Shark Encounter in the Water

Fish off Jupiter Island

Two days on the beach and two shark encounters.

Yesterday was a snorkeling morning. The water was calm and clear. Chris and I had a lot of fun. We also used the GoPro in the underwater mode for the first real run of the vacation. It takes great video even while being attached to the head strap, but we need to learn how to use it a bit better to get more viewable videos.

Juvenile Angelfish 

My underwater camera was also very useful and documented the really impressive things that we viewed during our event filled outing. 

The big event during the outing was the shark encounter. While we were snorkeling we came upon a small nurse shark, a pup, that seemed to be in a unique position--belly up. This caused us great consternation, as you will see from the video. We spend a good deal of time trying to decide what, if anything, we should to to help this small shark. 

Nurse Shark Belly-up in the Rocks

Of course there was a great difference of opinion. And in watching it further, I began to wonder if it was dead, I could see some fin movement, but I wasn't sure if it was caused by the undulation of the water. 

Our desire to assist a fellow inhabitant of the planet finally won out over common sense, and of course knowing that it was a nurse shark coupled with its small size contributed to the decision that it clearly needed assistance.

A rescue attempt was made, which ended with a great amount of laughter when the shark, startled a lot more than I was, took off never to be seen again.

Did the shark really need assistance? Probably not! But, we felt better about it when it was over because we made a rescue attempt.

Moray Eel

And then we were on our way for the neatest find of the day, and one unfortunately that the camera did not fully capture--a medium sized moray eel in the open, hunting. 

It is a good reminder why I never reach into dark areas while snorkeling. You never know what is there!

A great day in Florida. And the entire snorkeling adventure lasted only about an hour, leaving a whole day to get sunburned on the beach.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Jupiter, Florida

Shark Encounter at the Beach

Measuring in at 95 Inches

With all of the news about shark attacks this year, we had our own shark encounter on the beach. We were spending the day at the beach in the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and some youthful fishermen near us on the beach hooked a large, 95 inch, nurse shark and brought it to shore.

Nurse Shark

It was awesome to see such a beautiful creature up close and personal. Really up close. 

They were very gentle with the shark, which did not even attempt to attack anyone, but only wanted to get back into the water. 

Getting the Shark back into the Water

They measured the catch, removed the hook as best a possible without hurting the animal and released it back into the water so that the shark could get back to living. 

I have seen these sharks in the water, but seeing this large specimen up close was really a treat. Even though I know they are generally docile in the wild, I still give them a wide berth.

Everyone was very excited and the shark was treated with the utmost respect as an apex predator who was definitely out of his element.

I love the ocean and I enjoy mutually beneficial encounters between myself and the creatures which inhabit it.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Jupiter, Florida

Clouds, Sunsets and the Lighthouse

My return to Jupiter, Florida, it had been two years since my last visit, embodied almost everything that I have come to expect and appreciate.

Cloud with Halo

There was a unique cloud formation, preceding a fairly ferocious thunderstorm, in which a cloud appeared to have a halo above it. I found the clouds fascinating--and I even was able to get a fairly good representation of it from my camera.

It was a beautiful and hot afternoon and we were enjoying happy hour at a local establishment as the storm made its way toward us. 

Sunset in Jupiter

As the evening progressed we transitioned to another establishment, right on the river and were able to be impressed by a spectacular sunset. I just can find a sunset framed by palm trees in Maryland. 

Jupiter Lighthouse

The sunset last evening was truly special. Why? Because I was able to enjoy it with friends and I am on vacation! It seems that the sunsets I see on vacation are always better than those back home. 

And then there is the signature feature of Jupiter, Florida. The Jupiter lighthouse.

I enjoy looking at the lighthouse and knowing its history makes it even better. 

The site was selected before the Civil War and there was collaboration between two eventual opponents on the field of battle: Mead and Lee.

Welcome back. It is vacation time again!

-- Bob Doan, writing from Jupiter, Florida

My Take--Money Talks, but Trump needs to Walk

I was shocked about what presidential candidate Donald Trump said about John McCain and his service record. 

