"The time has come,' the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes -- and ships -- and sealing wax -- Of cabbages -- and kings -- And why the sea is boiling hot -- And whether pigs have wings." (The Walrus an the Carpenter, Lewis Carroll)Just read this on Birdchick's blog and wanted to share the good news: President Obabma has restored rules requiring U.S. agencies to consult with independent federal experts to determine if their actions might harm threatened and endangered species. Here is the Washington Post story about it.
Hard to believe it is March already. Last night's Right Whale notification call from Julie Albert at the Marine Resources Center was the last automated call of the season. I'll let you know when the newsletter with this season's statistics is published.
We're anxiously awaiting news of Ursula, the rescue sea turtle we spoke of last week. Meanwhile, there's some great news about Sandy, the injured Hawksbill from St. Croix that we've talked about from time to time (see November 20 post). The Turtle Hospital issued the following update on Jan 30, 2009: Sandy has been moved out of her treatment tank and into the shallow end of the main pool. This will allow her to adjust to swimming and diving with only 3 flippers.
Jim, Matt, and I are looking forward to Blair Witherington's presentation at Thursday night's Sea Turtle Preservation Society meeting. With Blair's knowledge, wry sense of humor, and skillful presentation techniques and with Dawn's graphic arts capabilities (and matching sense of humor), their presentations are entertaining, beautiful, and educational. The meeting is at the Melbourne Beach Community Center (MASNY Room), Melbourne Beach, Florida. The doors open at 7:00 p.m., and the meeting starts at 7:30. Blair is is a research scientist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (try putting that on a business card) and an internationally recognized sea turtle expert. He is the author of Sea Turtles: An Extrordinary Natural History of Some Uncommon Turtles, and he and Dawn are authors of Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber and a smaller book, Florida's Seashells. The meeting is open to the public.
Friend Margie and I are headed to Titusville on Saturday (March 7) to attend the Florida Archaeology Month Kickoff at the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary . I think Matt may join us, as he is interested in learning more about atlatls (a spear thrower used by early Native Americans).
The Saturday after that (March 14) is the Pelican Island Wildlife Festival in Sebastian, and Gobyfest is March 21. (This Gobyfest logo is one of Dawn Witherinton's creations, by the way.) It's springtime in Florida - let the Festivals begin!I don't have any cabbage or king photos, but I thought that Jim's manatee photo fit the spirit of Lewis Carroll's poem.
2 comments:
Swamp Cabbages and Kingfish ... now that would be a Florida connection.
Love gobies. They have such personality in the saltwater aquarium.
FC - you are absolutely right! For the non-Florida readers, swamp cabbage is the heart of the cabbage palm tree (the State tree), boiled. Getting the cabbage (which weighs about 10 pounds) requires cutting down the whole tree, of course. There are some legalities involved that we won't go into. The standard way of cooking is to chunk it up, season it, and boil it while the wild boar roasts in a pit (ah the good old days). The swamp cabbage turns grey - looks bad/tastes good. The juice is called pot liquor. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, FC!
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