Every Thing Has A Purpose

   Late yesterday afternoon, I headed to the pier to check Son's progress on the repairs.  My gardening was finished for the day so I was ready to help him.  He assured me that I was not needed at the moment so, I sat and watched.  I think he was happier without me getting in the way.  While watching, I noticed jellyfish bobbing around in the water.  Oh, my!  I was sure glad I thought to bring the camera!  So, I plopped down on my stomach to see if I could get a decent picture.  It took a while because, as slow as they are, the jellies have a unique way of slowly sinking at the most inopportune time.  It took about twenty shots before I was satisfied.  Plus, dearie jelly decided to move out of sight.

  These are some of the jellies that have the long tentacles that will sting if touched.  We always were taught to call them sea nettles.  This was a small white one but usually we have pink ones mixed with the bunch.  Some of those are as large as a saucer with two feet of tentacles.  You really do not want to mess with those!  Catching one in the net is quite bothersome!

  As I watched the jellyfish, I pondered their use.  I know that they are a food source for things like sea turtles and that they also provide protection for certain small fish that are immune to the stings but what other purpose do they have?  That was research for the day! 

  I finally found a marine study website that talked of the jellyfish and their ability to help cleanse the waters.  Son had mentioned this a couple of years ago but I never thought much about it.  According to this study, the jellyfish appear to show promise in helping clear oil spills.  It was quite technical but, somehow, the jellyfish help the bacteria that eats the crude.  So, by encouraging an jellyfish "bloom", the residue that sinks after a spill could be cleared more rapidly. (I am assuming that I understood it correctly).  The same site stated that a bloom of jellyfish in shallow water seems to occur after heavy rains so it was thought that fresh water encourages a bloom.  (Yep, bloom.)

  So, with all of that new info in my brain, I feel quite certain that the lovely creature bobbing around under the pier was doing a grand job of clearing up our water...hopefully.  The bayou seems to be really muddy lately as you can tell by the photo.  Carry on, Jelly, carry on!

By the Light of the....Sea Nettle?

Ms. Ez and I headed to the pier late this evening to watch the sunset.  We had watched it rise this morning and thought it was the thing to do to watch it set again.  We had to make sure the sun went to bed..no staying up late for it!  Anyway, all joking aside, while we were on the pier, we watched all sorts of activity going on around us.  The pelicans were diving for mullet.  Their loud splats could be heard from all directions.  They were obviously feeding heavy to pull them through another cold night.  There were masses of ducks on the Bay having migrated in from the North.  I counted six different types just among those that were near enough to identify.  Most stayed a good distance out from the pier as they were not sure of our presence.  Ms. Ez being a Labrador Retriever might have sent red flags up to the duck population.  Perhaps the ducks thought that we were hunters waiting to shoot at them.  Not so..the only shooting I planned on doing was with my camera...and Ms. Ez?  She would have argued that the water was too cold for a swim!  This is no hunting dog for sure!

After the sun had set and the night sky was growing quite dark, I noticed something with a faint glow in the water near the pier.  Investigating, I soon came to recognize a familiar shape.  Jellyfish!  Sea Nettle!  Stinging Nettle!  All one and the same, a bright, rosy-red blob undulated in the water.  The tide was falling so the critter was going along for the ride.  Any tiny ripple in the water caused to Jellyfish to glow a bit.  Last night I talked about the not-really-glowing eyes of animals but tonight was different.  Jellyfish do give off light..they do not just reflect.  This blob of stinging tentacles actually glowed enough for me to take pictures in the waning light!  I was able to photograph the Sea Nettle as it floated in the water!

I watched for a bit while the Sea Nettle drifted by the pier.  Once it disappeared under the planking, I decided that it was high time for me to make my way back up the board path to the Little Bayou House.  I needed to gather a small handful of kindling on the way as I knew that by now, the house was growing cold. Ms. Ez and I hurried up the hill snatching twigs as we hustled!  Well, I did...she chased a rabbit.  If only I could train her to get the firewood.....hmmmmm?  Idea...ponder..ponder....

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!

Ground mullet, Gaff Topsails and Jelly Fish?

Some how or another, things can sometimes have weird names. It seems that a lot of things tied to the sea fall into this category..Weird Named Stuff in the Water. Tonight as we were casting for shrimp, I started to think about some of the unusual names that are attached to local fish and critters of the Bay. Just about that time, I caught a "Ground Mullet" in my net. At least that is what Hubby identified it as..a Ground Mullet. So we are going with that! Now the ground mullet is not to be confused with the "Popeye Mullet".. completely different fish and for that matter I am not even sure if they are kin! They sure do not look alike! Actually, ground mullet is a local name for the Southern Kingfish. One might ask, "Why is it called "ground mullet?" I questioned that myself..why ground mullet. That conjures up the thought that this mullet (which is not a mullet) does not live in the water but on land (ground)..and that is just ridiculous! Or perhaps someone took to grinding it into tiny bits sort of like ground beef..nope..it is still intact. Actually, according to all I can find, the ground mullet gets its name from its color. It has some stripes? umm.. blotches?? that run along the sides at sort of random pattern. (There is an oxymoron for you..random pattern (?) hehe!) These markings are mostly a brown color with maybe some grey thrown in for good measure. The ground mullet is supposed to be very "good eatin'" even though they are a small fish..usually around one pound. When I caught mine tonight, I decided he was too small and "accidently" flipped him over into the water.

Then we have the Gaff Topsails. These are a strange named fish..but then again, they are a strange looking fish! As the name implies, it has a topsail. Its dorsal fin is very elongated and sits high on the fish's back not unlike the gaff topsail on a schooner. Now the gaff part could also be referring to the "horns" or barbs that are on the fins..after all this is a catfish! The name is funny enough as it is but some of the locals actually call them by other names..gas tossils or gap topsuls. Great names, both, but they do make me giggle! I suppose these come from a misunderstanding of the pronunciation of the name. They are very fun to catch, they are very slimy, and are a tad "dangerous" if you are not careful of those horns! Although some folks do eat them, I do not. I would have to be mighty hungry to eat something this slimy!

Now on to Jelly fish. What a misnomer that is! Jelly Fish are not fish at all, they are an invertebrate species of a sea animal. They get their name from their gelatin-like bodies so at least that part is understandable. This is a whole slew of different things all thrown in one group which we could call..The Gooey Body Things That Live In The Bay. The ones that I was catching tonight were harmless little blobs of jelly that have a very unique characteristic..they glow! I am not even positive that they are actually Jellyfish but they are pretty much like a tablespoon of clear jelly that lives in the water so in my book that makes them a Jellyfish along with all the others. These little blobs glow bright green when they are touched! There are times that they are so thick in the waters of the Bay, that a paddle dipped into the water will create the most

fantastical display of green swirls! Ever since I was a kid fishing with my dad, I loved poking these little fellows just to see the flashing glow. While we are on this subject..we call our Jellyfish..Sea Nettles! Now these are the Jellyfish that most people will recognize..the ones with the stinging tentacles. What better name than Sea Nettles is there for something that lives in salt water and stings! If you look in the dictionary for nettle you will see it is a plant that is covered with near invisible "hairs" that can deliver an intense "sting". Hence..salt water dwelling + stinging = Sea Nettle!

So now you can see why I made the statement that we have weird names for things connected to our Bay and Bayou. The list is endless and periodically I will try to explain the logic or lack of behind a few more. I think this jargon of the locals adds to the charm of living on the Gulf Coast, it just needs a bit of explaining to those that do not understand it!