Trump--The Angry Man

Someone who holds so little regard for the military and military service and especially for someone who suffered intolerable injustices and remained faithful, should never be endowed with the title Commander in Chief. Period.

By the way, Trump's military service record consists of a string of deferments.

When too much money talks without filters we can dismiss the ignorance; however, should a president speak like that on the world political stage, then wars start.

Ignorance must never be tolerated. We can choose to disagree, but an intolerant and insensitive bully should never become president.

I liked his direct speak in the beginning, but the veneer has been stripped away and it is clear the Trump, the man, has become a legend in his own mind.

Ruth Marcus, columnist for the Washington Post, wrote a piece yesterday titled Donald Trump and the anger of conservatives,  describing the Trump phenomenon and why he will never become president. 

I hope she is right. The man apparently appeals to the deep, dark side of the electorate--a reaction to everything that is wrong with our country by blaming it on someone or something. His plans to rejuvenate the country are to build a wall! Really? I almost believe that his next big reform idea will to start a war with Mexico to revive the economy. 

"Speaking to a gathering of Libertarians in Las Vegas before headlining an event in Phoenix, Trump repeated his charge that Mexico was sending violent offenders to the U.S. to harm Americans and that U.S. officials were being "dumb" in dealing with immigrants in the country illegally." This was reported in The Times-Picayune. 

There is history here of which we must be aware. Extreme reactionists get elected because they appeal to those who do not understand the deeper issues facing the country and the world. They have a knack for blaming our problems on others and then promising to get rid of the others. 

The problems do not go away, they only get worse.

Trump is not the answer, he is part of the problem.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Hot--The Word of the Day

Although the year to this point has been relatively cold, the past few days have reminded me that summer can pack a real punch.

Hot and sultry weather.

People forgetting the cold weather when they were wishing for summer.

I do love the heat!

I like writing about hot weather a whole lot more than cold. 

I spent most of yesterday outside, between playing golf and attending Artscape--then hanging out in the pool. Enjoying the heat.

I, for one, like opening the door to the outside and being greeted with a hot, humid slap in the face. It is far superior to having an icy hand rip though my lungs.

Enjoy the heat, colder is not far off and then we will be longing for hot temperatures. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - July 20, 2015

Artscape in Baltimore

1. Weekends are the best!

2. Sunday was a hot summer day. It was awesome.

3. I went to Artscape in Baltimore on Sunday. I was joined by a throng of other crazy people we went out on a summer Sunday afternoon.

Mike, Levi, Jeremy on the 12th Tee
Eisenhower Golf Course

4. I started another Sunday on the golf course with Jeremy, Mike, and Levi. I wish I had played better, but my game is coming together and I only had two really terrible holes.

Statue to the Confederate
Fallen in Baltimore

5. Some of the flowers in my garden have grown very big. They are fun to look at.

6. I was approached by a well meaning person with a petition to remove a Baltimore statue erected in memory of the Confederate soldiers who lost their lives. The removal of everything Confederate is part of the misguided trend of revisionist history sweeping the country.

7. The Cuban Embassy reopens in D.C. today.  The U.S. Embassy will likewise reopen in Havana. It is about time!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Mid-Summer Madness

Hibiscus in my Garden

It is mid-July which means that while "summer" is but a month old, it is in reality half-over. 

The time for summer vacations and plans is rapidly drawing to a conclusion, and I haven't headed out to find new places, yet.

Many of the people I work with have already tapped into the renewal qualities of a summer vacation. 

My turn is coming, soon. 

Even so, I have been appreciating walking outside into the warm, sultry temperatures and humidity which have characterized the summer thus far. 

It has been hot--and rainy along the eastern part of the country. I have been enjoying the weather, mostly. The lawn has continued growing unlike some years when the dry heat makes it go dormant. 

Summer. It holds so much promise and it is frustrating when it speeds along unperturbed by my lack of accomplishment.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

My Take -- Bottled Water

If I had tried selling water when I was a kid, people would have laughed at me. 

