Minnie Me

Stuff

2009-02-05T22:33:00.002-06:00

Colorful sea foam, a starfish trying to make a fast getaway, and the tube feet sticking out of a starfish.

Sea Creatures

2009-02-05T22:29:00.001-06:00

Seagull eating an apple, a huge jellyfish, live cockles, and a crazy looking shrimp.

Portuguese Man of War

2009-01-15T09:40:00.001-06:00

Portuguese Man of War

2009-01-15T09:36:00.002-06:00

Pictures of the Beautiful Portuguese Man of War

2009-01-15T09:29:00.002-06:00

In case you were wondering...

Anyone unfamiliar with the biology of the venomous Portuguese man-of-war would likely mistake it for a jellyfish. Not only is it not a jellyfish, it's not even an "it," but a "they." The Portuguese man-of-war is a siphonophore, an animal made up of a colony of organisms working together.

The man-of-war comprises four separate polyps. It gets its name from the uppermost polyp, a gas-filled bladder, or pneumatophore, which sits above the water and somewhat resembles an old warship at full sail. Man-of-wars are also known as bluebottles for the purple-blue color of their pneumatophores.

The tentacles are the man-of-war's second organism. These long, thin tendrils can extend 165 feet (50 meters) in length below the surface, although 30 feet (10 meters) is more the average. They are covered in venom-filled nematocysts used to paralyze and kill fish and other small creatures. For humans, a man-of-war sting is excruciatingly painful, but rarely deadly. But beware—even dead man-of-wars washed up on shore can deliver a sting.

Smoky Mountains

2009-01-07T21:21:00.000-06:00

Business End of a Portuguese Man of War

2009-01-07T21:18:00.001-06:00

FINALLY...Somebody thinks I'm funny

2009-01-07T21:11:00.000-06:00

Bear Paw Print on the beach....Seriously

2009-01-07T21:08:00.000-06:00

Ocean foam blowing in the wind

2009-01-07T21:07:00.000-06:00

Foamy Water from the crashing waves

2009-01-07T21:06:00.001-06:00

Big Starfish...I mean BIG

2009-01-07T21:01:00.000-06:00

Reason #36 Why NOT to Wear Sandals to the Beach

2009-01-07T20:58:00.000-06:00

Supercool:

2008-12-27T16:49:00.001-06:00

A. To cool (a liquid) below its freezing point without solidifying it.
B. Living in Florida in December with the temperature a lovely 78 degrees.

Mountain Pics

2008-11-20T21:28:00.003-06:00

Go check out the new pictures on my Flickr page.

www.flickr.com/photos/76946977@N00

A Huge Ghost Crab

2008-09-03T20:09:00.001-05:00

The Birds, Barnacle Attack, and Jelly in the Weeds

2008-09-03T20:06:00.000-05:00

The Curve and the Black Rocks

2008-09-03T20:03:00.000-05:00

The Fishing Curve

2008-09-03T20:01:00.000-05:00

The Point after Hurricane Gustav

2008-09-03T19:58:00.000-05:00

More Gustav

2008-09-03T19:56:00.000-05:00

A Little Gustav in the Gulf

2008-09-03T19:51:00.003-05:00

Can you find the surfer? For all of you that have been here before, please notice the "point" is under water, the water is all the way up to the grass, and that the curve where we all fish has lost its beach. We had 16 foot waves and quite the breeze.

Things I WIsh to See While Snorkeling

2008-08-30T11:13:00.002-05:00

Things I Hope Not to See While Snorkeling

2008-08-30T11:10:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday!!

