Close Encounters of the Turtle Kind

People who know the Treasure Coast of Florida are familiar with Loggerhead Marinelife Center and their cutting edge work on turtle rescue and rehabilitation.

 

 

Their facility in Juno Beach was recently the scene of a turtle release, unique because 2 turtles, Kiko and Rodeo, were both rescued and operated on in July 2011 for ingestion of monofilament fishing line.   They were both released in November 2011 with celebrity pomp and circumstance.

This turtle release especially touched me because I have been watching LMC’s   new “TurtleCam” on their website.  You can check it out at:

http://www.marinelife.org/turtlecam

I thought it was so neat and even tried to watch it in the dark, though there wasn’t much to see.  The camera looked in on the tank Kiko occupied.  During the past week she had gotten more and more active, then single-mindedly she started going from the observation window to the water spout into her tank, over and over.  Kiko seemed to know she was healthy enough to be released.  Rodeo became active at his window too.  I seriously believe they both understood when the big day arrived, that they were going home.

LMC’s turtle releases are open to the public.  They rope off an avenue on the beach that allows them to carry the turtles close to the water.  The turtle teams unfasten the protective jackets they wear to prevent injury on the trek to the ocean.  Spectators on both sides share in this uplifting event, the children especially showing their excitement and joy in the moment.

Kiko headed for the water, then turned as if to say goodbye to the human family that had helped her.  She stood up tall on her legs then stretched her neck and lifted her head high, nose to the wind, she followed the sea breeze and returned to her home.

Native Plant Rescue & Other Wild Things

The idea of environmentally sensitive land preservation fascinates me.  When I heard that our County was purchasing 60 acres of mature (Old Florida) oak hammock next to an area to be clear cut for development, it became my goal to visit it and watch it adjust to urban encroachment. 

My first opportunity was a Sunday morning in mid-October 2011.  I joined 4 local women on a mission to rescue native Florida plants before the County mowers came in from the Parks and Recreation Dept.  

Sherri Ankers is continually flagging and documenting the most important endangered plants along the main path through the Preserve. We   moved plants back from the path and into the woods.  We each took some of the more common native plants to transplant into our own gardens or natural areas.  It was awesome to spend the morning hours in the company of like- minded people.  What a wealth of knowledge these woman hold!  

Our shared love of the natural world was most obvious when we disturbed a young diamond back rattlesnake trying to get out of our way.  We stopped to admire his beautiful velvet color patterns and to take advantage of his willingness to participate in a photo op.  No panic, no terror or fear, and after a brief respectful interlude, we all went on about our business.

This honey-tree was a curious site.  At first I thought it might be a fungus on the outside of the tree, but a closer look shows this palm riddled with holes and activity.  It must be full of honey, because the residents are now building comb on the outside of the palm.

I was enamored with the shoestring fern growing symbiotically with the palms, the flowering elephant’s foot and the abundance of coffee plants in this wild place.  I look forward to another outing in the Mariposa Cane Slough Preserve.  Hope you will join us!! 

10-Mile Island Bike Ride

Cooler temperatures, fresh sea breezes and un-crowded bike paths make this a perfect time for bike riding.  A new bike lane on South Hutchinson Island in Fort Pierce, FL offers even a casual rider a beautiful way to spend a few sunny hours.  If you start from Museum Pointe where the Indian River Lagoon meets the Fort Pierce Inlet you have a 2 mile ride East, along Seaway Drive and out to Jetty Park where the inlet meets the Atlantic Ocean and a ¼ of a mile bike path on top of the break wall.  

Turning Down Island the 1st ¼ mile of our South Beach bike trail is under construction (no pics required) and there is some confusion if you are not familiar with the detour though our small beach community, but once you get around that, it’s a wide open bikeway!  Today I spotted some “low riders” on the wide sidewalks that also go Down Island for those who prefer to travel in a slower “lane”.

Once past the edge of the city limits, the quiet roads and smooth, wide, bike path offer a chance to let go of everything but the ‘here and now’.  On a cruising bike it’s easy to hit 15-20 mph on this part of the Island and it’s easy to see why hundreds of road bikes ride here each weekend.  I prefer a hybrid bike myself, because I like to ride off the road too.  One of my favorite parts of this trip is the sand trail on the mosquito control levees of Bear Point Sanctuary.

This is my favorite ocean front ride with the Intra-coastal on one side and the Atlantic on the other.  One word of warning!  Pay attention to the way the wind blows.  It’s best with the prevailing southeasterly winds in your face on your South; it makes the ride back to the bridge just effortless.  Anything more than a 10 knot breeze can make this a more challenging ride, but well worth the effort.  Enjoy!!!

Fall Comes to Fort Pierce

Most of us who live in the Sunshine State have friends and family residing in other parts of the country and who keep us posted on the weather up north.  We are hearing that it is time to ‘layer up’ as people in the Midwest start seeing 30-degree temperature fluctuations on a daily basis.   In the New England mountains, the tourists  are making reservations to celebrate the ‘turning of the leaves’ and to see Mother Nature’s riot of color take over the hardwood landscape. 

We are a little subtler down south.  We are still many weeks away from turning off the air conditioning and opening the windows.  One of the gifts of the ‘hurricane season’ are the summer storms that push the warm waters of the gulf stream up closer to our coast.  Our late summer rainstorms are short and sweet, but are responsible for the major growing season for most native Florida plants.  We can rival any rain forest around!  It’s a great time to visit Fort Pierce, especially if you favor the relaxed and tranquil pace before the ‘snowbird’ season blooms as the temperatures drop ‘up north’.  It’ll feel like summer for a few more months.  Come on down and let us show you around.  

Florida-isms

Florida-isms is our monthly attempt to educate our visitors from the north about our language, expressions and sayings.     There are some expressions unique to Florida and the South; learning what they mean will make your visit more enjoyable and your speech more colorful.

Let’s start with a vocabulary lesson.

Florida Cracker:  A white NATIVE BORN Floridian, usually with pre-civil war Floridian ancestry.  Sometimes used in a derogatory manner, however a true Floridian is proud of his ancestry and not offended.

Like:   “You like to have scared me to death.” or “I like to have fell off the roof.”

Might Could:  “I might could of made a potato salad.” or”I might could of done that when I was younger.”

Fixin:  “ I was fixin to go to the store, need anything?” or “He is fixin to eat.”

Here’s how to tell if someone is a Native Floridian:

They know that a hammock is a wooded area, not a sling bed.

You have to explain to people from Indiana that mangoes are not bell peppers.

Fertilizing your lawn is a form of mental illness. Why you don’t even have a lawn you have a yard.

We hope you enjoyed your lesson; do any of you use these words in this way?  See you next month with more Florida-isms.