Invasive Species

Sunshine Key, Florida  (high 80, low 68)

We decided to head back to Curry Hammock State Park yesterday and get some more pictures of “BOB”…..big ole boy  (the iguana)   I wasn’t happy with the pictures I took the other day.

He lives on a campground road and sometimes walks down towards the beach.  You aren’t supposed to go on this private road so we have to wait for Bob to make his way down.

For those of you that think I’m brave getting so close to this big guy, let me tell you, I’m a  looooong way from him.  I’m probably 150-200 feet away.  I just have a really strong zoom lens!  I’m not that brave.

I had the camera lens zoomed almost to the max, so I had trouble keeping the camera steady enough to get a decent picture.  Yeah, I know I could use a tripod, but it’s much easier to just hold the camera, and I’m pretty good at keeping it pretty steady.

I just think this is such am amazing looking creature that I love to look at all his different textures.

Just look at those spines on his back.

Once, I saw him stick out his little pink tongue as he was eating.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of that.

We were hoping “bob” would make his way down the road so I could get some photos without having to zoom in quite so much.  Unfortunately some ranger walked down the road and frightened Bob away.  How rude!

A few people commented on these Iguanas.  Unfortunately, I believe they still sell iguanas at pet shops, as well as pythons and boa constrictors.  The snakes are causing a lot of problems in the Everglades, the huge snakes are thriving and eating the native species, like deer, raccoons, and even gators!  They find snakes 18-20 feet in length.   They are trying to remove/kill them but they are multiplying way too fast.  They are destroying the balance of nature in the everglades. 

In the Keys, they are encouraging people to kill and eat the Iguanas.  I hate that, but they do eat bird and turtle eggs, and I hate for that to happen also.

Another invasive species that’s causing problems here in the Keys, is the beautiful Lionfish.  They are not native to the Florida waters, and are killing the native fish and crustaceans.   They are having spearfishing derbies and encouraging people to take them.  Those beautiful spines are venomous, so you have to be very careful.  Supposedly they are good to eat.

 

After getting a few photos of the iguana, we decided to go back to our little area by the beach, and do some reading.

Al is really enjoying his book, huh?

 

We had planned on going to watch the sunset at the Sunset Bar, but once we left Curry Hammock, we noticed the clouds would be blocking the sunset, so we decided to just stay home…and save money.

JC posted a commend on the previous blog about the “green flash,”  that people look for as the sun sinks into the ocean. I had always heard about the green flash, but wasn’t sure was something real or just fiction. I’ve watched many sunsets over the water and haven’t seen it yet.   JC actually saw it, so I guess I’ll have to keep watching for it.  JC said when the top part of the sun finally sinks below the water line, if the atmospheric conditions are just right, you can see a flash of green light.  

Anybody else out there see the green flash?

 

After getting back home, we decided to take Mr. Baxter out for a stroller ride.  He enjoyed the new smells and sites of the ocean. 

We were hoping to get the kayaks wet today, but this morning we awoke to thunder.  I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll get a paddle in before we leave on Sunday.

Here is our view from the coach this morning at sunrise.

Red sky at night, sailors delight.  Red sky in morning, sailors take warning.  I guess this means we should take warning. 

It looks like today might not be a great kayaking day.  I guess we’ll have to go to “plan b”

Sunsets and Sunrises

Sunshine Key Rv Resort,  Florida 

We’re still waiting for the wind to die down enough to do some kayaking.  The past two days have been really windy and there have been frequent and short lived showers moving through.   It’s okay though, because we can always move on to “plan B.”  Life is always good in the Florida Keys.

Monday, we decided to spend the afternoon at Curry Hammock State Park.  It’s a newer park with a great campground.  The sites are nice and big and angled for ease of getting in.  There are waterfront sites, but they are behind a dune, so you don’t have a clear view of the Atlantic.    I think you’d have a wonderful view from your motorhome window if you pulled in forward instead of backing in to the site.

Most sites looked pretty much like this.

Site 11  (notice it was empty)

 

After exploring the campground and checking which sites we could fit into, should we ever get lucky enough to snag a reservation, we went over to the beach to hang out and do some reading. 

We had to find a spot where we had some wind block.

It was a good day for kite surfing and there were a bunch of them out there.

Al walked over to the restroom and saw these guys.

I thought this one was big….

until I met this guy.

The pictures probably don’t show his massive size, but he was a good  5 feet long.

Isn’t the texture of his skin and all of his markings interesting?  He looks like something prehistoric..

Unfortunately, Iguanas are not native to the Florida Keys and have become a problem by competing with native species for their food.   Irresponsible pet owners have released them into the wild, as they have done with pythons.   Young iguanas eat eggs of protected sea turtles, gopher tortoises and burrowing owls. As 7-foot adults, they dine on endangered flora that includes the delicate butterfly sage. For dessert they devour expensive suburban landscape plants.   There are beautiful flowering trees here at Sunshine Key and the residents are not too happy when the Iguanas eat the blooms.

We were really enjoying our day and I was getting into my new book, when all of a sudden, the wind picked up, the dark clouds came in and it rained pretty hard…for all of 5 minutes.   It’s been like that the past few days.  Sun, then rain, then sun again. 

On Tuesday, we went back to Sombrero Beach with the idea we would sit by the water and read.  It was sunny and hot one minute, cloudy and cool the next.   We found a lovely spot and stayed pretty much out of the wind.

Afterwards we headed over to the Sunset Bar and Grill for happy hour and to watch the sunset.

You don’t find a better place this this to watch the sunset over the Atlantic ocean.

We stayed on the upper level overlooking the beautiful heated pool.  Unfortunately a large cloud bank blocked the sunset, but it was still incredibly beautiful.  I’m sure we’ll be going back soon. Probably tonight.

This morning, we went for a 4 mile walk along the walking bridge.  Sunrise was pretty nice.

Our two weeks here is almost over.  We’ll sure hate to leave.  For a mere $9620 we could stay the year, unless you want a waterfront site and that would set you back a mere  $17,120, plus taxes and fees. For $7380, we could stay 6 months on a cheap site or  $11,226 for a waterfront site.   If you want a waterfront site in February, you will have to cough up $2679 (before taxes and fees).  Ahhhh, the price of paradise.