mom's last night on island....had a big dinner washed down with some hugs and tears....didn't mean to keep y'all waiting.....back to just us tomorrow...bummer!
j
This message was edited Aug 1, 2007 11:03 PM
Nature's Underwater Gardens 3
Hug your mom for us! Don't get shark week....but have seen so many of the shows in the past. Here's one for ya:
We are very selfish and for that I apologize. Did not realize your mom was with you. I am very pleased when my son is here or I am there. Give her your full attention.
I agree LouCy. John's Mama should have his undivided attention.
OK kiddos, since John's busy, I"ll add a fish of my own! Maybe I have posted this and maybe I haven't. I've slept too many times to remember now. :-)
Janet
From August, 2001. Last time I was out in the Gulf of Mexico. Now doesn't THAT sound exotic! HAHAHAHA
Nice catch Janet! What ya got there? Nothing wrong with the Gulf...many fond memories!
We refer to these as redfish. I think it's some kind of red drum. It was 27 inches long, just under the legal size that would have needed to be tagged. That night, my hubby and his brother caught 2 red drum that were each 38 inches and some kind of shark that was (if I remember right) 41 inches.
The shark was the first one caught. He went into the cooler that was built into the driver's seat of the boat. No matter which way he was turned, he wouldn't fit completely inside of the box. So I was sitting on the seat and would feel a rumbling now and then. Was a very strange feeling!
We started to head back in and the tide was out, so we had to wait for a while. As we finally came back in for the night, for some reason, the lights quit working on the boat. Hubby, being a stickler for doing things right, stopped the boat and worked on it for about 15 minutes. The lights working, we took off, heading for the marina. We were flying across the water, all of us standing up. Suddenly this brilliant green streak flashed over our heads. With mouths open, we all looked at each other and wondered what the heck we'd just seen. We asked at the marina if anyone else had seen what we had. No one had seen it.
A few days later hubby called me to tell me that he'd heard that it was a meteor that had landed some place in Arizona. I can't help but think that God had a hand in making sure that we got to see that incredible green light. That was one incredible fishing trip!
This is my brother in law on the garage floor, just before we cleaned these fish. It was about 3 am!
Janet
What a great story! Man-o-man! I have searched the skies my whole life, just hopeing to see something cool, and never have...well once I did, but was too young to really know....that's probably what started my vigil in the first place. You are so lucky! You should try to find a copy of the story in the paper archives or somewhere, something you can keep and show to your future generations. That is waaay cool!
Good idea about finding supporting evidence! HAHAHAHA
It was definitely a night I'll never forget. We've all recounted that night many times. :-)
Janet
And with good reason! In honor of your "visit", I will post this. It is a close up of some of the coral growing on The Wing, but it always make me think of some kind of alien life form - like the giant rock creature in the original Star Trek shows, or something just "recording" our folly's on this big blue marble, to take back to the Mother Ship. Let your imagination have free reign :
"It was definitely a night I'll never forget. We've all recounted that night many times. :-)
Janet"
stop recounting and do it again.....hearing steely dan in the background.....go back, janet, do it againnnnnnnnnn
j
We are having a stormy day here, and my pic didn't show up...I'll try it again:
Great, Shari.
Loev the pic!!
surprised no one caught that.....
watching 99L invest....weekend might be interesting...have never hung hurricane shutters with a cast on...this is going to be fun!!!
I love Steely Dan!!! They just don't make 'em like that anymore. Sigh
Yikes John!!! Get some help with those shutters.
Are you in for bad weather? Do I need to say some extra prayers for you and yours? Just say the word, because that's what we are good for! :-)
What am I missing??? no one caught what??? We are having a major stormy day here....internet keeps going in and out...John, are you in for it? Did Mom get off island okay? Isn't there someone who can help with the shutters and such like? I need to go get some groceries, but don't feel like swimming to the store, so I will wait til tomorrow. "After all, tomorrow IS another day" said in a breathy southern drawl ....
You're already in my prayers Shari and will continue to be. Don't go out unless you have to. You sound an awful lot like Scarlet O'Hara! HAHAHAHA
Shari, I'm not a big star trek fan so that one went right over my head. Your coral however is beautiful! I meant to say something earlier, but hit send too soon and then got sidetracked. (story of my life!)
Janet
Middle of the night...can't sleep.....wondering who's up ....only 8:30 at night over there...Shari, raining hard still? We don't have any new info on 99L invest....quite large on the satellite but no formation as yet...warm water ahead of it may turn it into something but nothing to fret over as of now....we'll see...
j
I'm here friend John...why can't you sleep? Worried about the storm? I'm looking for pictures for an article I'm writing on tapa. JB's at the club playing darts....Probably had to swim there. We are over a foot down for the year, and I think Mother Nature was trying to give it all to us today!
