The Natural Beauty of Marathon

. . . LET THE PICTURES SPEAK

Bougainvillea is planted throughout the keys. We've seen reds 

like this one and bright fuchsia pink.

A palm frond at Marathon Marina where our solar panels 
were installed. Simple and gorgeous.

A three-week old loggerhead turtle was found and nursed to health by the Sea Turtle Center, a turtle hospital in Marathon. The week after this photo was taken, this tiny loggerhead was released back to the wild. Only about one in one thousand turtle eggs that hatch make it to adulthood. This turtle is shown actual size. If lucky, he/she could grow up to 400 pounds.

Snake Plant, also called Mother-in-Law's Tongue, grows wild in the Keys. 
This patch was found between the city park and the harbor. 

A yellow head is a mature brown pelican's winter plumage and helps attract a mate during mating season. Surely the state of Florida should change its state bird from the Northern Mockingbird to the brown pelican because there are so many here. It might share the pelican as a state bird with Louisiana, but right now, it shares the mockingbird with Tennessee -- way to the north.

The Devil's Tongue cactus is one of two cactus species native to Florida. The pinkish-purplish fruit can be eaten. The juice of the cactus was used to treat rattlesnake bites, warts, and wounds. Oddly enough, the Devil's Tongue cactus was found near the 
Mother-in-Law's Tongue plant. Hmmm.

The Great Egret or White Heron -- it goes by many names -- is common along the coast. This egret was posing at Marathon Marina.

The ghost-faced Kemp's Ridley sea turtle is the rarest sea turtle in the world and is the most endangered. This Kemp's Ridley turtle was injured, rescued and brought to the Sea Turtle Center and turtle hospital in Marathon. They are small compared to loggerheads and other species, topping out at about 100 pounds.

Iguanas have become a problem in the Keys, to the point that large populations are being given birth control. This big fella was near the Sea Turtle Center and is quite handsome. It's a good thing they eat plants, not people.

In addition to bougainvilleas, other flowers blooming now include hibiscus. 
This particular plant should make University of Tennessee fans happy.

Florida has done a great job of posting signs to protect manatees and warning boaters to slow down. Manatees are hard to find, though. They are shy, very slow, very large critters that can hold their breath 20 minutes under water. Finally we saw this manatee -- our first in the wild -- swim through the inner dinghy dock at the Marathon City Marina. The bumps on his/her skin are barnacles, believe it or not.

Our marina manatee rolled over several times for us. The massive tail can be seen better in this photo. The expression that something is so ugly it's cute applies to manatees. They are gentle creatures, mean no harm and are just part of God's plan for the world.