Don't go away mad - just go away!

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission webpage gets updated every Friday. 
 
Like a drunken sailor drifting up and down the coast looking for a port to land in - the red tide algae bloom that made it's appearance on Christmas Day is still wandering aimlessly up and down the SWFL coastline.  Manasota Key was hit especially hard.  For 4 weeks now tourists, snowbirds & local beach goers have been hacking, coughing & sneezing all the while stepping over dead fish to try to get in some quality beach time. I ventured out to Blind Pass Beach on Manasota Key hoping the recent NW winds had blown the nasty stuff back out to sea.  The sun was out and the tide was low enough to make it a great day for sharks toof hunting.  The beach was clear of dead fish but there was a definite whiff of red tide in the air.  We stayed for a bit until the winds blew the bloom our way and as the hacking and coughing commenced we quickly exited the beach. I did get a handful of sharks teeth so the day wasn't a total bust.

There were shells and sharks teeth galore but the air was full of red tide so you couldn't breathe without coughing & sneezing.

Pookie found the end of a junonia shell.
Lots of sharks teeth, calico scallops & green sea glass.


Comments

  1. Kim@Snug HarborJanuary 21, 2013 at 11:43 PM

    Whats that oval black piece next to the bottom white scallop?

    ReplyDelete
  2. KellyJanuary 21, 2013 at 11:50 PM

    Beautiful calico with the orange stripes. I wish we had them up here in Dunedin, ours are sort of plain. Some day we will each have our own kayaks and bring Kimmy down and go exploring, I'm itching to breathe some fresh air.

    ReplyDelete
  3. rjerdeeJanuary 22, 2013 at 3:37 AM

    We actually had a nice eastern wind on Saturday morning last so my kids enjoyed an hour of sharks' tooth hunting before they left for Iowa...red tide wasn't so severe so the coughing was minimal. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. DellaJanuary 22, 2013 at 4:27 AM

    You had some good finds! Hopefully the red tide will be gone soon so you can get back to collecting, and walking the beach.

    ReplyDelete
  5. gpcJanuary 22, 2013 at 10:20 AM

    Hey, I've been coughing and sneezing since before Christmas, and not a single sharks tooth lying in the ice and snow, so it sounds good to me! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. JaneJanuary 24, 2013 at 3:20 PM

    Did not realize there was a red tide. Bummer! Hope it clears soon...
    Hugs,
    J

    ReplyDelete
  7. MarthaJanuary 25, 2013 at 10:11 PM

    Good finds even with red tide. I haven't had time to hit the beach lately but all I have to do it walk outside and breathe to know red tide it out there since I'm right over the bridge to the beach. It stinks - literally!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

40 Miles North of Shell Mountain

Image
Shell pile @ the North Jetty in Nokomis, Florida Has anyone been following  i Love Shelling blog?  Pam has been giving us the blow-by-blow of all the shells rolling in on Turner Beach a.k.a. Blind Pass.  For dedicated shell lovers the sight of that big honkin shell pile growing upward on Blind Pass makes you want to call in sick to work, grab your shell shovel, & head south or whatever  direction it may be for you to Sanibel.  For those of you that are a plane ride away in the cold & snow; looking at those shells has got to be painful & my heart does go out to you. I live 2 hours north of Sanibel via I-75 or about 40 miles as the crow flies.  I've sat at my computer for 3 days now looking, drooling,  enlarging the pictures, looking again at my work schedule.... ratz - I'm not off till Monday. Where I live in the Venice/Englewood area we have some spectacular beaches. Each has their own personality. Englewood's beaches are more rustic & laid-bac
Read more

May you always have a seashell in your pocket & sand between your toes

Image
Dr. Stephen Leatherman - His office is the beach (credit : www.solotravelgirl.com) When planning a destination that involves surf, sun, & sand thousands of  travelers  turn to the experts for advice. In this case "America's foremost beach expert" Dr. Beach.   Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman aka  Dr. Beach is a Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University. He's a scientist.  Dr. Beach is a  really smart & really educated guy who has parlayed his passion for the outdoors into a super nice gig travelling the world & ranking the top beaches.  He announces his annual list of best beaches every Memorial Day weekend. This May 30 will be his 20th anniversary. Dr. Beach has developed a 50 point rating system that covers all aspects of a great beach from water clarity, sand softness, & the size of breaking waves to the smell, the amount of wildlife, & accessibility. Dr. Beach is as we say - da man.
Read more

"Oh the Sanibel Stoop & the Sanibel Shuffle - Can he pack all his loot in his old Army duffle?" - from a poem by M. H. Greenberg

Image
(Credit: TMac Ohio from Flickr.com) There's even a name for the bent over posture of the people who you see walking on the beach looking for treasures:   The Sanibel Stoop. You might have noticed the new button I added on the sidebar promoting Shellabration 2012 happening on Sanibel Island February 26 - March 4.  The height of the Sanibel social shelling season is the Sanibel Shell Show & Fair which will be held March 1st - 3rd this year.  The Shellabration is week long celebration of all things invertebrate & mollusky. There will be special events from one end of the island to the other.  But one special event is seeking to immortalize the iconic stance of bending over on the beach to inspect the shells more closely and pick them up - THE SANIBEL STOOP. On February 17  at 10 am on Bowman's Beach will be the gathering place for 208 plus shellabrators looking to set a Guinness Book of World Records for the most people doing the Sanibel Stoop in one place at one t
Read more