until I will welcome the patrol's end and look forward to mornings where I can enjoy the morning news propped up in bed with double pillows, my coffee, with my hubby, starting the day slowly, and not in the rushed, get out the door pace of Turtle Season.  For now I envy these fellows; Ken who is out there on the rocks almost every day fishing, and the fellows with boats who have easier access to be best fishing spots.  Ken says even when he is not catching anything that it is better then being at home where he would be expected to mow the lawn or some other chore.

Bonnie and Clyde sit patiently behind Kenneth waiting for a handout and today a Laughing Gull waits with them.  They have the right gull attitude.  They're all on island time.

The fellows in the boat have found what looks to them to be a good spot and where I was told by one lady who also fishes almost daily from nearby says it is her favorite spot and she calls it her "Honey Hole".  I think when it cools a bit, I may fish the "Honey Hole" myself.    Livin' on Island Time is more then just learning to relax and take it easy, we all know I work my buns off, but it means being more spontaneous and taking advantage of the moment when and idea or opportunity arise and not put things off.  Maybe that's just getting older or maybe it is living on a small island where life is always changing and can be tenuous.

Watching the Submarine Races

This nest was a hard one for the Sea Turtles to exit with lots of wrack washed over it mixed in with an extra thick layer of sand.  You can see some of the mess they had to push through to get out.  The weather (which was way offshore) that created this additional sand was the same one which had washed away sand on the exposed eggs just down the beach a bit.  I had cleared a pathway in the pile of wrack, where the girls feet are, so that there was a way out, but could not take it off the top without disturbing the nest, a big no-no.

We found two little ones which had not yet made it out.  Then looking up; very weird to find three people walking toward you at a nest excavation only to find out you knew their parents well back in Chattanooga.  They knew I was on the island but did not know I would be doing the nest excavation.  Their young son helped me put them in the water.

One was much slower than the other.  His shell was in a bowed position reflecting the cramped space it was in, up against the hard wall of the outside of the nest chamber.  The one on the left, the darker one, was the slow one but the other was very energetic and anxious to get into the water.

Off Superboy went, very strong and had no trouble making its way through the waves to head out.

I let my young assistant wade out into the water to put the little slow one in out past the breaking waves just to give him a little advantage.

A big event on the island.  A Leatherback hatching in front of the Ritz.  The nest was being excavated and every one was in attendance who was interested in seeing this rare event.  Must have been a 150 onlookers.  I couldn't even get a good look.

Only one baby, which had died, was found in the nest with over 60 making it out on their own.  You can see how much larger the hatchling is that comes out of the tennis ball size eggs.  You can see its flipper hanging down on the far side of Mary Duffy's hand.  Our first Leatherback nest  has shown no signs of hatching even though it is past time.  If it doesn't hatch then it will be a long excavation attempt to try and find those eggs as they are almost impossible to find if they are there at all.  The second one is at 60 days making it also due to hatch any time.

This turtle gal responsible for nest # 30 had had a hard climb ahead of her.  She had tried to get up further East on the beach (on the right side of the photo) but then followed the base of the escarpment until she found a place she could make it up.  She laid just a few feet from a previous nest.  Has to be the same gal.  This is about 5 for her so probably no more.

It has been a busy week with submarines.  This is the second one I had seen.  The gun boats were actively keeping all the fishermen and evil spies in boats at a secure distance, by circling them and explaining the situation something like, "you move or I shoot".  I would certainly not argue with them.

The sun was highlighting the sub as in headed out into the early morning with a few ofthe sailors standing on deck watching the shoreline disappear as they prepared to be inside their cocoon home for a long stretch.  Only a few of the family members were in attendance for this one.

An unusual event also along for the party was this oddity, possibly a mini-sub, or else it was someone's motorized garbage can heading against the incoming current.

The size of this submersible is shown in relationship to the Shrimpboat in front of it.

We have had lots of nests hatching both in the park and on the rest of the island.  Dottie (excavating) and her husband Charlie are great support teams for each other.  She enjoys the fish he catches and he goes to the excavations and carries her bucket and sticks for her.  My husband is my support team with a cup of hot coffee along with my wake up call.  You will never meet nicer people then Sea Turtle Volunteers and their support spouses.  I go to see lots of the excavations when I am not too tired and I don't have to walk very far.  Trying to keep this knee feeling good as long as I can.

I was noticing as I checked our unhatched nests, some of the activity on and all around the nests.  These are Bobcat tracks interspersed with Raccoon.  There were Ghost Crabs and even Armadillo tracks all crisscrossing the turtle nest.  It can be a busy place at night but Mom left it so covered and disguised that there was no interest in the nest from all these critters on the prowl for their next meal.

The last nest so far is a Green Turtle, Nest #31, probably our last nest with time running out for laying season.  She must have spent most of the night on the beach trying to decide where she was going to lay.  She first entered the beach South of the park but crawled in front of the Park Boundary sign, then a long, long way through the minor dunes, stopping to dig at least 3 body pits before deciding it wasn't where she wanted to be.

She finally turned and headed back at the top of the photo and headed back southward again.  At the turn she dug another body pit and at first Marie and I thought she had laid eggs there.  The stake in the ground (its our "dune" stake which gives us a hint on a nest if it were to get washed out) marks the area just behind where she actually decided to lay, located on the other side of this mound of Seaoats.

But when we followed her tracks on down the beach we found a more likely spot which we marked.  So far except for the Leatherback, and no one is ever very sure where they are concerned, we are holding at 100% on our educated guesses.  (the mound of Seaoats is the one in the previous photo so you can get your perspective of just how far she ended up crawling.

She finally headed back to the water.  We are excited and if this is our last nest it will mean that our season will end in another two months around the first week of October.  If we have more, we could go into the middle of October.  If this Green decides to come back (they nest later) then we could be much later like last year which was the eternal season with the nest that never hatched.

Another morning, another submarine.  I am told this one had to come into port for repairs so was not a planned part of their itinirary.

A pretty morning, as noticed by a lady bicyclist I assisted after she had fallen on the rocks at the pier had recovered enough to bicycle up to the fort.  She was sitting on the rocks when I arrived and being a former navy gal was excited to get to see the sub.  Another witness was this Osprey who caught my attention.  I wondered if his morning's fishing had been interrupted by this big parade.

The Osprey seemed to be taking it all in just as we were.

Its quite a sight to see all this taking place not far from where you are sitting.

As soon as they cleared the Osprey, he dived for a fish and was successful.  I only wish I could be so lucky.

Off he flew circling wide and hanging on to his catch.

In mid flight the Osprey will make a switch to the talons of the other foot to get a better grip.  On a longer flight they will use both feet to 'orient the fish for minimum aerodynamic drag', which is a lot like pointing it into the wind!

First on the right, and now on the left, never pausing in the flight back and on toward his perch.

First pass with the still kicking fish he is unable to land and has to make a quick circle back...

...a smoother approach this time.

Looks like a two point landing.

By the time the Osprey had settled in to enjoy his breakfast the water parade was exiting stage left.  Always something interesting, even when you don't expect it to happen.  Life is that way isn't it?  If it isn't then you need to make some changes because life is short and we just don't know how short.  Make each day count.