Water was available everywhere! Free!

Look at us now. We have almost become slaves to bottled water. I myself, have two cases of bottled water in the garage. I am too lazy to go to the cupboard, get a glass, and fill it from the tap. I grab the plastic bottle and throw it in my pocket and head out the door.

An interesting OpEd piece in the New York Times writes about The Republican Fetish With Water Bottles, and describes how some National Parks have reduced the volume of water bottles in the trash while also encouraging a more environmentally healthy approach to ensuring proper hydration. 

Sadly, there are those in Congress who would reverse the trend of decreasing the volume of one time use plastic bottles in the trash--even despite an increase in profits at one National Park from the sale of reusable water bottles.

I do understand the problem with reusable water bottles. I keep losing them.

But, there are serious questions about the possible health effects from a steady diet of plastic bottled water. 

I like free, ubiquitously available water. Lets do that and reduce landfill volume and no worry about adverse health effects.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Open in between Raindrops

I got up early this morning. I couldn't sleep--it happens and I don't worry about. 

I decided to watch The Open, which because of the five hour time difference was being televised from Scotland. Unfortunately, there was no golf.

I found rain!

Crews at St Andrews Moving the Water

I think I have had enough rain for a while. It was interesting to see the grounds crews squeegee off the greens--so much water. Water everywhere. 

The water on TV reminded me of the last time I played Patuxent Greens. I played one morning, shortly after dawn and after storms delivered torrential rains the night before. As I surveyed the course, I was amazed that it was even open at all. The grounds crews there did a great job, but they couldn't get the back nine open and the front nine had water standing on the course. The bunkers were even full of water.  I wrote about my experience in Raindrops of Life. At least in Scotland they were not waiting on the cart paths for turtles to swim by.

Golf is a tough enough game without adding indiscriminate water hazards in the middle of the fairways.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

My Take: The Iran Deal

Change is hard. Iran has been an enemy of the United States since the 1979 hostage crisis--and even the recently signed nuclear deal is not likely to change that characterization soon.

Too many people in our country, especially those with political motivations, are condemning the nuclear deal with Iran without reading the entire text and considering the alternatives. I have not read the agreement, nor would I expect to understand everything in the agreement were I to read it, but having an agreement that appears on the surface to limit access to the materials and technologies required to develop and deploy nuclear weapons cannot be a bad thing.

I am encouraged by the analysis in an article in the New York Times which writes about the depth and complexity of the agreement. Perhaps this agreement possesses the necessary tools to be successful. The Huffington Post also wrote and article which addresses some of the myths about the deal. 

I have read articles comparing John Kerry, Secretary of State, or President Obama to Neville Chamberlain who led the efforts to appease Hitler in the years leading up to World War II. These characterizations, I maintain, are very unfair and represent a "knee-jerk" response by people who have made offered their opinions without reading the text of the agreement.

I remember another President once brokered a nuclear deal with our greatest rival and enemy. That President was Richard Nixon and the deal was the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) Treaty--perhaps one of the most successful treaties in the history of the country. While that specific treaty is no longer in effect, there have been successful follow-on treaties which have limited the deployment and development of nuclear weapons for decades.

And then there is President Ronald Reagan, perhaps the greatest president of the modern era, who when speaking with Soviet Premier Gorbachev about strategic treaties used the words, "Trust but Verify!"

Trust but verify must be the mantra for all treaties and I see a verify component in the Iran Deal. 

Getting right down to the bottom line, sanctions against Iran have been in place for many years with dubious results. While the people of Iran have been suffering their government has been intent on developing the capabilities that this agreement seeks to limit. Except for this agreement, I do not see any other option short of military action to limit Iran's access and production of nuclear weapons. However, looking at is from a different angle, is can be said that the sanctions have worked! They have brought Iran to a point where they are willing to negotiate. 

I urge everyone to read the deal and consider the alternatives before rushing down the paths to either condemnation or congratulation.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD