Thanksgiving - what's up with that?

So this year our family is doing Thanksgiving at my brother's place, but it comes at a price.  Most people dress up in costume for Halloween.  My brother has requested we do Thanksgiving in costume - it has been entitled "Fabulously Tacky Turkey Day".  Jealous?  You should be.  I have decided to go as Plymouth Rock.  After all, what could better commemorate the arrival of settlers, who would soon meet Native Americans and celebrate the first Thanksgiving together?  It was either that or smallpox.  I figured Plymouth Rock would be easier.

Well, this whole thing has gotten me to thinking about the real history of Thanksgiving.  Admittedly, history was not my favorite subject in elementary school.  From what I could remember of my early education, the Pilgrims came to America rather under-prepared, the Native Americans brought some food to the somber-looking white dudes, and everything was rainbows and succotash and smiles.

Since I'm now an adult and history is mildly more interesting to me, I hopped on over to the History channel website and searched "history of Thanksgiving".  Here's the synopsis:

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

So that's the short and simple version.  There are a few more items of interest.  I did remember the name "Squanto" from the history books.  Well, turns out he was a pretty interesting guy.  He had apparently previously been kidnapped and sold into slavery.  He escaped to London, and eventually made his way back on an exploratory expedition.  You'd think the man would be pretty bitter by that point, but he showed the Pilgrims how to plant crops and such.  Props to Squanto.

There is also controversy over whether this was the first "Thanksgiving" feast to be held.  There are other records of "feasts to give thanks" in 1565 and 1619.  I'm sure there are historical scholar types who argue vehemently for the 1565 feast in St. Augustine, Florida.  Sorry, history buffs.  Thanksgiving will always evoke images of Pilgrims and Indians.  I don't think the Spanish explorer edition will ever make grade school history books.  It's all rather the same to me anyway.

Fabulously Tacky Turkey Day promises to be a day of fun with my ridiculously goofy family, and planning for it has made me ponder things in my life that I am thankful for.  There are of course the big ones:  my family, my friends, my pets, a roof over my head, my health, religious freedom.  I do have a lot of other things to be thankful for..some serious, some just for fun.  My job.  My Hyundai.  Bunnies and guinea pigs.  Everyone who rescues animals.  My iPod.  Books.  Target.  Delicious food.  Music.  The ocean.  The Discovery Channel.  Harry Potter and Star Wars.  Dr. Pepper.  Contact lenses.  Humor.  Bunspace.  Facebook.  Chapstick.  Amazon.com.  Jason's Deli.  Lobster.  My aquarium and its inhabitants.  Art.  My Nintendo Wii.  My education.  The internet...without which this blog would not be possible!

So, to my fellow American readers, enjoy your holiday.  Treasure the time with your family and friends.  And to my readers everywhere, I hope you'll take a little bit of time to think about things for which you are thankful. 

Happy Thanksgiving (next week)!

"What a fish!" "Mammal." "Whatever."

The other day we were filling the boat up with gas before heading out for work on the water.  While gassing up, a lady walked up to me and said, "I wish I had your job!  You know, I almost went into marine biology."  That comment got me to thinking how many times I have heard this EXACT comment.  Apparently about 80% of America's population almost went into marine biology.

The statement is always given with such a sense of envy too.  "Oh, your job must be so fun!"  "I love dolphins!"  Then they proceed to tell me that they went into some sensible career.  The lady at the gas station went into law.  While she envied my time on the water, I must admit I envied her paycheck.  Believe me, you don't go into this job for the money.

I do believe a large portion of the population has a rather skewed view of what a marine biologist actually does.  Most people picture dolphins, ocean sunsets, coral reefs, and luxurious research vessels filled with red wine and Frenchmen.  In reality, marine biology is not glamorous.  In my career, I have pulled nets through thigh-deep mud, been mauled by biting insects on a regular basis, come home with anchovies stuck to my person, been poked and stung and bitten by all manner of creatures, had to pee up in the mangroves with giant spiders hanging above my head, sampled in all-day torrential downpours, and clog up my shower drain with drift algae and dead seagrass.  As of right now, my hands have some slices from fish gill plates, I've got the end of a fish spine stuck in my finger, and I've got several good bruises.  I wrestle with cantankerous computer programs and equipment failures.  I have strange tan lines and my work clothes will forever and always smell like estuarine mud.

