Month: January 2021

Rescue, Rehab, Release

During our time in Marathon, Florida, my husband, Bill, and I toured The Turtle Hospital. Their motto: Rescue, Rehab, Release. The Turtle Hospital is a veterinary hospital for sick and injured sea turtles. They are a nonprofit organization rescuing and rehabilitating turtles (including surgery, if needed), then releasing them back into the ocean, solely funded by you, me, and others who love turtles.

Our tour was facilitated by Kris, a Turtle Educator. Kris was knowledgeable and engaging. We were impressed with how Kris knew the names of the turtles and even talked about their individual personalities and preferences.

Kris taught us a lot about the dangers that humans pose to sea turtles. Turtles can get caught and entangled in fishing line and nets. Turtles unable to free themselves will often end up losing a flipper or losing its life. Plastic and other trash left on the beach or thrown in the water are hazardous. When turtles eat plastic it can get lodged inside of its stomach or intestines. Sometimes, although not always, The Turtle Hospital is able to help rescued turtles who have ingested plastics by performing surgery or administering medication. So, no more plastic straws, plastic bags, or balloons on the beach! Sea turtles nest on the beach. We must be careful not to disturb turtles or their nests when we come across them, as it is estimated that only 1 out of a thousand hatchlings will survive to adulthood. Boat strikes are another danger to sea turtles. When boating, always watch for turtles and other marine animals and give them a wide berth. If you do witness a turtle or other marine animal in distress please call The Turtle Hospital, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or the US Coast Guard.

Florida is home to five species of sea turtles: Hawksbill, Green, Leatherback, Loggerhead, and Kemp’s Ridley, with the Loggerhead being the most common. All five species are considered vulnerable or endangered; therefore, it is illegal to touch them or disturb them. I love to watch sea turtles, I love to wear sea turtle jewelry, and I even kissed a picture of a sea turtle on the lips, but I promise I’ll never touch or harass one.

  • Sea turtle ring I bought at The Turtle Hospital
  • Me kissing a picture of a turtle
  • A birthday gift from my friend Julie

Do I hear you wondering how you can you help support The Turtle Hospital? First and foremost: live a turtle-friendly lifestyle! This means everything from not littering (especially on the beach and in the water), picking up trash that others may have left behind (especially plastics), refraining from touching or otherwise harassing sea turtles, donating to The Turtle Hospital (including purchasing tour tickets and items from the gift shop or “adopting” a turtle), opting for the sea turtle license plate if you reside in Florida, or volunteering at the hospital. I’m sure I can’t even think of all the ways you can help, so please visit their website for more information (the turtle hospital.org).

  • Ambulance bought with proceeds from the sea turtle license plate

There are lots of other organizations doing good work that benefits sea turtles either directly or indirectly. The organization 4ocean cleans trash from oceans and rivers every day. Ocean and Company works to rid the oceans of plastic. You can help by buying cute bracelets from both of these organizations to support their efforts and to remind yourself to continue living a turtle-friendly lifestyle. There are many other organizations also supporting the turtle population; I’m confident you can find at least one that piques your interest!

Bill and I have done a fair bit of sailing the last few years and enjoy watching turtles every time we get the chance. I remember sitting in the cockpit of our sailboat in Marsh Harbor, Abaco, simply enjoying the sea turtles as they swam by. We also saw lots of sea turtles while kayaking in the British Virgin Island. So much fun! I also remember happening upon a huge turtle while kayaking off Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, with our daughter, Kate. She was a bit alarmed!

  • Susan and I in the BVI
  • Kelly and I in Abaco
Always watching for turtles!

I know that we can’t all dedicate our lives to helping sea turtles; however, we can all do our little part.

Genesis 1:28 God grants Adam and Eve dominion over all animals in creation, along with the expectation that we will care for them. “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

I’m going to pick up some trash trash today and dispose of it properly. What are you going to do today to support our sea turtle friends?

Manatee Musings

My husband and I love Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne. Immediately following Christmas 2020, our friends, Steve and Susan, joined us at the park for a week of adventure and relaxation on Liberty, our 38 foot sailboat. We love vacationing with Steve and Susan, they are as fun as they are funny. Steve is adventurous and pretty much game for anything, and Susan, well, let’s just say that she loves being stretched outside her comfort zone!

