Thinning The Jellyfish

So there I was...cruising from Martha's Vineyard to Newport several years ago when I spotted a fin in the distance from my vantage point on the upper helm station of Eventide.  It initially looked like the dorsal fin of a large shark but as Kim and I got closer we could see that the fin was flopping back and forth.  Either a very sick shark or something else.  Turns out it was something else, namely a Mola Mola, commonly called an Ocean Sunfish.  These fish weigh in at around 2000 lbs, look like a massive pancake laying on it's side at the surface, have huge eyes and a small mouth for eating it's primary diet of jellyfish.  As we approached, I thought the sound of our engine would cause the Sunfish to dive but as I idled up to within 3 feet of it, it just lay there looking at us with that big eye and flopping it's fin as if waving.  A friendly fish that feeds on the dreaded jellyfish.  How good is that?  Speaking of jellyfish, one of the most feared of this species, though not technically a jellyfish, the Portuguese Man-O-War made a rare showing that same summer as we spotted several off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.  Named after the classic Portuguese fighting ships of old, because of their similar appearance, they have a gas filled bladder that looks like a sail standing several inches above the water and about 30 ft long tentacles below.  The winds effect on the sail actually propels it through the water and if a person comes in contact with the tentacles it will not be something they forget.  Fortunately, our friendly Mola Mola will eat these guys as well.  Most years I have at least one sea turtle sighting and I'm always amazed how big they are.  And the best part, they eat jellyfish.

Flying Into Spring

So there I was...flying down into the Grand Canyon last week in a helicoptor.  As the morning sun shone off the massive walls of the canyon, creating shadows and designs on the layered rock, our aircraft gently touched down on a flat section half way between the upper rim and the base, where the river flowed.  The sheer size of this "natural wonder of the world" is what amazes most.  Hopping out of the copter, our very competent pilot told us we had about thirty minutes to explore and enjoy a picnic lunch that was laid out for us.  Impressive, to say the least.  Flying over the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead on the way to the Grand Canyon was icing on the cake.  What I noticed most, while enjoying these incredible sights, was the absence of color and life.  Everything seemed to be brown or a shade of that color.  Growing up in New England there was always such lush greens in Spring/Summer and the Fall colors are world renowned.  So much wildlife could be experienced if you sat quietly under a tree for five or ten minutes watching the forest come alive.  Or walking the beach listening to the seagulls over the roar of the waves as the Piping Plovers keep time with the surf, running and feeding as the water advances, then recedes.  I guess I'm biased to thinking this way because of where I grew up but this trip to the desert areas locked those feelings firm.  Glad I went, and it is amazing to see, but now I'm ready for Spring, which officially starts in about fifty minutes, and all the colors and life that come with it here in the Northeast.  We have a sign that hangs over our kitchen window that says, "Let It Snow".  Time to switch that to the one that says, "Let It Grow".