Light Pollution

Hanging out here at Key Biscayne, the light spilling from Miami overwhelms the stars. I can hardly see any constellations, any clouds in the sky shine brightly from wasted city light, and I can never see phosphorescence. These pics are night shots pointed toward Miami

and pointed away. 

Clouds should show up as darkness blocking out the stars, not as glowing masses.

Studies have shown that light at night is bad for our health, even if we try to exclude it with window shades or sleep masks. 

Animals, too, have trouble: recent studies have shown, for example, that clownfish egg hatch rates drop from 80% to ZERO with underwater light pollution similar to what one would expect from well lit resorts. And, when I lived in St John, feral roosters called all night.... until the power went off for a couple days and peace reigned and the roosters, too, could sleep. 

I hear people say that light makes them feel more secure, but I've seen a fellow sailor try to deal with darkness by surrounding himself with lights... and the darkness outside became impenetrable and oppressive even to me: turn lights out and soon the stars and waves glow. People on land worry about prowlers and the BEST way to stop them is NOT with flood lights, but with motion sensors: people sneaking around really really dislike triggering lights as it attracts attention to them while bright lights create nice shadows where prowlers can hide.

Please, let there be darkness!

Monty Beach Time and Snail Trails

(Written some weeks ago)

Twice a day I take Monty to shore, conditions permitting. A favorite spot in Fort Pierce is a little man-made barrier island a few hundred feet from my boat, protecting Safe Harbor Marina. Low tide reveals quite decent sand and Monty can dash up and down the tiny beach. This morning I insisted that we wait until the sun had actually risen a bit above the horizon before going to shore (with a Shih-Tzu mix, especially, it is very important to establish just WHO is in charge!).

Once there, I noticed little tracks in the sand, ones I did not recognize.

At the end of a few of them I found a lone snail... SO, these tracks are snail tracks.

I wonder if the bits of sand on the tracks are first swallowed with organic material (food) and are later excreted as indigestible. Fascinating! 

I've also found other snail shell tracks, but with little dots along side: hermit crabs!

I wonder if all these tracks are laid down on exposed sand or if some are laid down under water, then the tide recedes: the latter would explain the softer, more blurry footprints. Or, perhaps the sand was very soft and wet...

This live sand dollar is the first I've seen in several years, other than shoals of them in several feet of water in Maine.

I also found quahog shells here for the first time this far south, probably excavated and tossed ashore by last fall's two hurricanes.