The crazy thing is, I actually enjoy this stuff.  You need to be a little crazy to do this.  During my college orientation, all of the marine biology hopefuls gathered in an auditorium.  They did a rather good job of "telling it like it is".  The gist of the speech was this:  1) You're not going to be playing with dolphins. 2)You're not going to make any money. 3) No really, you're not going to be playing with dolphins. 4) No, you don't have a special connection with dolphins. 5) You will spend lots of time in the mud.  And...quite literally, half the people got up and left.  I was one of the poor suckers who stayed.  So - I don't play with dolphins, I don't make a whole lot of money, I know dolphins aren't quite as cute and cuddly as people think, and I spend lots of time in the mud.  Yup.  And I'm good with that.  Well, except maybe the money thing.

If you've ever seen "The Marine Biologist" episode of Seinfeld, then you are familiar with the title I gave this blog.  Now to leave you with one more marine biology gem from George Costanza:

So I started to walk into the water. I won't lie to you boys, I was terrified! But I pressed on and as I made my way past the
breakers, a strange calm came over me. I don't know if it was divine
intervention or the kinship of all living things, but I tell you Jerry -
at that moment I was a marine biologist!

 Here's me, giving a big "thumbs up" to marine biology:

Human Ignorance Strikes Again

Today I had the sad duty of saving two bunnies from a bad situation.  Our rescue works with my local humane society, Suncoast.  Well, yesterday I got an email from Suncoast asking for help.  They had received a call from a lady who wanted to get rid of two bunnies.  She couldn't afford to feed them, so she said that she would let them starve to death or let them go if somebody didn't pick them up.  She said she couldn't afford to bring them over to the humane society (so WHY did she take them in the first place??)  Suncoast has a service to pick animals up, but they charge a fee.  It's understandable.  Gas certainly isn't free.  So...Suncoast asked if we could help.

Unfortunately, our rescue has more bunnies than we know what to do with at the moment, so we have absolutely no space for anybun else.  Suncoast would take them, but we needed to get them there somehow.  I offered to go pick up the buns and transport them over there.  I was so worried about those bunnies!  I made arrangements with the lady to pick them up...and I was hoping she wouldn't do anything rash before I got there!

They all but shoved those poor bunnies at me.  I asked them if the bunnies had names.  No, they didn't.  I asked if they were male or female.  One of each...in the same cage.  She said, "They've been humping each other, but I don't think he can reach her."  Great.  The female is most likely pregnant, and I told the lady so.  She didn't care.  There was one nasty piece of carrot in the cage.  They must have ONLY been eating carrots.  Their poops were ORANGE.  There was a bit of urine-soaked pine shavings in the cage.  It smelled to high heaven.

Before I took them to Suncoast, I cleaned out the nasty cage and gave them some hay.  They LOVED the hay.  I doubt they had ever had any!  Fortunately, they seemed pretty healthy, at least outwardly.  They were both very friendly.  Their nails were extremely long.  I should have brought my nail clippers, but the humane society will clip them.

They got to chill out with me for a little bit.  They enjoyed getting petted.  They are just darling.  The female is a white mini-rex (possible mix) with gorgeous blue eyes, and the male is a little Dutch mix.  It boggles my mind that this lady was threatening to starve them to death or let them go, which is a death sentence anyway.

The humane society is taking care of them for now, but we're hoping that we can find placement in our foster program soon for some of the Suncoast buns.  If you live in southwest Florida and are interested in fostering or adopting a bunny, please visit www.pigsnbuns.org for more information.  We need your help!!

Pay it forward?

Well, I don't know if this blog post is really about fish or bunnies...well maybe about bunnies in a way.  I just felt compelled to write it.  I've been in somewhat of a foul, frustrated mood lately.  It's just one of those periods of time where I'm frustrated about where I am, and nothing really seems to get any better. 

