Thursday, April 11, 2019

Turtles!

 Hi everyone. They say we are going to start warming up again. Hurrah. All of you telling me how you are having real warm weather is making me jealous. But it could be worse. Some part of the US are going a BIG snowstorm and way more snow is predicted compared to the little bit we got the other day.
Today I have some more views from my Florida travel journal for you.  Today I have some turtles for you!
My top page is made with some corners of a napkin, a stamped, colored and cut out turtle image, a sticker I bought as well my wrist band from the tour.
The left page is a few postcards I picked up, and my right page is a piece of a free tourist map, a piece of scrap palm tree paper, as well as some stickers from my stash. I love going back and being able to use some of the left over stickers on a sheet.
One place I wanted to visit was the turtle hospital in Marathon. These people rescue injured sea turtles and rehab them. Those who can't be re-released either stay at the hospital or get adopted by aquariums. I didn't know this but the only way aquariums can get sea turtles is to adopt those who can't be released back into the ocean.
I took some photos while we took the tour, so let me share a few with you today.
Some of these turtles were injured by boats. Others were ones that had swam too far north and then went into  a kind of torpid kind of state where they couldn't function properly in the cold waters. Some had swallowed things that interfered with their digestive tracts.
They have this operating room for surgery, but since no surgery was going on when we visited, the patient is jus this stuffed turtle.






This place is impressive. I loved seeing the turtles and learning about their recoveries. Although we weren't nearby the next day, they were having a successful release. The longest turtle to stay in their facility has been there since the late 1980's, as the turtle has something called bubble butt. When their shells get cut open like from a boat propeller injury, they scar with a shell that is light and contains  air bubbles in it. This means the turtles are not able to dive because that part of the shell floats..  These turtles would not make it in the wild, so they get to spend their life swimming around in this big pool. 
You can see how that part of the shell floats here.
It was a great place to visit for sure.

Thanks for visiting my blog. It is always much appreciated!

11 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Glad to hear it's warming up. The journal pages are lovely, and great to see the turtle photos, wow. And a turtle ambulance and OP theatre, that's something! Have a wonderful day, hugs, Valerie

CJ Kennedy said...

That was a fun and interesting field trip and nice memory pages you created. Hoping it warms up in the sun room so I can get out there and clean it. Enjoy the sunshine.

Divers and Sundry said...

That sounds like a fascinating place to tour, and the work they're doing is so important. I'm impressed that they have good success rates releasing them back into the wild, and I'm glad the ones that can't be released get good homes where they can live comfortably and educate us :)

Caty said...

Those are Gorgeous pages Erika !! Wonderful colours, designs and very interesting details added to them. Great !!
This is a good hospital for turtles, thank you very much for sharing these so beautiful photographs with us. This visit is impressive, and it removes consciences. I did not know that aquariums could only adopt turtles that can not be returned to the sea.
Hope you get good weather the next days.
Happy afternoon, and big hugs,
Caty

Meggymay said...

Wow that looks a really interesting place to visit. Its good that places like this are there to look after the injured turtles and are willing to look after them for years if they cannot be returned to their natural habitat.
I loved your super journal pages as well.
Yvonne xx

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I love how you find ways to use items that you get free on your trip. My kind of ephemera, too. These pages are amazing, it was fun to learn abut bubble butt, not just see a postcard. That hospital is quite the set-up and it looks more modern than some small KS hospitals. I truly enjoyed the photos and learning about this very important hospital.

Jeanie said...

I love turtles. Maybe it's guilt from killing mine as a child by keeping it warm on a cold winter night by the radiator. Maybe it's because they are slow. But I love ém so I'd love to be swimming with them, too!

Let's Art Journal said...

I so enjoyed visiting the turtle hospital with you and I love your page! They do such an amazing job and it must have been lovely to see the turtles that have been saved 😁. I had to laugh about the stuffed turtle on the operating table, I thought you meant that they had "stuffed" a real turtle but having looked a bit closer I see that it is a toy/plush turtle, sometimes UK/US english doesn't translate does it ...lol 😉. Happy Friday and weekend my friend! J 😊 x

craftytrog said...

I love your turtle pages, and the photos are wonderful Erika! xx

froebelsternchen said...

I love the page and the photos so much Erika! FANTASTIC!

pearshapedcrafting said...

Lovely pages and photos of the turtles! Chris x