We had to get up really early on Saturday, like with the sun….
We headed down
to the beach and were practically alone there on the sand…
Just us and the
turtle walkers, volunteers who
spend their mornings scouring the beaches for the telltale tracks of mama
sea turtles coming up the beach to lay their eggs deep within the sand before going
back to the water, never to see their little babies hatch…
My mom heard
that if you got to the beach early enough in the morning, you could accompany the
turtle walkers as they discovered, verified, and marked turtle nests, to help
keep the hatchlings safe as they incubate in the warm sand. She invited us
to come to her house and check it out with her….
We witnessed the
verification and marking of two loggerhead nests, each with about 100 eggs in
it!
We even got to help out a little.
Our turtle ‘tour guide” brought along some
things to help teach us about sea turtles and patiently answered all our
questions.
The turtle eggs we saw, should hatch around August 24. If we can, we would LOVE to go back and witness their hatching and their journey to the Gulf. That usually happens in the middle of the night, so we will have to wait and see... but what a fun and
educational morning we had!
Kari!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you dropped by! I have been searching for your blog name on my blog roll, but couldn't remember it!!! Now I can add you to my sidebar!
I hope that all has been well. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with you. I've been absent far too long.
Loved the sea turtle post. I took pics of my kids near a nest marked off similar to yours. We were excited to silently watch the "babysitters"! Hope to someday relocate to the coast so my children too can experience this beautiful life.
P.S. I agree with your comment 100%!!! I feel like our government has gone far off track!
Valerie-
ReplyDeleteIt was good to hear from you. It had been a while but I figured you were busy enjoying the summer with your beautiful children! :) I hope your summer is going well.
If we are able to see the baby turtles, I will be sure to write a post about it. But I don't think we will be able to take pictures, the flash might confuse the little hatchlings too much.
I think living near the beach is wonderful but my kids would rather live where there is snow.
God Bless you,
Kari