So anyway, I went to Arby's to grab a bite for lunch today, and I saw this homeless guy with a sign that said, "Need work.  Please help."  I just felt really bad for him.  I've seen him around town before.  I know nothing about him.  Who knows?  Maybe he's an alcoholic or drug addict or whatever, but something just made my heart hurt for him.  He's a fellow human being.  There's so many people just one step away from where he is.  I was sad because I wished that I could help him.  So...I just felt this compulsion to buy the guy a sandwich.  Like a crazy strong compulsion...like God wanted me to!  I don't have a whole lot of money in the first place....I probably should have just stuck to a PB&J today, but...eh.  So I bought the guy a sandwich.

I felt sort of dumb, because it just seemed so grossly inadequate.  I can't get the guy a job, I can't help him out of his current situation...all I could do was buy him a sandwich.  Well, I handed it to him and said, "I can't help you with work, but I can buy you a sandwich!"  His face sort of lit up, he smiled at me, and said, "God bless you."  And that kind of made my day.  I said "God bless you" back, said a little prayer for him, and drove away. 

So I guess it's the little things in life.  I wish I could help more people in tough situations.  I wish I could build a bunny sanctuary.  I wish I could stop animals and children and anybody from being abused and oppressed.  But I can't.  I suppose I'll stick to the little stuff.  If all I can do is save a few bunnies and buy a homeless guy a sandwich, then that's what I'll do.

If you're having a bad day, or feeling crappy about life in general, go volunteer somewhere.  Foster an animal.  Help at a shelter.  Mentor a kid.  Buy a homeless guy a sandwich.  Believe me, it'll put a smile on your face.

Traps! Cameras! Action!!

A few weeks ago (yeah, I've been slacking in the blog department), I had the opportunity to go on an offshore research trip for work.  I was a bit nervous about being gone for 2 weeks, especially since I've got so many furry critters.  Thanks to a wonderful and bunny-savvy friend, they had a place to stay while I was gone!

Anyway, FWRI (Fish & Wildlife Research Institute) does a variety of offshore research.  The particular trip I went on was the traps & cameras cruise.   This research targets hard bottom habitats in up to 80 meters of water on the West Florida Shelf.  A sidescan sonar is used to find appropriate areas to sample, then two different types of gear are set on the spots.  Stationary Underwater Camera Arrays (SUCAs) and chevron fish traps are both used.  The SUCAs gather film footage, which is later analyzed for information about fish populations at these sites, and several of the fish captured in the traps are used to gather life history information.

Here's a photo of the SUCAs:

And a photo of the chevron traps:

 The research cruise lasted 10 days, and we were traveling aboard the R/V Weatherbird II.  The vessel was 115', so it was fairly comfortable space-wise.  We had beautiful weather to start with, but a couple days into our voyage, the weather turned.  It was nice to work in drizzly, overcast conditions as opposed to the blazing heat (and that deck got HOT!), but things became a bit of a challenge as the swells built to 8 feet.  I am proud to say I did NOT get seasick.  I did almost fall out of the shower that night.  You haven't lived until you've taken a navy-style shower in a facility the size of a phone both in 8-10 foot seas.  We were forced to abandon the original plan and head to our southernmost site to avoid the weather.  Ironically, this is the fortune that our PI (principal investigator) received in her fortune cookie the night before:

Once we moved south, we were back on track.  We were about 100 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico, which was neat.  We were visited by spotted dolphins pretty much every morning.  We swore that they knew they were being filmed as the cameras went over - when we reviewed the footage we were treated to quite a show! 

I liked the solitude of being so far out to sea.  One of my favorite things to do was sit on deck and watch the sunset (if we were finished with the day's work by then, anyway!)  It was quite beautiful, but at the same time it was almost eerie.  It's a strange and humbling feeling to be completely surrounded by water.  It feels like freedom, but sometimes it's almost suffocating.  That's a bit of a contradiction, but that's the best I can describe it!

Here's a photo of one of the gorgeous sunsets:

Some of the bright points of the trip were the food (we had an excellent cook - I didn't go hungry, and if you know me, you know that's quite the thing), seeing neat sea critters, watching the above-mentioned sunsets, the gorgeous blue water, seeing my second water spout ever, being out in the middle of nowhere, and getting to live and breathe SCIENCE for 10 days. (and yes, watching the stupid dolphins.  Geez, I guess everyone is a sucker for Flipper sometimes)

A moray eel:

Here I am measuring a nice grouper!  (And I totally rocked the hardhat & life vest - I'm not even wearing the shrimp boots on this day!)

