|
Today on our walk of the beach we immediately saw a huge difference between yesterday and today. The first thing was more Pen shells (Pinnidae) than one could count no matter which direction we looked. We have seen a lot of pen shells (member of the clam family) before and not thought a lot about them. However, today we saw so many shells it seems that something abnormal is happening. In addition to seeing these Pen Shells we saw many more Conch, Tulip and other kinds of shells that we've not seen before today, and we've been out on that beach every single day we've been here.
In one tidal pool just past the "green" house, we saw mounds of the Pen shells and many other shell creatures. Mostly the animals in the shells were still alive and were feasting on what was left inside the Pen Shells. I've included photos of the mounds of shells.
Two days ago we experienced what we thought might be Red Tide in the air while on the beach. At first we thought our cough was being caused by an oncoming cold. However, later in the day we learned that the irritation we were feeling in our throats was likely being caused by Red Tide. Yesterday morning, while on the beach, we saw tons of dead fish and other crittters (noted in our log on the 28th). Today shells are piled up all over. We surmised that dead fish and some ofhers would be floating debris and would reach shore sooner than the shells which had to roll along tthe bottom and take longer.
Mrs. Gerrie read that Red Tide produces a neurotoxin that is deadly to wildllife. You can read about the Florida variety here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_tide and see for yourself. Not all Algae Blooms are deadly, but we're sure that what we're seeing is being caused by this stuff. On our Echo boat tour the other day, they advised us not to eat anything we find on the beach, and to wash our hands after handling any marine organisims we might pick up. Today we saw evidence of the effects on the shell life and other animals from and around our waters.
Last evening, while having dinner with our cousins in Ft. Myers, a TV was on in the small restaurant. Stan noted a news story that was showing the shell life kill and interviews with tourists who were talking about their experiences with it.
I just have to mention the place where we ate last evening. It was a Mom & Pop kind of Italian restaurant and I didn't pay much attention to the name. I'll have to say that I was very skeptical when we wallked into the place. The kitchen was somewhat visible from the front door and it didn't look promising. The seating area at best would hold 25 people and "simple" best describes the place. In other words, it really isn't a place I would think people would go for it's ambiance. It's in the middle of a strip mall; couldn't be further off the beaten track. However, that's where my doubts ended. When the food arrived I was blow away. I ordered Spaghetti marinara which I felt would be safe enough, I mean, who can screw that up?? I also ordered it to contain sausage, which they cut up and put in with the sauce and pasta. The prices are in line with an Olive Garden, if not a bit higher. I would have thought they would be half what it would cost in a chain restaurant. Anyway the food was, hands down, the best Italian food I've ever experienced over all my years. Everyone at the table agreed. The sauce was what made the difference. It was not the traditional very thick tomato kind of sauce I'm used to, but more of a brown (not red) sauce which makes me wonder if it had wine in it. I asked one of the waitresses about it and she said that they call it gravy when it's served with the sausage or other meat as I experienced it; otherwise they call it marinara. The way she pronounced that word I suspect that she could actually speak Italian. Mrs. Gerrie had the Pasta Primavera, Stan enjoyed the Spaghetti with onions, saugsage and peppers, while Janet had a bowl of homemade chicken soup. The restaurant has a variety of desserts including Cannoli...it's apparently to die for....I tried a small piece, but wasn't impressed that I had to have one even if I wasn't going to live another minute. Guess don't have any Italian genes as Gerrie's side of the family do.... I also asked the fellow behind the counter if the style of marinara they serve was typical of some region of Italy. He wasn't sure, saying that the cook is from the northern region near Naples while his family was more southern; down in the calabria region. He said his mother cooked marinara and it took her 20 minutes at best, while the cook in this restaurant cooks it all day. I Googled marinara from northern Italy and find that there is about 59,000 recipies for how to make it. I guess I won't be heading home to try and replicate the sauce from this restaurant. I would like to talk to this cook to see what he does or doesn't add to his sauce to make it this good. Maybe it's just me???....
Update: You can view a news story about the fish kill at this link....if it's not a hot link when you get it, just copy and paste it into your browser.
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/16153818/2011/11/30/dead-fish-wash-ashore-on-sanibel-island
Happy viewing...some of the footage was made at the very same tide pool we photographed yesterday, remember that we're just a mile or so from the light house they speak of...(note: we were on top of this story before the news people were)
Hugs,
Jerry & Gerrie
|
