I ventured along 30A to a different spot today and saw, as usual, the clear vibrant waters I'm use to. But, I came across some rather unusual sightings.
I was finding some rather nice shells, including intact Sunray Venus and non-attachyed Angel wings. Scallops, cones and conch were also on the bottom in addition to some Lettered Olive, with quite a pretty shine on them.
But a rarer shell I'm not as use to finding was a large Lightning Whelk. When I snorkel in deeper water, I float and look for anything that catches my eye. When I see something I stop and analyze whether it is worth the descent. Many times you can discover what the object is from a distance, or if it moves with the tide, you know it is either a grass, a sponge or other non worthy subject gyrating on bottom.
As I was coming up from gathering a nice Cockle shell, I was stunned by a shadow. Which as you will learn, was a theme of today. Anyway, the shadow was on the bottom and shaped like a tight school of fish, but because it was motionless, I pegged it to be either a sting ray or a man made object (beach furniture etc) But as I S-L-O-W-L-Y approached it, knowing from the shape that it was not a shark, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a very large Sea Turtle. The turtle had a school of fish that hugged above its shell.
The reptile slowly used its long, outward pointing legs to migrate away. I monitored it and by all means wanted to patrol behind it, but I simply took in the moment and enjoyed my encounter, rather than stressing it further. It was a spectacle and I wished it had just remained still on the bottom with my loving eyes upon it. But, like most females, it thought the better of it and moved along
A short time after this, and gathering another shell, my eyes caught sight of a rather large shadow, possibly over 15 feet in length and several feet wide. I was momentarily stunned, and fearful of my new company. I wondered if it were a large school of fish, but then it remained too still. I wondered if it were a big dead sea animal, shark or unknown. I wondered, but as it didn't move, I moved toward it. My reluctance was replaced by fascination as the shadow turned out to be a large limestone type surface. Not limestone, but, anyway... It turned out to be a place where things gathered.
I found numerous shells there, and other things trapped in its wares. I found a large Lightning Whelk and as I begin to surface I shook the shell to rid it of sand and debris'. As the debris fell down toward the bottom a school of fish flushed before my eyes and madly swarmed through the falling particles. It scared me ;-)
Well, I was holding, in my hands and suit, far too many shells to be of any more use, so decided to return to shore. As I stood and began walking I glanced down at the large Lightning Whelk shell and to my dismay, I saw something gooey inside of it . I never take a shell of any kind if it has a living object in it. I thought I had checked it thoroughly enough, but obviously not.
It was an Octopus. It was dark brown and the head, body and legs had a consistency like that of an oyster. It slithered up and over the edge of the shell and off into the gulf it went.
Wow! That was neat. I saw a few other big fish today, but oddly, no nurse shark. But I just had to tell about the Octopus and Sea Turtle. It is alive and well out there. Until next time.
I was finding some rather nice shells, including intact Sunray Venus and non-attachyed Angel wings. Scallops, cones and conch were also on the bottom in addition to some Lettered Olive, with quite a pretty shine on them.
But a rarer shell I'm not as use to finding was a large Lightning Whelk. When I snorkel in deeper water, I float and look for anything that catches my eye. When I see something I stop and analyze whether it is worth the descent. Many times you can discover what the object is from a distance, or if it moves with the tide, you know it is either a grass, a sponge or other non worthy subject gyrating on bottom.
As I was coming up from gathering a nice Cockle shell, I was stunned by a shadow. Which as you will learn, was a theme of today. Anyway, the shadow was on the bottom and shaped like a tight school of fish, but because it was motionless, I pegged it to be either a sting ray or a man made object (beach furniture etc) But as I S-L-O-W-L-Y approached it, knowing from the shape that it was not a shark, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a very large Sea Turtle. The turtle had a school of fish that hugged above its shell.
The reptile slowly used its long, outward pointing legs to migrate away. I monitored it and by all means wanted to patrol behind it, but I simply took in the moment and enjoyed my encounter, rather than stressing it further. It was a spectacle and I wished it had just remained still on the bottom with my loving eyes upon it. But, like most females, it thought the better of it and moved along
A short time after this, and gathering another shell, my eyes caught sight of a rather large shadow, possibly over 15 feet in length and several feet wide. I was momentarily stunned, and fearful of my new company. I wondered if it were a large school of fish, but then it remained too still. I wondered if it were a big dead sea animal, shark or unknown. I wondered, but as it didn't move, I moved toward it. My reluctance was replaced by fascination as the shadow turned out to be a large limestone type surface. Not limestone, but, anyway... It turned out to be a place where things gathered.
I found numerous shells there, and other things trapped in its wares. I found a large Lightning Whelk and as I begin to surface I shook the shell to rid it of sand and debris'. As the debris fell down toward the bottom a school of fish flushed before my eyes and madly swarmed through the falling particles. It scared me ;-)
Well, I was holding, in my hands and suit, far too many shells to be of any more use, so decided to return to shore. As I stood and began walking I glanced down at the large Lightning Whelk shell and to my dismay, I saw something gooey inside of it . I never take a shell of any kind if it has a living object in it. I thought I had checked it thoroughly enough, but obviously not.
It was an Octopus. It was dark brown and the head, body and legs had a consistency like that of an oyster. It slithered up and over the edge of the shell and off into the gulf it went.
Wow! That was neat. I saw a few other big fish today, but oddly, no nurse shark. But I just had to tell about the Octopus and Sea Turtle. It is alive and well out there. Until next time.
That's my stance!