Mother Nature Speaks

The sky is talking to us, thunder rumbles a bit like a hungry tummy and lightning flashes like an electric dancer sneaking between the rain clouds. Summer weather for Florida - about 1/2 the time we don't get rain and the other half a downpour and the sea turns from blue to a yellow/green - but the rain passes quickly. For example, on 1 September downgraded tropical storm Erika blew by us in the Gulf without any rain at all!

Occasionally we see a [inebriated] party animal just lying flat out on the beach with his feet in the water - he looks dead and mini me is in a panic till the storm gets strong enough that he finally gets up and moves off the beach.

On the 15th August as we were watching N23 hatch, Boy George & Culture Club were getting soaked here in little 'ol Mad Beach; rumor has it the promoter thought he would be playing in Tampa proper, but Boy George actually came to our hamlet of 5,000 people (swelled by another 5,000 concert goers)!

Back to the Turtle Saga

Cage goes on nest outside our condo

Rain generally cools the air (although sometimes leaves it very humid) which is a good signal to the turtle hatchlings to come up out of the sand!!!

The early August wash over

On the 20th August, the nest outside our condo reached 45 days; the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) arrived to put a cage over it as there is light from all the condos here. Bright lights disorient the hatchlings who will head for the road instead of the sea; hence the restraining cage to 'hold' them until the CMA staff can release the turtles near the surf line and ensure they get into the water. Now we sit and wait, and wait, and wait, and wait -- hoping that the hatchlings in this nest that was washed over early August by the high tides didn't drown. Only time will tell.

Crochet belts mentioned
in my previous post

bread basket lining

In the meantime, after having to buy yet another foot for my new sewing machine, I have made and free motion quilted a bread 'blanket' to fit inside my bread basket.

I also took a piece of fabric originally intended to be a kurta and made it into a tablecloth trying out my decorative machine stitches.

Now just to work up the courage to start quilting the dahlia - which I hope to hang above my sofa.

And we wait . . .  from Tuesday night CMA volunteers babysit the nest and we can see the red glow of their torch (AE=flashlight) as they check the nest periodically until about 1:00 am and then call it quits for the night.  Each morning CMA staff open the cage and each evening at sunset someone comes by to close it.

This is what she looked like
from seapics.com blog

In the meantime, on Tuesday morning (26th), we do get some visual treats including a baby dolphin leaping repeatedly - the leaps are twice as high as s/he is long and executed right in front of our balcony - what a splash (too quick for the point and shoot)! And another late season nest is found on Shell Key, the barrier island preserve we patrol.

A dis-organised TS Erika dissipated Friday night (28th) after sweeping over Hispaniola (Dominica) and we were relieved for our nest. Erica then became an 'Open Wave' remnant forecast to travel up the Eastern Gulf of Mexico bringing 'rounds of heavy thunderstorms' to our area. Flooding a real possibility around Tampa Monday & Tuesday as we have had extraordinary heavy rains this summer, but as noted above, we didn't get anything, except . . .

Unrelated high Spring Tides came right up to the nest last night (1st September), and today we are on Day 58 for the hatchling countdown.  Am wondering if it will hatch or if the mini me sized babies have drown?!??!!!  And so we wait . . . turtles require patience . . . 

closing the cage for the evening
it is opened each morning & closed each eve

Other recent happenings in the local headlines

Orlando College Students Prepare Party for Tropical Storm Erika
Sandbags Available Saturday (29th) for Pinellas Residents

Human West Nile Virus Case Confirmed
Tampa City Hall Turns 100 Years Old (Awesome say the locals)