2008-06-04T21:52:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy. You know who you are. Here are a few exciting events that happened on the same date you came into the world. Make your mom and dad read 'em to ya. ;)
Events
781 BC - The first historic solar eclipse is recorded in China.
1039 - Henry III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
1584 - Sir Walter Raleigh establishes first English colony on Roanoke Island, old Virginia (now North Carolina).
1615 - Siege of Osaka Forces under the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu take Osaka Castle in Japan.
1760 - Great Upheaval: New England planters arrive to claim land in Nova Scotia, Canada taken from the Acadians.
1769 - A transit of Venus is followed five hours later by a total solar eclipse, the shortest such interval in history.
1783 - The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrate their montgolfière (hot air balloon).
1784 - Madame Elizabeth Thible becomes the first female balloonist.
1792 - Captain George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for the Kingdom of Great Britain.
1794 - British troops capture Port-au-Prince in Haiti.
1802 - Grieving over the death of his wife, Marie Clotilde of France, King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia abdicates his throne in favor of his brother, Victor Emmanuel.
1812 - Following Louisiana's admittance as a U.S. state, the Louisiana Territory is renamed the Missouri Territory.
1859 - Italian Independence wars: In the Battle of Magenta, the French army, under Louis-Napoleon, defeat the Austrian army.
1862 - American Civil War: Confederate troops evacuate Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, leaving the way clear for Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee.
1876 - An express train called the Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco, California, via the First Transcontinental Railroad only 83 hours and 39 minutes after having left New York City.
1878 - Cyprus Convention: The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom but retains nominal title.
1912 - Massachusetts becomes the first state of the United States to set a minimum wage.
1913 - Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of King George V's horse, Anmer, at the Epsom Derby. She is trampled and dies a few days later, never having regained consciousness.
1917 - The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded: Laura E. Richards, Maude H. Elliott, and Florence Hall receive the first Pulitzer for biography (for Julia Ward Howe). Jean Jules Jusserand receives the first Pulitzer for history for his work With Americans of Past and Present Days. Herbert B. Swope receives the first Pulitzer for journalism for his work for the New York World.
1919 - Women's rights: The U.S. Congress approves the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees suffrage to women, and sends it to the U.S. states for ratification.
1920 - Hungary loses 71% of its territory and 63% of its population when the Treaty of Trianon is signed in Paris.
1928 - President of the Republic of China Zhang Zuolin is assassinated by Japanese agents.
1939 - Holocaust: The SS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, United States, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, many of its passengers later died in Nazi concentration camps.
1940 - World War II: The Dunkirk evacuation ends - British forces complete evacuation of 300,000 troops from Dunkirk in France.
1942 - World War II: Reinhard Heydrich is assassinated by Czechoslovak paratrooper in Prague (Operation Anthropoid).
1942 - World War II: The Battle of Midway begins. Japanese Admiral Chuichi Nagumo orders a strike on Midway Island by much of the Imperial Japanese navy.
1943 - A military coup in Argentina ousts Ramón Castillo.
1944 - World War II: A hunter-killer group of the United States Navy captures the German submarine U-505 - the first time a U.S. Navy vessel captured an enemy vessel at sea since the 19th century.
1944 - World War II: Rome falls to the Allies, the first Axis capital to fall.
1967 - Stockport Air Disaster: British Midland flight G-ALHG crashes in Hopes Carr, Stockport, killing 72 passengers and crew.
1970 - Tonga gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1973 - A patent for the ATM is granted to Don Wetzel, Tom Barnes and George Chastain.
1979 - Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings takes power in Ghana after a military coup in which General Fred Akuffo is overthrown.
1986 - Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top secret United States military intelligence to Israel.
1989 - Ali Khamenei is elected the new Supreme Leader of Islamic republic of Iran by the Assembly of Experts after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
1989 - Tiananmen Square protests are violently ended in Beijing by People's Liberation Army. Many innocent people are killed.
1989 - Solidarity's victory in the first partly free parliamentary elections in post-war Poland sparks off a succession of peaceful anti-communist revolutions in Eastern Europe and leads to the creation of the so-called Contract Sejm.
1989 - Ufa train disaster: A natural gas explosion near Ufa, Russia, kills 575 as two trains passing each other throw sparks near a leaky pipeline.
1991 - The United Kingdom's Conservative government announces that some British regiments would disappear or be merged into others — the largest armed forces cuts in almost twenty years.
1998 - Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
2001 - Gyanendra, the last King of Nepal, ascends to the throne after the massacre in the Royal Palace.
2008 - The Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburg Penguins in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. This game won the Wings their 11th Stanley Cup victory.

Octopus Opening a Jar to Get His Supper!

2008-05-31T11:28:00.000-05:00

Bob/Daisy

2008-05-13T23:45:00.000-05:00

Bob/Daisy

2008-05-13T23:44:00.000-05:00

Pelicans

2008-05-13T23:41:00.000-05:00

Back Off Bitch!

Jellyfish, beach bum, sand dollars and a robinfish

2008-05-13T23:38:00.000-05:00

Me

2008-05-13T23:35:00.000-05:00

Shell Island and Pelican diving for food

2008-01-15T20:38:00.000-06:00

Hardhead Cat with a tumor and more fishing trip

2008-01-15T20:33:00.000-06:00

Fishing Trip

2008-01-15T20:28:00.000-06:00

Sunset

2007-12-22T14:39:00.000-06:00

Dressed up, Nudibranch Inked Me, Mom and Me

2007-12-22T14:34:00.000-06:00

Me and Megan

2007-12-13T10:45:00.000-06:00

The Things We Do for a Paycheck...

