Cabbages and Kings

"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." (From The Walrus and the Carpenter, by Lewis Carroll.

I've been meaning to mention the excellent post our friend David did on his Blog the Beach about sea turtle life on Anna Maria Island. I have a soft spot in my heart for AMI, as Suzi Fox (President of Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch) was one of the first to purchase our sea turtle reference cards to distribute to beachgoers - she gave away 10,000 cards last year and is distributing another 5,000 this year. So I was especially pleased when David's post about his AMI visit included a photo of Suzi, as well as a good explanation about hatchling disorientation caused by artificial lighting and an excellent video about nest excavation. (See the link in Reference Links below.) This photo is of the front side of the 4" x 6" UV-coated reference card. The back side of the card includes "rules" and sea turtle rescue contact information. (Click on photo to enlarge. Suzi's card was titled Sea Turtles of Florida's West Coast, of course!)

If you live in Brevard County, I hope you'll take a moment to read the current post on our Space Coast Eco site. Last Saturday, I went on a field trip to Coastal Jewel, property our Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program folks are proposing to purchase. The proposal goes before the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, August 18. Vince Lamb organized the trip and has an excellent summary of the proposed purchase on his Friends of Ulumay site (see Reference Links below), with details about the Board meeting.

Sea Turtle Preservation Society friend Ann sent us a link to an Associated Press story about The Turtle Hospital in Marathon. We've talked about the hospital before, and the fine work it does. One of the turtles featured in the story is Rocky Thyme, the turtle Ann and friends rescued out of the Indian River Lagoon on Mother's Day (see Reference Links below). Photo of Rocky Thyme and STPS volunteer Adam by Ann Zscheile

Reference Links:

Blog the Beach (Anna Maria Island sea turtle story)

Space Coast Eco (Coastal Jewel field trip report)

Friends of Ulumay (Coastal Jewel information)

The Turtle Hospital (Associated Press story)

The Story of Rocky Thyme (Our post)