After the Storm

We recently took a trip to New Jersey to visit my husbands family. He grew up on the west side of the Atlantic and I grew up on the other side of it so we both have a great fondness for the sea.

 First priority upon arrival, a walk on the beach. To a Brit the concept of restricted access to a beach is a totally bizarre thing but luckily for me we were there before Memorial Day so the restrictions were not yet in place. We had had a big storm the night before so on the first morning there was still a strong wind and a good sea running, although I have to say this would classify as a calm day on the other side of the pond! I love walking along the sand seeing what has been washed up by the tide - that's another weird thing, the tide drop here is a matter of inches, where I grew up it is 20+ feet! so walking the tide line here is essentially walking along the sea edge.

There were a few gulls that viewed me with vague interest, just incase I had anything to eat but soon realised I was a lost cause and took to the wing.

This little Bonaparte's Gull found his own breakfast, fresh from the sea.

After blowing away the cobwebs we said goodbye to the sea and headed off for various family gatherings.
Next day was a whole different picture, clear blue skies and bright sunshine with that brilliant light level so unique to being beside the sea.

There were some odd creatures hopping about on the rocks too!

Scars from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy were still evident in places.

But it was obvious that a huge amount of work had been done and it was still ongoing. Where we were staying the entire boardwalk had been destroyed but reconstruction was well on it's way. The rush being on to get it finished before Memorial Day in order to keep control of people entering the beach!!

Whilst walking along the seafront we encountered this gaggle of geese out for a stroll, Brants I think. They were enjoying the day just as much as everyone else it seemed and were quite unperturbed by all the people around them.

Last stop was the boardwalk at Point Pleasant so that my husband could revisit his mis-spent youth. This area had been devastated by the hurricane but the reconstruction was pretty much complete and everyone was out enjoying the day.

Next time we visit the ocean, next month, we will be on the other side of it and there will be no boardwalks and free access to all the beaches!!

FIVE GREATEST JOYS IN NATURE

This is a great meme that I got from Doug at Gossamer Tapestry and that he, in turn, got from Roy at The Fenland Walker. When we are stuck inside longing to be out enjoying nature without risking hypothermia this has to be the next best thing - list your five greatest joys in nature.

1. The African Bush


This will always be where my spirit lies. Once having lived there it so utterly permeates ones soul that there is never anything that can come close to it. (I guess I should never say never, but certainly, so far!) The sense of how small and insignificant you are in the overall scheme of things is certainly sobering and yet at the same time it is a good lesson to learn. But above and beyond that, the endless new sights, the smells (I never was more aware of my sense of smell than when I lived in the bush, it could tell you so much), the wonderful sounds, both day and night and, of course, the jaw-droppingly spectacular and varied wildlife, from the tiniest termite to the majestic elephant and everything in between. I loved the constantly changing landscape as the hot season progressed and then the amazing smell of petrichor when the rains finally came. The onset of the rainy season bought about an almost overnight transformation as animals seemed to rejoice and plants flourished and blossomed almost instantly. I felt so alive and part of the natural world living in this amazing habitat.

2.Ornithology


Living in Africa it was impossible not to become captivated by the spectacular array of birds. In my immediate area there were over four hundred species recorded. When the safari season got a little quieter, some of us used to have a group called the One Hundred Club. We would go out and see how long it would take us to see one hundred different species of birds! It was usually somewhere between two and three hours and sometimes considerably less. We would all get very grumpy if we went over three hours! As the years went by it became, unofficially, my area of expertise and so whenever keen ornithologists came to stay at our camp, I would usually be the guide to take them out. It is a wonderful pastime and incredibly addicitve. One of the things I like most about it is that you never stop learning. Imagine how strange it was for me when I moved to America, having never even visited here before, and I didn't know a single bird species! I can remember being incredibly excited when I saw my first American Robin in the park! My husband (to be) looked at me as if I was slightly insane and said, rather disparigingly, 'it's a Robin!' My one regret is, having lived on three different continents and being lucky enough to travel to some amazing places that I have never been organised enough to keep a 'life list' of all the birds I have seen. I know, it sounds geeky but is something birders do :)

3. Herpetology.


This particular joy is my most recent. I can remember as a child being drawn to tortoises and snakes, but nothing more than that. In Africa most herps were admired from a safe distance! Although I did own a couple of beautiful Leopard Tortoises but unfortunately someone sold them to the village headman to eat one time when I was away! When I came to America my first, and current job involved working predominantly with herps and I have to say, yes, I am completely hooked. The picture above is of Fang, one of the snakes in my care. He is an albino California King Snake and he feels like the smoothest, coolest piece of mobile alabaster when I hold him!

