The Dance of the Jellies!

It is that time of year again!  Watch out, all you boaters, swimmers and fishermen!  The Jellies are back!  This morning when I was on the pier, I noticed one lone Sea Nettle bobbing along in no big hurry to be anywhere.  The pulsating blob just squished its way around the pier posts with such graceful ease that it was like some underwater ballet!  I laid down on the pier and watched!  Before long, I could see the eerie presence of others in the murky water.  Most were staying deep with only the one visible.  Being as the water was a bit rough, I figured that most had sense enough to stay several feet underwater so they would not be battered to pieces.  After watching for a while, I grew tired of this of synchronized swimming for one and started fishing.

I would occasionally scan the waters looking for the lone Sea Nettle.  Usually within minutes, it would bob to the surface like some gelatinous fishing bobber!  I pondered why this one was brave enough to challenge the waves...perhaps it was a rogue Jelly!  Soon the waters calmed and the sun warmed the surface.  This seemed to entice the other Jellies to come out of hiding for now I could see a dozen or so!  There were the brilliant white ones and the striped pink ones!

Again, I laid down on the pier to watch the dance of the Jellies.  This was almost mesmerizing!  It was like some huge Lava Lamp with living beings instead of blobs of wax!  The Jellies were most beautiful and I was tempted at times to reach down into the water and touch the bell of a particularly large, pink one!  Aacckk!  What in the world was I thinking??  I knew better than to ever touch a Sea Nettle!  Those things can inflict the most painful sting and I should know..I was stung quite severely last summer!  So, I used my better judgement and kept my hands up out of the water.

Do you know????  A group of Jellies is called a Bloom!  I can see why..these looked a lot like flowers of the  sea with their bright colors!  (Actually, the name comes from their habit of  "blooming" in large numbers in certain areas.)  Did you know?  Even though these are living beings, they have no brain?  I guess a brain is not necessary when all you do is float, eat and reproduce.  Did you know?  In some parts of the world, certain Jellies are dried and eaten!  Not me!  I can think of much tastier things to eat than something that is blobby and squishy!

I found the Sea Nettles highly entertaining today.  I was intrigued by their graceful movements with the tide.  I was, also, impressed that something obviously dumb as a brick can survive, hunt for food and protect itself with sometimes deadly stings.  Pretty smart for something with no brain!