"A venturesome minority will always be eager to set off on their own, and no obstacles should be placed in their path; let them take risks, for godsake, let them get lost, sunburnt, stranded, drowned, eaten by bears, buried alive under avalanches - that is the right and privilege of any free American." ~ Edward Abbey







Showing posts with label Florida. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida. Show all posts

Sunday, November 29, 2009

"Floundering about with Paralichthys lethostigma "

Since moving to Florida, I have caught two in three years...until yesterday. This one was worth the wait. I prayed, I read, I cussed... Oh yeah, one of them was caught in a cast net. (lame) Flounder are one of those things in nature which are quite hard to wrap your fragile eggshell mind around. They are truly a strange fish. Flounder are crazy...they begin life like a normal fish, but start to change as they mature. (just like we do). They eventually start to hang out on their side, watching to much TV, eating lots of mud minnows and shrimps. They live a somewhat sedentary lifestyle. An ambush predator; they lie in wait for little sea-snacks and BAM! As they move into the juvenile stage, a metamorphosis unlike most any other in the animal world takes place. Much of the fishes skeletal system changes dramatically as it morphs into a electric doormat. Okay, that was stupid.  Additionally, the eye on the side which faces the mud begins to migrate up top. Instant Flounder. To learn more about flounder...buy a fishing rod, bug spray, hang out in the salt marsh, and pray. Pray you'll get to experience catching a fish that looks like a doormat, fights like a bulldog, and has teeth like one too. Oh yeah...(My wife grabbed it and pulled it in the boat.) I AINT Grabbin' THAT CRAZY THING! © CHECK OUT http://www.wildwoollyphotos.com/ for more fun stuff.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

"Ya want fries with that?"




















Listed as a federally endangered species, the Wood Stork, (Mycteria americana), is not just the most beautiful thing to ever fly...However they are fun to watch and can be rather comical. I think they are cute in a ugly kinda way. Anyway, they are interesting and while they are endangered you seem to see them everywhere in Florida. I have seen them in front of the Krystal Burger, the auto zone, and McDonald's. The other day I saw one with a hamburger bun in it's mouth... Seriously, I did. He asked me for a dollar so he could get some fries off of what he called the "So-called value menu". ©