2007-12-13T10:33:00.000-06:00

Megan, Tucy and Me

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T10:11:00.000-06:00

I am grateful for all my wonderful family and friends. XOXO

Mom's Fish

2007-11-14T01:02:00.001-06:00

A little Croaker and a Gafftopsail Catfish. The cat has SLIME all over its body. It was so plentiful, it got on the line as well as everything it touched. What a great defense mechanism. It worked, he was returned to the ocean. In a post or two down there is Mom holding a Black Drum that she caught.

'Nother Big Jelly

2007-11-14T00:59:00.000-06:00

Big Fish and Chillin' on the Boat

2007-11-14T00:55:00.000-06:00

2007-11-13T22:40:00.000-06:00

This Jellyfish was huge. I've never seen one as large. It was the size of a compact car's hood. Seriously.

The next picture is a scary cloud that was chasing me.

2007-11-13T22:34:00.000-06:00

These lovely bugs are called Dog Flies. I like to think of them as Vicious Human Biting Oh My God Did That HURT Flies. I'd like you all to know that I risked my life and body parts to get you these pictures. There was a lot of, well, dead meat left on the beaches during and after the red tides. Dead smelly fish meat = flies. Click on a picture and get it large and up close. You won't believe it.

Guess What I saw??

2007-11-11T23:06:00.000-06:00

Looks like he found some food.

And is killing it....

See, Kim, not too skinny...looking good!

2007-11-04T12:10:00.000-06:00

Red Tide

2007-10-24T10:34:00.000-05:00

Red Tide Coming In

2007-10-24T10:16:00.000-05:00

Red Tide is a Killer

2007-10-24T10:13:00.000-05:00

-Red Tide

2007-10-24T10:01:00.000-05:00

New Tattoo

2007-10-18T11:09:00.000-05:00

Finally found someone I trusted to tattoo me. Got that silly ol' name off me and added a jellyfish. I love it! :)

Re:Dane Cook

2007-08-28T00:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I couldn't find one with NO f-words but this is pretty funny.

Now That's Pretty Nifty

2007-08-27T00:13:00.000-05:00

'S Freakin' Hotter

2007-08-15T11:21:00.000-05:00

This is the front yard. LOL. We broke a temperature

record yesterday. It was 96 degrees with a feel of 107

degrees. Like I said it was HOT. I spent it submerged.

'S Hot

2007-08-03T00:40:00.000-05:00

The temperature today was a remarkable 92 degrees. The humidity was 96% and it wasn't raining. I think I'm living in a bog.

Help me. I'm melting....

Sea Creatures

2007-07-13T02:14:00.000-05:00

3 Mullet

Arrow Crab trying to make a quick getaway.

Huge Styrawberry Hermit

Pair of Nudibranchs

Black Spined Urchins

2007-07-09T23:09:00.000-05:00

Your opinion, please. If you were going to get a tattoo with a name in it, would you get the person's real name or nickname? Do tell. Inquiring minds want to know.

Cool Birthday Present

2007-06-30T23:43:00.000-05:00

My friend, Kim, got one of these for her birthday.

(Veiled Chameleon)

Pretty nifty.

:)

2007-06-25T22:04:00.000-05:00

I love, love, love this new playlist.

Happy Birthday

2007-06-22T00:03:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday!

Mike - 19th
Kim - 21st

Hope you have great birthdays.

Things That Don't Bother Me - A Meme

2007-06-19T23:41:00.000-05:00

This is going to be interesting. I hope I can think of more than three. :)

1. Getting stung by jellyfish. Yes, it freaking hurts - you can't imagine - but, clearly, it doesn't bother me as I keep getting in harms way for a picture.

2. Watching my daughters become mothers. I thought it would make me feel old to be a grandma. Nope, it's thrilling to say the least.

3. Knowing I could have easily listed more things that bother me rather than those that don't .

4. Getting dirty, bug-bit, scratched, scraped, poked, pinched, jabbed, or stung as long as I had a great time doing whatever it was that got me there in the first place.

