Nature You'll See in June

A few facts about lightning: Every year there are more than 16 million thunder storms around the world—an average of 45,000 a day. At any time there are 2,000 in progress. Thunder can be usually heard 10 miles away and releases as much energy as a dozen Hiroshima-type atomic bombs exploding simultaneously. The main lightning stroke can reach 54,000 degrees F, five times hotter than the surface of the Sun. As it moves it heats the air along its path to a very high temperature. This causes an immense clap of thunder as the heated air expands outward at great speed.

 

My personal experiences with lightening include watching it hit a Cabbage Palm and blow the entire top off, and having it hit my house and fuse all plugs, sockets and wires together into huge messes.

Back in the early days of Pass-a-Grille there was a blind man who walked the streets with a white cane and a gold watch fob in his pocket. Lightening struck him one day, knocked him to the ground and turned his watch into black ashes. He, however, lived. It’s remarkable to watch lightening and if you see it, it hasn’t stuck you, so relax in a safe spot (not under a tree) and see the lovely designs it makes.

 

Keep Your Eyes Open—you never know what you’ll see: Even though I grew up in Pass-a-Grille, I am constantly amazed by what I see and learn. For instance, I watched a Seagull do something I had never seen one do before—it was standing at the edge of the water and hot stepping its feet to create a puddle into which many living creatures appeared…dinner was served. The Seagull continued to do this for sometime. Wondering if it was just one well-adapted Seagull or if others did it too, I watched for awhile and sure enough, others came and did the same thing. How could I have missed that behavior all these years?

Another bird behavior I recently witnessed was as funny as it was puzzling. Usually when someone throws a cracker to the birds, seagulls, doves, pigeons, black birds and any other kinds that are around, they come swarming to consume whatever is offered. One day, however, I saw a woman throw out a packet of Lance Oyster Crackers and lo and behold, the only bird that would eat them was the pigeon. All the others turned up their noses. I tried getting a Seagull to take one but no way. I tried to find out if it was the brand they didn’t like or the taste or perhaps one of the ingredients, but they weren’t telling.

 

 

Summer Is Here—the plants tell us so: Many people say that Florida has no seasons, but that is not true. You just have to be aware and you’ll see we have many plants that mark our seasons. For instance, sea grape trees are producing big, green grapes now in June which will turn to purple and pure heaven in my mouth sometime in early august. Figs anyone? They are forming now and also will ripen by July. If you’ve been keeping your eyes open, you may have seen a big, grand tree blooming in pure, vivid orange—that is the Royal Poinsettia which we are privileged to have a few very large specimens of in our area.

 

Because we are in a drought, the oleanders and bougainvilleas are blooming their hearts out and jasmine fills the soft, night air.

 

New Life is Everywhere: Keep your eyes out for young Pelicans just born this year. You’ll recognize them by their totally brown heads (no white or yellow) and their somewhat more awkward walk. I even saw a really young one fall off a piling, it was so unsure of its feet.

Baby dolphins have been birthed over the past months as have manatees, so keep your eyes open. The dolphins have a habit of podding together, hundreds at a time, and it is quite a sight to see. I have seen them most often off the Point of Pass-a-Grille but you could see them anywhere. A favorite time for the dolphins to move up and down the Gulf Coast is in the morning and then again about 5 or 5:30 p.m. so take a walk and look.

Every animal in our area is now busy taking care of their young, so watch for baby birds (you might even find broken bird’s eggs at this time), baby stingrays (see the full explanation on the Home Page/Stingray update), and other young waterfowl. Shells start to get more plentiful and banana trees will ripen their fruit this month along with the ever-producing papaya tree. In Paradise, everything is in full swing of life so join in and have a good time.

 

On a windy day, the trick is to find spots out of the wind. Get behind a seawall, then hunker down and read a book. Or find a sunny side of your house and lay out in a lounge chair. Or, if you’re staying in a hotel, walk around until you find that shady spot and settle in. On a perfect day, get in the water (remember always to shuffle…stingrays can come in early if the weather is good), float, pretend you’re a submarine or dolphin and jump up and down in the water, and remember to put on sunscreen. Life is a beach and we have the best. Enjoy it.

 

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