Will it Boil? Turtle Vigil & Renovations

 

The BIG Wait:  Move In of a Sort or Will We Ever Settle and See a Turtle  Nest "Boil"?

Fort De Soto North Beach

We've been in what mini me can only describe as 'The Twilight Zone,' arrived in the USA, neither awaiting a home nor 'moved in,' but continue to sleep on our airbed camping in the condo.  A very strange time (5 months) indeed!  And now the Red Tide threatens, just off the coast.

Distractions definitely needed if only to keep our sanity as our 5 week renovation enters week 13, hopefully with carpet to be installed over this holiday weekend, and another 2 weeks or so for the kitchen countertop.

www.conversantlife.com/relationships/loggerheads-lights-and-landmarks

So we continue on the Turtle Vigil.  At day 45 post egg laying (mama returns to sea), a cage appeared, brought in by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA), to protect the emerging turtles from (a) predators, such as birds who find the hatchlings a tasty treat and (b) beach lights which disorient the turtles as they wander off in the wrong direction.  Hence the cage allows a controlled release guiding the babies to the sea and giving them a better chance of survival; only about 1 in 500 or 1 in 1,000 make it to adulthood and become parents for the next generation.

So Monday and Tuesday nights we popped down to see the cage between 10 pm and 1 am, but weren't expecting much.  Here and Here is video of what we're looking for.

 

Still no CMA volunteers sitting nest-side, but by Wednesday night we hoped ... and didn't want to miss it . . . so much like having a small child we were up every two hours checking - 10:30, 1, 3, and 5 am.  The sand was cool after a rain, a good sign for hatching.  Whew mini me is exhausted and still nothing!  

 

Thursday night we made trips to the nest at 10:30 pm, and 3 am; however, no visible action by the baby turtles.  Without a moon there is little reflected light on the ocean and it is easy to see how the hatchlings could go the wrong way towards the human dwellings and lights on the beach.  Watch this from the 2 minute marker into the video.

 

Friday night, cool with lightening.  Jim from CMA nest sitting as this is now day 50. 

According to Jim, the eggs are at the beginning of a 15 day window for hatching (who knew?!?) -- so guess my getting up in the middle of the night this week was just 'practice.'  Down to check the nest at 09:30 pm and again at 12:30 am.  Jim says unlikely to hatch this night, so off to a good sleep and rest for the rest of the night.

 

Saturday morning no sign of hatching.  At around 7:30 am the CMA comes by to open up the cage flap so that if the babies hatch during the day, they can escape to the sea -- if they don't run into predators or humans first -- and not fry in the Florida sun.   The life of a turtle, hey?

Tomorrow (yes, Sunday) the vinyl should be laid in our condo on Labor Day Monday (!).

Mini me will sleep in a hotel Saturday and Sunday nights as we must pack everything away (including the airbed) to clear the floors and avoid walking on the vinyl, once laid, for 24 hours (so no bathroom).

 

Will we miss the turtle boil . . . only time will tell.  Mini me crosses her fingers and hopes not!