Susan and I waited for a calm day to kayak around the harbor because we really wanted to see colorful fish swimming in the mangroves that surround No Name Harbor, which is part of the park. We had already seen a dolphin in the harbor, and heard rumors of manatee, but we didn’t know that we were in for a real treat! As we paddled off, Susan mentioned something about not kayaking into any dark caves like we did in the BVI. I simply smiled knowing that there are no caves in this harbor.


Susan and I had only been paddling for about 10 minutes when I saw a manatee about 10 feet in front of us stick his nose out of the water to take a breath! No sooner than I spotted that manatee Susan looked down and saw a second manatee directly under our kayak! I admit that seeing a 10 foot sea cow, that clearly weighed several hundred pounds, directly under our kayak was a teeny tiny bit alarming, but I wasn’t about to let Susan know that I thought so! We slowly backed away and no one was any worse for the wear. Then Susan said, “New rule, no kayaking on top of manatee!” She’s so funny. Seriously though, Susan and I sat in our kayak and just watched the manatee for what must have been half an hour.

West Indian Manatee can be found along the East coast of the United States, as well as the Gulf of Mexico. I am a native of Iowa and had never even heard of a manatee until 2018 when I spent some time in Charleston, South Carolina. Manatee are not exactly what I might call cute and cuddly, but they are gentle giants that I really enjoy watching as they swim by. By “giant”, I mean that the average manatee is 10 feet long and weights between 800 and 1200 pounds. Maybe what fascinates me is that manatee are herbivores. They spend most of their time slowing swimming around, eating aquatic plants and resting. Now how on earth does Mandy Manatee grow to 1200 pounds on a diet of salad alone? It’s a crazy mystery! The water in this part of Florida is a beautiful blue/green color and very clear. It is easy to see eight to ten feet down, so if a manatee is near, you’ll see it! I took the three pictures above while walking along the sea wall when a manatee was swimming along side it. If the manatee is further away when you spot it, you may simply see the nose stick up out of the water to breathe (they take a breath every three to five minutes), or you may see it come up and dive back down like the picture below. I spend a lot of time sitting in the cockpit of our boat just watching for dolphin and manatee.


Following our manatee sightings, we continued kayaking along the mangroves in search of tropical fish. We weren’t very successful in that quest; however, we did see several large iguana sunning themselves on the branches. At one point, we were directly underneath the green iguana while attempting to get close enough to see the orange iguana. Yikes! As if on queue, Susan said, “New rule, no kayaking underneath iguanas-they could jump on me!” Pretending that I didn’t share her concern (because I love teasing her), I replied, “Susan, new rule: no making up new rules!”

I’m just going to assume that Susan is keeping track of all her rules and that she will continue trying just as hard to keep me within them as I do to drag her into adventures where we just might need them!

Thought of the day: Love and appreciate your friends, and tell them so every chance you get!

The Dolphin Dance


My husband awakened me at 6:30 a.m. on New Years Day 2021. I don’t normally like to get up at that hour, but this time was different. We were anchored outside of No Name Harbor in the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, and we were surrounded by dolphins!

The sun was still sleeping, yet under full moonshine more than two dozen Atlantic bottle nose dolphin danced around our boat. The water was motionless, and it seemed as if my husband and I were the only people awake in the whole world. Listening in the stillness, we could hear the dolphins surfacing to breathe. It’s a sort of blowing/puffing sound that seems loud to me when the dolphins are close!

I really like to watch dolphin swim and play, and when I’m in dolphin territory I’m always on dolphin watch. Dolphin live in pods of approximately 15 or so in the warm ocean waters. Jackpot! That’s where I like to hang out, too! And I like to swim-see, it’s almost like we belong together.

Our good friends, Steve and Susan, were joining us for the week in Biscayne Bay. In the days before our early morning dance with the dolphins the four of us saw one dolphin off the starboard side of the boat while anchoring in the same location. Susan was so excited to see the dolphin, and then disappointed when he disappeared so quickly. Teasing Susan, I asked her if she was expecting him to come closer and kiss her on the lips. I think she said “yes”. Yeah, that’s how I remember it. Unfortunately, Steve and Susan slept through the dolphin dance on New Years morning. After 30 minutes of enjoying the dolphins, I thought that I was going to have to kiss one for her! But, I kissed my husband instead, and thanked him for waking me up.

Which one of God’s created creatures made you smile today?