an amazing trip...my magic kingdom

Over twenty years ago, my parents were planning a vacation for our family. For some reason, they decided to give my sister and me some input as to where we would go. My dad asked “Disney World or dolphins”? For anyone who knows me even a little, my answer would be no surprise. Dolphins? My whole life was about dolphins. Reading, sleeping, and absorbing every bit of dolphin-ness that was out there. My sister didn’t disagree, so we were off to the Florida Keys. When we drove up to the Dolphin Research Center and I nearly passed out at the sight of the gargantuan statue of a dolphin and her calf. I knew I was in for a treat. I may elaborate on this specific experience in later posts, but right now I want to jump to my latest trip. So, to make a long story a little shorter, my swim with the dolphins when I was ten was the beginning of an even more obsessive love for dolphins. Twenty-plus years later, it has pretty much become my hobby. I have been back to the same facility at least once a year ever since that first time. I have taken week-long classes at the facility where I literally spent ever waking moment interacting with dolphins or learning about them and every night dreaming about them. This past trip, my “sister vacation,” I was sad about the absence of one of the dolphins who I had known since I was ten. Delphi, the father of many of the dolphins at the facility, had passed away. At the same time, new life was brought into the Center in the past year. There were three baby dolphins I had seen only a month or two after they were born, and were now two years old. Most remarkable was Jax (see pic at top), a dolphin of approximately one year who had been found in Jacksonville parent-less and the unfortunate victim of either a shark attack or a boat propeller. This little guy was pretty shy when he got to the center, his new “forever home.” However, he had turned into one of the biggest hams I’ve seen yet – and lots of these lovable grey faces are known to be hams, so that’s saying a lot. I was taking a picture of another dolphin and Jax jumped right in front to get in the shot! Part of his dorsal fin, pectoral fin, and tail fluke are missing from his attack, but that does not stop him by any means. He still dives, flips, and zooms around the pool (which is actually the Florida Bay/Gulf of Mexico) without abandon. He is still learning different hand signals from his trainers and sometimes gets a little confused, but this little guy is a firecracker—loveable and animated. I can’t wait to see how his “dolphinality” develops as he grows older. I will keep going back every year to check on all of these beautiful creatures. I’ve still never been to Disney World!

an amazing trip...rescued turtles

I feel truly grateful that I was able to see and do so many things on this trip that others couldn’t ever dream of. My sister and I took a trip to The Turtle Hospital, in Marathon, Florida (the heart of the Florida Keys). We had been there before, but this trip was different. As with other trips, we listened to an educational presentation about sea turtles. Did you know that all six species of sea turtles are endangered? Can you believe that? The life of a sea turtle is usually tragic and lonely. I might be wrong on this statistic—but I think not—that only one in every 1,000 turtle hatchlings survives to its first birthday. Again, completely astonishing. We got the chance to see several of these species of sea turtles, including Loggerheads, Green, and Kemps-Ridley. Many turtles had been hit by boats and had damaged shells. A lot of these can be healed and released, but many have to live the remainder in their life in captivity. Some of the turtles we saw would eventually be released, but in the covered saltwater pool lived the turtles who would make The Turtle Hospital their home for the rest of their days. We saw a juvenile loggerhead turtle who had some type of neurological damage and seemed to keep swimming in circles. The most unfortunate patients can be those who develop fibropapilloma. These are pinkish, fleshy growths that often grow over so much of the turtle, especially its eyes, that it impairs their ability to survive. We actually got to see a surgery on Rosie the Loggerhead turtle. This was her second surgery to have the fibropapilloma tumors removed. The veterinarian uses a type of laser to remove the growths. These are benign growths, but they cause so many problems for these creatures that they need to be removed to ensure survival. Rosie would still have to have a third surgery to remove the last of the tumors. Only 10-20% of the tumors that are removed will grow back. Most remarkable about these surgeries is that the veterinarians who do these procedures are giving their time as volunteers. Here is a picture of Rosie the morning before the surgery and another picture of her during the surgery. The turtles are under anesthesia during the procedure, but they can only stay sedated for about 2 hours, which is in part what necessitates the multiple surgeries on some of these patients. I felt very lucky to be able to watch this procedure and know that I’m not the only one who feels so drawn to these modern dinosaurs. Thanks to The Turtle Hospital for their amazing work and to Rosie for letting us watch her surgery!

an amazing trip...tiny owls

Shame on me for not posting sooner. I had a much-needed vacation to the Florida Keys and the time before that and since then has been total chaos. I have so many things I want to write about from my trip, but where to start? I don't have enough time to give each one enough attention at the moment, so I will have to choose... my owl sighting! I have been going to the Florida Keys every year for over 20 years and have been fortunate enough to see a vast array of different animals. However, not until this trip did I even think about, or know about, the presence of owls in the Keys. While shopping for some jewelry, which I will get to in another post, I was talking to one of the saleswomen about my work with owls here in CT. Then she gave me a little nugget of information that made my day, maybe my week. Apparently there are burrowing owl nests in several areas in a place called Key Colony Beach, where I used to stay with my family when I was younger. So I informed my sister that we were going "owl hunting" later that day, and every day for the rest of the vacation until I spotted some of these little guys! She loves animals, too, but I could tell she hoped we found them sooner than later! After trying for two afternoons at the place where the saleslady told us they nested, we realized there was another nest down the street (I didn't have to try too hard, as there was a sign stating "Owls' nest, Please do not disturb"). So on the third afternoon, we walked slowly down the street, and in the vacant lot, close to the sign, my sister stopped abruptly. "Shh, there's one!" she whispered loudly. I got out my camera, hoping that the digital zoom would do the job. It was so tiny, even smaller than my saw-whet owl, Lefty at the nature center. I couldn't believe it. I was like a child inside, wanting to squeal and jump up and down. Then we saw a smaller one come out of the burrow behind the first owl. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but they were coming out of a nest that apparently was made of a PVC pipe at the opening. I think this is done for the owls so their burrows won't collapse. We stayed for several minutes, whispering to the owls about how beautiful and special they were, and silently snapping pictures. The owls were pretty still, just moving their heads back and forth like little toys. They were absolutely beautiful, amazing, and I can't believe I had the luck to see them in their own habitat. If you haven't already, see the movie HOOT, which is all about these little guys! It's based on the book by the same name by Carl Hiassen. Worth a watch and a read. Thanks to those little owls for making my day.