5. Falling down. I do it a lot. I'm used to it.

6. Grabbing or touching things in the ocean. I.E. crabs, shrimp, fish, squid, octopus, jellyfish, snails, urchins, nudibranchs, starfish and such. Doesn't bother me to have them crawl across my hand or arm like someone I know. ;)

7. Driving fast or being in a car driven fast by someone I trust. (Yes, you, Mike aka Mr. 95mph ) :)

8. Getting caught in a thunderstorm. Love them.

9. Going fishing and not catching a thing. To quote my grandpa...Going fishing is great, catching a fish is a bonus.

10. Hanging upside-down off a pier to get a starfish.

11. Knowing it's hurricane season and that I live in an area that's famous for them. (Can you imagine the picture possibilities?)

12. Drinking too much coffee and then running around like a rabid squirrel.

13. Looking straight at a person and telling them they're full of shit. I don't like liars and don't tolerate them very well.

14. Going barefoot.

15. Driving with the windows down even when it's cold.

16. Talking on the 'phone with my family and friends for hours.

17. The frogs that produce a symphony outside my window each night.

18. Pink shirts on guys.

19. Palmetto bugs. Ok, that's not true. Ewww.

20. Hearing the bird say whatever ten times in a row.

Have You Ever?

2007-06-14T12:13:00.000-05:00

Have you ever seen or heard something that made you want to repeatedly bang your head against the wall? I was there at 11:30ish today. @#$%^& Tell me yours.

Happy Birthday Ace!

2007-06-04T22:18:00.000-05:00

Happy first birthday Sweet Boy.

Grandma loves you.

Generation Gap

2007-06-02T10:32:00.000-05:00

Little girl: Ma'am (ugh) can you tell me where to find juice?
Me: What kind of juice?
Little girl: Lemon juice
Me: The type that is in a little lemon or a bottle?
Little girl: No, no, the kind for your hair.

Memorial Day

2007-05-28T12:27:00.000-05:00

We cherish too, the Poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led,

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies.

Remember the reason for today.

2007-05-27T23:50:00.000-05:00

Look at those teeth!

Nifty hermit

Fish in the weeds

A lot of this washed up....eww

I'm Still Speechless

2007-05-27T23:48:00.001-05:00

Herons

2007-05-27T23:42:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday!

2007-05-27T22:55:00.000-05:00

I want to wish my favorite son-in-law a very Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great day!

The Potential Thief

2007-05-26T08:43:00.000-05:00

He kept trying to steal our fish. He was a baby.
Aww.

Closer

Closer

Closer

He's there. You can't see them, but the fish
are near his legs.

You Tell Me

2007-05-26T08:34:00.000-05:00

This was very "rubbery". It's about 8 inches from
edge to edge. And about 3 inches tall. There were
smaller and larger ones.

2007-05-26T08:28:00.000-05:00

A Dead Shrimp?

Nope. Just add water. Poor fella.

Florida is on FIRE

2007-05-26T08:25:00.000-05:00

These pics are about a mile from my house.
*Gulp*

Give Us a Kiss

2007-05-26T08:17:00.000-05:00

Saw a black blob in the water and had to
investigate. Mom said, "Go see what that is."
I Still wonder if she knew. :) Anyhow, I
walked over and tried to grabit with my net.
It shot out of the sand and swam right at me.
I don't mind telling you I screamed like a girl.

Puffer

Drying his wings

Many Snails

Hermit hiding from me

Ok Ok My Lazy Butt is Finally Putting Pics Up Again

2007-05-26T08:07:00.000-05:00

Neat Legs

Floating.....

Inverts

2007-04-29T10:33:00.000-05:00

A snail cruising across the sand bed

Is that not the coolest Porcelain crab you've
ever seen?

Things

2007-04-29T10:29:00.000-05:00

I don't know what it is but it sure stung the
crap out of my sis and I.

Fishing at Mexico Beach

Birds at Mexico Beach

Look...I Found a Squid

2007-04-29T10:19:00.000-05:00

It changed colors so fast. What an amazing
creature. It was white and clear colored
when I first found it. When put in the net it
changed to yellow, red, and burgandy in just
a matter of a few seconds.

Inked

He inked my net

Blue toes and more

2007-03-23T01:04:00.000-05:00

Another darned sting....I really must stay
away from these things....nah.

A Stow-away...he's pretty darn big.

Best Guess: Marine Scale Worm (Bobbit)

2007-03-23T01:00:00.000-05:00

Before I irritated it

After

After

After

After....I think it wanted to bite me!

