Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Watch where you step


Walking around on the beach at low tide is always interesting down here. The bottom is worn down rock intermixed with some sandy areas and the rocks offer the aquatic life plenty of opportunities to nest in. Here we have a young spotted moray eel. http://www.beautifuloceans.com/coral-reef-creatures/caribbean-creatures/spotted-moray-(gymnothorax-moringa).html Note that they grow to reach a length of 6 feet. Given we've almost stepped on a few of these we are hoping to prevent them from converting one of our feet into extra length that gets them to that 6 foot adult length. This little guy was probably about 2 feet long and it was ready for action. When I approached it with the camera it turned and looked me right in the eye.
 The water we found it in was a tidal pool about 2 feet across and perhaps a foot deep. The rock he was hiding under was just under the surface and a good place to put a foot down in the process of walking along the shore.
 We also had a shot at a good sized lobster on the walk but the antenae broke off before I could get it out of the water and it got away. But we know where they hang out now and it's only a matter of time before I get one or step on a moray trying to.
 I will say this much about the moray. The picture doesn't do the crite justice. When the sun is on them they have brilliant greens, pinks and silver. Their colors really pop in the sunlight. If you click on the photo and enlarge it you will get about 20 percent of the brilliance because it was cloudy today.

 On another note, who turned off the heat! Tonite it's under 60 down here!

2 comments:

EdieK0529 said...

Quit your whining - they're de-icing planes in Tampa, and there are 20 degree temps all over Florida. It's about 35 here in PA.

climbhighak said...

Boo Hoo, under 60 and I almost stepped on a slimy old eel while walking on the beach...boo hoo.

Try walking the dogs everyday for an hour while its 20 degrees and you've modified an old pair of hiking boots with screws sticking out of the soles all over.

To be fair, your blog continues to improve. You are sounding more and more like Marlon Perkins on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, which is a good thing! But how come we never hear from Marlon's trusty sidekick? You know, the guy Marlon always sent off to do the dangerous stuff....