Things that can draw blood

I'm writing this from an anchorage in Mosquito Lagoon just north of Cape Canaveral. I actually got to watch Elon Musk's Falcon Heavy launch last night! Very very cool! I plan on doing some work on the boat here before moving farther south soon.

Cynthia and I sailed south from NC on favorable winds, then ducked into the ICW (Intra Coastal Waterway) when the winds became problematic. The strong north-east winds would have kicked up large waves and we would have rocked and rolled and been unable to walk about for days... and belongings would have worked loose and been tossed about inside the cabin. Ugh!

The ICW takes a far more sheltered route. The views are quite beautiful and there are chances to get groceries, ice, fuel, and showers.  Any issues? YES.
1) pilots need to pay close attention to the channel  or WILL run aground. A chance to take ten minutes to relax is rare.
2) Running at night thus seems unwise, so one might make 40 miles per day.
3) Wind and current are often unfavorable, so one burns much fuel and "enjoys" noise and fumes.
4) Finding a good spot to anchor can be tough as there is so much shallow stuff, strong tidal currents, and large tides.
5) temperatures this time of year are far colder than out in the open. We wore long johns most days... and were still darned cold.
6) if weather warms, out come the biting bugs! We found midges in abundance, mosquitoes.... and, on the only wild island we visited, numerous ticks. And that brings us to... Capers Island, SC.

We loved Capers Island. It offered a nice chance to hike to the ocean, stretch our legs, give Lucy a chance to exercise, and see some local nature close-up. It even had some plant identification signs that a Boy Scout installed a decade ago for a badge. One thing it did NOT identify was some horrible burrs that easily penetrate skin to catch a painful ride to a new growing spot. And one could not even pull them with fingers as they would puncture those as well! Lucy's cries were our first alert, but none of us enjoyed these and we tried to identify and avoid the non-descript patches of these burrs,

As we returned from our second walk, we noticed a brown tick on Lucy's black fur....and then another and then many more.

After returning to the boat we checked her well and found perhaps twenty or more on her the size of sesame seeds. And another fifteen or twenty on each of us in our layers of clothes! And, no, we did not discover them all, finding another half dozen over the next couple days. Ugh. We may visit the island again someday, but will use loads of deet to protect ourselves.

Finally, a creature that draws blood that we LIKE! We found dangerously sharp oysters in abundance! Along the shore of these marsh islands and many others grew huge mounds of oysters, each bonding to others to form a reef. We did not bother eating any, but I love seeing such healthy populations of such beneficial creatures, filtering excess algae from the water and improving the ecosystem. Very nice.