Yet another good job of creatively tackling a problem. :) I never knew that plastic containers could be used as you have on several projects. ## Has the red tide calmed down now? Are the birds and manatees back?
Great article. Well thought out. Thanks for posting.
The dish pan was an attempt at improving the looks of my pilothouse. The old instruments were all up there. For me, tilting my head up to see, putting on glasses, attempting to read the gauges... well, it was all too much. I moved everything lower and am much pleased with the ease of use now.
I had bought a cutting board figuring it would be a good sturdy plastic but then... well, have I mentioned how poorly I cut? I do not do straight lines well, not even with a guide in place. It's just not what I do well. I suspect it is the vibration that throws me off when using power tools. Anyway, I have the cutting board here and I am stuck with it. I wish I had not removed the stickers as I would have returned it to Walmart for a refund!
As for red tide, it comes and goes. It went away for an entire 12 hours or so, and then returned with a vengeance. The water is not as dark as it was and for perhaps two hours this afternoon it was almost normal. We are right in the epicenter of the mess at present.
One thing I noticed a few days ago is that on falling tides the algae returned. On incoming the water comes under the peninsula and was clear/green. It changed and now we have the toxic stuff but not too bad.
Definition of not too bad: although we have scattered dead fish it is not the giant swarms of dead fish. The worst day the fish were scattered about, perhaps every 15' or so, but nothing like the really bad kills of further south. Indeed my girl friend lives down by the inlet and she is seeing a lot more dead fish that I am here.
My birds are around but about half have disappeared. No dead birds seen incidentally. I suspect they flew off to better pickings.
Yesterday afternoon on a higher than normal high tide there were a lot of seagulls and pelicans flying around. I saw no pelicans diving for fish though. Still more birds were active than I normally observe.
I have not seen any manatees for at least a month. For a couple days when the hotdog wafers fell into the water the catfish did not come to the surface to eat them. They are back as of today or yesterday eating whatever the birds drop.
The main symptom I am dealing with is scratchy gritty eyes when I venture outside. The weather has turned and is beautiful, cooler and breezy. Unfortunately the toxins are in the air so I've kept the boat closed up for the most part. I confess to feeling dock-bound. I don't want to open up, take the boat out because of the red tide.
My get up and go takes me to my bunk with the Kindle. I know, it's a rough life, right? It is hard to elicit sympathy when you live in Florida on a boat! Life is great afloat. Can't wait for you to experience this too, without the Red Tide though. Your friend, J.
I am glad you liked the article. Thank you for your Comment. It is appreciated. J.