Another beautiful picture!
Well, Must be something in the atmosphere because I can't sleep either. Have been awake for a long time and finally decided to get up. Think I went to bed too early last night. John, haven't seen the news....are you in the middle of a tropical storm or is it developing into a hurricane. We have tornadoes here that just come from nowhere.
Shari, dahlin', we've had rain and rain and rain and after that somemore rain.
My feeling of rain on an island is that it would be very different from land-locked in the middle of Texas. Just a stupid sensation....probably from some childhood book.
So where are the pictures?
Good mornin'....finally got to sleep and just now awoke! Katie had gone for her beach workout and swim, came back, made coffee, etc. and i slept thru the whole time.
Right now, the system only named as 99L invest, is not looking like much. no formation overnight and our forecast is just rain, and lots of it. everyone else here is getting lots of it and we will not be denied! some 20-25 knot winds predicted but that's it for now...keeping fingers crossed and have some friends lined up to assist w/hurricane shutters if needed....thanks for the thoughts and prayers....we'll keep you posted on any further activity. if, in the future, we do get a storm and lose power and all, here is the website for the best information on all weather activity, world-wide.
http://stormcarib.com/nav/
i normally go straight to the monterey link on the left, naval site with everything.
Glad you got much needed rest. That's the best medicine to heal anything.
Bookmarked the weather station.
Good morning (evening?) I hope that storm stays tame for all of you.
What is that thing that looks like hollowed out loaves of bread? Coral?
Brown tube sponge, red rope sponge behind it
j
Must have just missed you last night John...
My DH put this together for me to post for all my DG friends: A Butterfly Collage!
I have a REALLY stupid question for you. Are the sponges in the sea all soft and squishy like the natural sponges that you can purchase in the store or are the stiff and hard because of the live tissue?
The feel similar to a kitchen sponge that has been sitting and drying for a week or so. Firm, but with a give to it. Don't know about the one's in John's neck of the ocean, but they are probably the same.
Thanks Shari! :^)
Great to see such a variety of butterfly fish! Very nice....
I was up about an hour last night and finally made it back to sleep....this home bound stuff is making me nuts, especially since i cant do anything in the garden....big rains coming tonight and tomorrow....no big winds tho, from what i've determined from stormcarib.co.....we'll see
finding some shots that are fun...some juvenile fish are the cutest things,,,,this juvenile smooth trunkfish is not as big as a golf ball! i just love polka dots!!!
j
Happy to help Ann! Never hesitate to ask a question.....I think I can speak for John on this...we love to encourage interest in our wonderful ocean, so answering questions is a joy.
i second that...if we dont know, we will most certainly find out!
What a darling he is! So cute! and a great shot of his face too! JB found this nudibranch just sitting all alone, here's some polka dots for ya:
nice dots!! i thought the water was warm there? why the gloves?
Hooray for both of you. Now I want to know how you know what they are and if they sting or bite or otherwise present a hazard to you? You can't possibly have studied everything under the sea before you dive. I can answer about the glove, John......because she is smart. What if it bit her?
Ah grasshopper....when diving, you look with eyes and not hands!
no gloves allowed here in Cayman waters....
This message was edited Aug 3, 2007 7:11 PM
Thank you, O wise One.....
In our waters there are many things that can hurt - even if you are careful about what you touch. Hence the gloves. That's not my hand, It's a friend of JB's. My gloves are much thinner - better for delicate touch. Many of the shells out here - cone shells in particular, are the residence of some rather nasty critters....the probiscus from the snail can move faster than you can blink, and they can make you very sick - one is even deadly. Also fire coral - just brushing against it you will be in agony for days! We often turn rocks over to see what is beneath - gloves. (always turn them back though!!!) and when we see a crown of thorns we turn it and put rocks on it so the fish etc, can eat it...gloves. Better to have them and not need them, than to need them and not have them.
Now, as far as knowing what's what....just like anything else, when you are interested, or you care, it is easy to learn. You learn about the plants in your garden, and the pests that can harm them right? Well, when you spend as much time in the water as we do, this info becomes as much a part of your environmental knowledge as that. I find it easier to remember what a particular fish is called, because I see it all the time, than the names of some people that I only see on special occasions. And as far as what can hurt you, or what you need to take special care with....Know where the potholes are when you're driving? Know where a particularly nasty dog hangs out? Its similar knowledge, just in a different environment. Hope I explained that in at least a semi-intelligable way....
if it would open....wouldn't it be fun to take over the chat room??? any takers for when it opens?
Aha....I always knew you were a thief at heart! You've stolen mine! Heart that is....
All those conversations going at once make me seasick - but I'll give it a try....
Anyone else?