Miscellaneous Musings

Sea Turtles:
NOAA (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) runs a sea turtle research laboratory in Galveston and we were able to take a tour.  Here are some of interesting things we learned:

• There are 5 different kinds of sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico and all are either endangered or threatened
• The Galveston lab's captive rearing program raises 2 types: the Kemp's Ridley and Loggerhead
• The Kemp's Ridley turtle is the most endangered with the smallest population
• The lab's program includes gathering up the eggs from nests laid by mothers; monitoring the hatching and then raising the young until they are 2 years old.  This raises the probability that the hatchlings will make it to adulthood from 1% to 95%.  
• Much of the work the lab is doing is to help save turtles from shrimpers' nets.  The turtles would get stuck in the nets and drown.  The lab has designed a net that allow the turtles to escape (but keeps the shrimp in).

  

  The Turtle Barn where each turtle has it's own small tub.  The temperature in the Barn is kept at a balmy 86 degrees.

  These Kemp's Ridleys were about 2 months old:

 

 

A 2 year old Loggerhead.

Tanks for the larger turtles.  Everyday they put in new water from the gulf.

The Days Between Ice Storms:

The Houston/Galveston area has not been immune to the bad weather most other parts of the country are experiencing.  Last Thursday we had an ice storm that they knew was coming, but still they kept the freeways and overpasses open.  No surprise that there were over 500 accidents that day. 

We aren't looking for sympathy, but we did have icicles on our balcony.

 Three Days Later it was 70 Degrees

Visiting Houston
Downtown Houston is pretty impressive. 

  One of our favorite places in Houston is the Museum District and Hermann Park.

There is a big lagoon with lots of ducks.

Really pretty ducks we don't see in WI

Lots of families out enjoying the weather

One type of light rail runs next to the park and one right through the park.  See if you can tell which one is which:

 

Rice University

Rice is right next to Hermann Park.  We took a walk through...

Beautifully manicured grounds

Rice's mascot is the Owl

As I write this today, our area is scheduled to have another ice storm tonight this time with a little more snow added in.  Then by the week-end, we are looking at 70 degrees again.  CRAZY!

Closing with a picture of my favorite house along the ocean:

I expect to see fairytale characters come out, but we've never seen anyone...yet