And here I am just being my nerdy self:

There were, of course, things I did not enjoy about being offshore.  The lack of communication is both a blessing and a curse.  It's kind of nice to get away from it all, but believe me, I was on Facebook and checking my email as soon as we got back into cell-phone reception range!  I needed to satiate my thirst for news and social networking!  The bunk was not exactly the most comfortable place to rest.  The stools in the long lab were NOT comfortable either, and that's pretty much where we were if we weren't on deck or in our bunks.  We worked hard, but we had a LOT of downtime.  I got tired of reading (read 4 books), and for me, that's saying something.  The noise.  Oh, the noise.  The engine noise of the boat is constant.  You get used to it, but the silence was bliss once I got back on dry land.  I got really tired of constantly rocking.  Around day 7, all my stuff was falling over while I was in the bathroom, and I had a moment of "I HAVE GOT TO GET OFF OF THIS STUPID ROCKING BOAT!!"  There's not much privacy either.  That's why I relished any evening I got to spend on deck watching the sunset.  Oh, and my hands constantly smelled like dead mackerel.  Not that I'm not used to the smell of dead fish, but...yeah.
The Long Lab (where we spent a lot of time!):

 Home away from home:

All in all, it was a good experience.  I got to see some cool stuff, and we got a lot of science done!  However, I was very happy to be back on dry land, go pick up my furry kids, and go home and collapse on my couch (which I fantasized about while sitting on the horrible lab stool).  Oh, I did take a nice, long, hot shower before I collapsed on the couch.  Believe me, it was a luxury to leave the water on the entire time.  My hands smelled slightly less of dead mackerel when I was done.

Endangered? Phbbbt.

Okay, so yes, they really are endangered, but wow it seems like I have seen a lot of sawfish lately!  Of course, going on an insane number of sampling trips has probably increased my chances.  I dubbed myself the "sawfish ninja" after catching sawfish on several consecutive trips!  Heck, I caught 6 on one trip the other week - that made for nearly a 14 hour workday. 

Sawfish are, quite simply, amazing creatures.  I am glad that they are listed as a federally endangered species.  Back in the day, those long "hedgetrimmer"-like rostrums easily entangled in fisherman's nets, and they were considered somewhat of a pest, since they wrecked the nets.  Therefore, they were killed in large numbers.  We know so little about them, so it's an amazing experience to be part of a team that conducts important research on sawfish.  Hopefully, we will come to learn more and more about their life history so we can learn how to better help them recover their numbers.  These fish used to be a common sight up and down the eastern seaboard, but their historical range has all but disappeared.  I happen to live and work in one of the few places they still occupy.

Yesterday, we caught a little young-of-the-year sawfish.  He was very cute, and quite frisky!  Contrary to popular belief, however, they will not hack you in pieces with that saw.  I'm always quite astonished at how docile they are while we poke and prod them.  They will surprise you every now again though - and they are strong. 

Some think they are ugly.  I think they are beautiful.  I wish everyone could have a chance to look at one eye-to-eye.  At work, we were discussing how amazing their eyes are.  They are expressive somehow!  I just love them.

I do sometimes complain about going to work (hey, it is my job), but when I look a sawfish in the eye, I am reminded how lucky I am to be a part of this project.

Here I am feeling the sawfish love...

And here is a photo of me with one of my other loves...a baby bull shark.  This guy still had a fresh umbilical scar!  I got my "hero shot" with him, then released him so he could go eat other fish and grow up to make more baby bull sharks.

Response to "Why Rabbits?"

Wow, I just wanted to post a short note to say how amazed I am by the response to my post, and a THANK YOU to everyone who read it.  I've received a literal avalanche of wonderful, sweet notes from fellow bunny people who were touched by my words.  I've even made some awesome new friends on Facebook!  I'm sorry that I haven't been able to respond to all of you individually.  It's amazingly humbling to have had that effect!  It also serves to remind me that there are a lot of other "bunny people" out there who feel the same way I do.  I just hope that this continues to spread and reaches people who haven't yet experienced the joy of being owned by a bunny!

One more thing - thank you to ALL rabbit rescue people out there - rescue directors, volunteers, foster homes, financial support.  Together we can make a difference in the lives of our beloved rabbits.