Seriously

2007-03-13T23:20:00.000-05:00

Hermits in Whelk shells

Mom holding a cannonball jelly. It looks as
though she is squeezing it, but she is not. :)
She told me to hurry up and take the picture
because she could feel it "pulse". lol

Stuff

2007-03-13T23:18:00.000-05:00

Tunicate

Big Hermit

'Nother big hermit

I'm running out of ideas for these titles

2007-03-13T23:15:00.000-05:00

More washed-up Jellies

Jelly

Hermit

Colony of Tunicates

2007-03-12T01:41:00.000-05:00

A 50,000-strong swarm of spider crabs (Leptomithrax gaimardii) mate on the seabed of Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay, 25 May 2005, at the start of their breeding season. Scientists are baffled by the size of the enormous gathering which is scaring away all other sealife from the area in the four-metre-deep water near an undisclosed beach. (I may freak out if I see this happen here) :)

It's a Quiz

2007-03-12T01:28:00.000-05:00

Shame-faced Crab (Cool claws)

Odd little crab

What do you suppose he is?

See the whip-like tail? Hmm.

A shitload of washed up jellies.

This is Nifty!

2007-03-10T12:13:00.000-06:00

A huge decorator crab

Same crab

Spider crab

The smallest Shameface Crab I have seen

Shameface crab's underside

OMG!

2007-03-08T00:56:00.000-06:00

My Dearest Ace,

I am sorry to inform you that your mother - my daughter - has become delusional early on in her life. We all knew it would happen, just not so soon. Somehow she has forgotten what a nutty driver her father was. (Sorry, John, but you are) I remember him speeding up just so the other car couldn't pass. I also remember him flying down the mountain just to give me a stroke. Oh, and may I mention him hopping out of the car to wallop someone who had caused him a bit of road rage? So you see, Ace, I was the good driver in the family. The kindly driver that may have offered a friendly wave every now and again. Do not believe these vicious rumors that have been brought forth.

P.S. No matter what nonsense she tells you, she had not done any of these things simply because she was still a pup when I met her. Ask her about the Big Johnson shirt she wanted. Humpf.

Spring Break is here

2007-03-04T11:10:00.000-06:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Nudibranch

2007-03-03T01:29:00.000-06:00

This guy was quite entertaining for me. He
swam a lot on the surface - which is how I found him -
until I got into the water to take his picture. Then
he kept trying to swim onto my foot. Why, I'll never
know but I didn't much like it. It was around a foot
long and four inches wide when it's "wings" were
closed. Very cool, indeed. I also got some video of
him swimming about the place. Come see me and
I'll show it to you. :)

Freaking HUGE

2007-03-03T01:26:00.000-06:00

This thing was big. It's bell was the size of a
basketball. Wow. Glad I saw him before he
saw me.

Yeow-za

2007-03-03T01:19:00.000-06:00

Neat formations in the sand

Ditto

Cannonball Jellyfish

Crappy picture :)

Cannonball Jellyfish

Little Gems

2007-03-03T01:13:00.000-06:00

As requested, I am posting some of the things
that I kept. Of course, I keep the cool crabs. The
anemones on him shoot out neon orange goo
when riled. I try to leave them alone. :)

Neat little jellyfish

Same little Jelly

My crab

Jellyfish

Too Cool

2007-02-26T22:02:00.000-06:00

This is a huge red hermit crab with an anemone
on his shell. (The blob of brown goo is the
anemone.) On this blob of goo, check out the
crab. I think it is a sort of anemone crab.

Jelly

Front side of the hermit.

Stuff

2007-02-26T21:58:00.000-06:00

Urchins

Worm

Shrimp boat

Olive

Hermit Crab

Zapped...again!

2007-02-22T01:36:00.000-06:00

Jellyfish

2007-02-22T01:29:00.000-06:00

In case you hadn't noticed, these things fascinate
me. Hence, I keep getting myself stung because I
get too darn close. (Pictures to follow) I think the
picture below is going to be a tattoo. Now, I just
need someone to hold my hand through it. Eek!
Any volunteers?

Nifty things

2007-02-22T00:32:00.000-06:00

Bambi's dad

The business end of a jelly

Nudibranch

Assorted Stuff

2007-02-22T00:28:00.000-06:00

Heron

Orange Tree

Bambi

Heron in tree

Jellyfish

Odd Things

2007-02-21T00:02:00.000-06:00

Extremely friendly bird

Anemone on a hermit crabs shell

Spider Crab

The gross worm disappearing into the rocks

Anemone again

Beauties with an Attitude

2007-02-20T23:54:00.000-06:00

This worm was so gross. About 10 inches long.

Jelly

Cool Jelly Picture

Neat Jelly - His sister stung me today. (Grr)

Jelly