This morning we slugged down our
orange juice, piled in the car, and headed for the beach.
I’ve been trying to take some form of a walk every morning, and what better place than the beach? At the very least I’d sand off some of those calluses on my feet. Plus, this Massachusetts girl is still adjusting to the steady upper 80s, so the best non-airconditoned time for me is in the morning.
I’ve been trying to take some form of a walk every morning, and what better place than the beach? At the very least I’d sand off some of those calluses on my feet. Plus, this Massachusetts girl is still adjusting to the steady upper 80s, so the best non-airconditoned time for me is in the morning.
It’s
the off-season here in Venice, so
there was plenty of parking and long stretches of beach with nary a soul,
although there were a few locals:
The
sandpipers were skittering about, the water was perfect, and the tiny seashells
invited us to pick them up. We didn’t spot any shark teeth – something Venice
Beach is famous for due to it being
a pre-historic shark dating site – but a little girl was optimistically out
there with her sifter.
There
were also a couple of teen-to-twenty-something (I'm at that awkward age now where I have no idea how old anyone is) volunteers posting stakes and
stretching tape measures.
Turns out their job is to check the beach every
morning for turtle nests and stake off the area; this is the time of year turtles emerge from the sea
to lay their eggs.
 | |
| Real nest |
 |
| False nest. Maude must have just been scouting here. |
It’s a major event here, with admonitions to use only red
lights outside if your house is near the water and other warnings so they don’t
get waylaid in their mission. Can’t have the turtles thinking, “Come on, Maude,
let’s see what’s shaking in downtown Venice!”
It has taken years but now people take turtles seriously!!
ReplyDeleteIt looks wonderful there! That blue water! I would love to be walking on the beach. Poppy and I used to spend a week at the beach every summer, walking and picking up shell. What happens to old married folks? well, at least this old married couple. We hardly go anywhere any more. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the turtles are protected. I believe that lots of them return to the beach they were born to lay their eggs. Which I find amazing.
ReplyDeleteMy husband loves to hunt for shark's teeth and he's always heard that Venice Beach is a good place to look for them.
ReplyDeleteThey stake out the sea turtle nests here (at Tybee Beach) too.
Enjoy the early hours, it's only going to get hotter.
Blogger Olga Hebert I'm pretty sure owns a place in Venice, FL. She winters there & has just returned to her home in Vermont for the summer.
ReplyDelete'Confessions of a Grandma'
https://confessionsofagrandma.blogspot.com
Very cool! I'll head over to her blog site!
DeleteYou're living near a nesting beach? You lucky duck!
ReplyDeleteWill you go down at hatching time and watch the babies scurrying to the water? I know I would.
I love beach walking too, the feel of the sand and water on my feet, the ocean air; it's the best thing I can imagine.
Wouldn't that be great to see? Unfortunately, we're headed back to the north country in a week - I think the babies hatch at the end of the summer.
DeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. I do have a place in Venice, have been going there for eleven years now. I still want to get down during turtle hatching season.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to once see a couple of giant turtles laying eggs on Caspersen Beach in the moonlight. Get out and walk the beach at night when the moon is bright and see what you can see! Just don't step on any nests or any babies. :)
ReplyDeletewalking in sand is good for your calves too. I don't even try to go to the beach past mid-July down here.
ReplyDeleteSo glad they are informing folks about the turtles. I use to go on turtle safaris put on by Game and Fish Dept. The bright condo lights are what confuse the babies. They think it is the moon and head for them. Our job was to pick them up as they went away from the ocean and put them in buckets. They would then be protected till the got a wee bit older by Game and Fish to be released later. If you can find out when they hatch, it is a sight to see. They are adorable and with folks obeying the light thing, they go the right way.
ReplyDelete