4. The Sea and the things that life in it and on it.


I grew up on the coast in Southwest England so a close proximity to the sea is something I find very soothing. Ironically, water is not an element that I am at all comfortable being in or on, although I did make myself go snorkeling every day on a recent trip to the Galapagos and I have to say, I loved it. I suspect though that it was because there was such an endless parade of different creatures for me to watch which kept my mind off the fact that I was bobbing about in the middle of the ocean! I do love the smell and the sound of the sea and one of my great pleasures in life is walking on the beach and looking to see what the tide has left behind.

5. The Joy is in the Details.

This has actually been a realy hard exercise for me because, to be honest, my joy is nature in all its amazing forms. But there is something exciting about seeing something small, something you may have walked past a dozen times and not noticed.

Maybe there is something you had sort of seen and thought was a just a leaf or a stick but when you have looked properly you have seen something quite different, like a sea slug.


Or equally enjoyable is noticing the every day things with a fresh eye, like rain drops on a branch


A tiny lizard on a fence post


Or a beautiful big bumble bee collecting pollen in the sunshine


After all, the greatest joy in nature, is nature itself.

There are five people I would like to tag to do this meme:
Michelle at Rambling Woods
Kathie at Sycamore Canyon
Linda at The 7msn Ranch
JK at The Rough String Ranch
Arija at Garden Delights

Photo Credits -
1. Robin Pope Safaris
2. CJT
3. Amanda Micek
4. Dominick V
5. CJT

THAT'S MY WORLD 2

After a positive response last week I am transporting you again to the Galapagos Islands. It seems a perfect time of year to escape the cold and grey outside and travel via computer to these wonderful Islands.


This time I am going to take you into the water because there is as much diversity to be seen there as on the land. This was a very major hurdle for me because although I swim adequately my least comfortable element is definitely the water, either on it or in it. However I was not going to take this trip of a lifetime and not take advantage of every moment. So how to snorkel in thousands of feet of water without freaking out? I went to a scuba store and was fortunate enough to talk with a wonderful lady who said that it was absolutely no problem and there was a special flotation device designed especially for snorkeling which didn't push you onto you back like a normal life jacket. So there I was, all kitted out with my geeky fluorescent yellow inflatable device, ready to go!


The sea is the lifeblood of the Galapagos Islands, the diversity of birds and animals would cease to exist without the rich surrounding waters. It was not until 1986 that a presidential decree was issued establishing a Galapagos Marine Resources Reserve. The area was then declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, including the entire waters surrounding the islands to a distance of 15 nautical miles. And as soon as you start to look into the water it is clear to see why this was so important.

Marine Iguanas Amblyrhynchus cristatus diving to graze on the algae growing on the rocks.

Galapagos Green Turtles Chelonia mydas agassisi floating sedately past.

Sally Lightfoot Crabs Grapsus grapsus scuttling around in the shallows.

Dolphins porpoising along beside our boat.......................
The water is positively brimming with life.


But you really have no idea just how much is there until you get below the surface and thanks to my husband taking a little underwater camera with him, I can show you.


These spectacular Sea Stars were all over the place, this one was well over 12 inches across. There was also a Sea Star that looked exactly like a chocolate chip cookie, I didn't learn until later that it was actually called the Chocolate Chip Sea Star!


One of the highlights for me was swimming with the Sea Turtles. For those of you that have watched Finding Nemo, they were exactly like the turtles in that movie! You could almost hear them as they swam slowly round you saying - 'Hey dude! Far out!'


Another stunning sight were the numerous rays wafting by like large underwater blankets. Unfortunately I am not expert enough to identify the rays above but the one below is a Sting Ray Dasyatididae spp.


Despite the various hair-raising stories about these creatures that have done the rounds since the demise of Steve Irwin, they were very peaceful and just carried on doing their thing as we swam near them.
Speaking of hair-raising! There is nothing more sobering than being in the water when you meet your first shark! Although the White-Tip Reef Shark Triaendon obesus is not known to attack humans, you do suddenly feel rather small and feeble!


One little character that was an absolute delight was the Galapagos Penguin Spheniscus mendiculus. How on earth my husband managed to get a picture of one I can't imagine as these little birds fly through the water like little fat bullets! The only one that I got a really good view of was the one that swam right up to my mask and screeched to a halt about six inches in front of me - I don't know which one of us was more surprised!


But the prize for the clown of the seas has to go to the Galapagos Sea Lion Zalophus wollebaeki. These guys actually tried to play with us in the water although they always seemed rather unimpressed with our inability to stay underwater for minutes at a time!


My husband had great fun with this little guy when he discovered that if he blew bubbles, the Sea Lion would do the same!


And in case you think I have forgotten one vital ingredient of life in the water, yes there was a whole kaleidoscope of fish of every colour, shape and size.


PHEW!!! You can come up for air now and dry yourself off! Thank you for swimming with me. Next week maybe we'll take to the air for a change!

For many great postings from cool locations all over the globe, check out That's My World.

Photo Credits - Dominick V