All The Small Things

Day 2 of unemployment started off nicely.  Another sleep in.  A decision to return to Palm Grove Gardens a little earlier to see if the longtails would grace me with their presence.  They didn't.  But I brought shaved almonds for the parrots this time, after googling to make sure almonds are ok for them.  Unfortunately, shaved almonds are hard for them to hold on to, and very little made it past the beak.  The parrots were cunning and slow, and managed to get a few good nibbles.  The cockatiel on the other hand just got frustrated and decided a swift bite was the means to success, which ended kinda badly for my finger.  Cockatiels, or at least this one, don't have the best aim.  Guess it's the depth perception thing with only looking at the target with one eye.  Lesson learned, whole almonds purchased for next time.

So it was a much quieter day at the gardens, just me and the mollusks again, and some rocks.

I wanted to get a closer looks at some of the little life forms scattered about the rocks.

Tons of tiny lives are underfoot that we scarcely take note of

But if we zoom in a little there is a lot to see

When i first got here I was convinced these were trilobite fossils from prehistoric times... but they are indeed alive and well, although I have never seen one move.

Living fossils

There is a lot of talk of plastics in the ocean and how bad it is for the turtles and fish, who ingest it until it fills their stomachs and they starve.  If you look at this one piece of seaweed that floated it, it shows what a massive problem this is -- look at how much plastic is in this one tiny area on this one little bit of weed.

There is more plastic pollution than food or the sealife in this sample of ocean 

I watched a few more of the mollusks, glinting under the water, each with its own unique little shell.

I took a little walk along the coast, admired some rock, and wondered what kind of jerks put plastic in the ocean anyway.  The easy answer is, anyone who uses plastic is probably one of those jerks.  You may not put it there directly, but through poor waste management, etc, it gets there all the same and is a major problem for lots of animals.  So, take a moment when you are shopping -- don't be a jerk.  Keep a reusable mug at work.  Use a Brita filter, or boil your water, etc.  Do what you can to buy fewer single use plastics.  Keep in mind they aren't that good for you either.  Every time you reach for one, I hope you think "I don't want to be a jerk" and go for the can or glass bottle, or better yet a larger paper based carton that you can pour into those reusable containers you have a home -- cheaper too!  See this picture below?

We forget that it is not just our one little decision.  It is the cumulative effect of all of those choices by all of those people.   Like the little mollusks, it's the multitudes of tiny things that change an ecosystem.  So make good choices, whenever you can.

Neat rock....and more mollusks in the foreground, making good choices I am sure

Changed filters and lighting -- make Bermuda look even more like another world

sometimes I just like to watch the water wash over and down the rocks....over and over and over

After pondering all of that I went for lunch with Allison at the Swizzle Inn, cruised into town to try to find that  little gift only to find someone had beat me there, but at least I was able to request they make another.  I met up with Eileen after she finished work, and suddenly, the day was over and I wondered how it had all gone so fast.  It made me anxious that in 2 days off I had not yet managed one thing in preparation for moving, nor had I exercised, gone to work on my tan on the beach, or gone for a swim.  I was just going to have to do it all tomorrow.