A Chance of Sprinkles

Yesterday, the weather forecast was calling for some high winds over the next several days - 20 to 25 knots (23 to 29 miles per hour).  We decided to stay here in Pelican Bay, but moved out of the open central area to a more protected little cove up against the mangroves on the eastern side of the bay.  We had no sooner set the anchor than a sailboat arrived and followed us in.  Shortly after that, two more boats arrived, all no doubt looking for the same sort of protection.  Nice to be first in, and have your pick of where to set the hook.

That same weather forecast also called for a chance of sprinkles, which gave us a good chuckle.  Forecasts at home would call for light rain or showers, but I have to admit that 'sprinkles' is sometimes a perfect description.

Despite the forecast, the day itself was beautiful - hot and sunny, with few clouds and a nice light breeze.  Time to go exploring!

On the western shore of the bay is a cut in the mangroves, which leads to a small lagoon.  We thought it might be a good spot to go and look for manatees, having spotted one out in the open the other evening.  Camera in hand, we ventured out, and were not at all disappointed. There were at least twenty manatees in there, slowly circling the lagoon, and our little dinghy, rising slowly to the surface and exhaling very loudly.  Sometimes, all you see is the nose above the surface.  Other times, they rise above the surface, showing their bristly faces and algae and barnacle covered backs.  We saw at least one baby, hanging close to mom's side.

Full disclosure requires that I confess to our little comedy of errors.  I managed only a few really bad shots before I ran out of memory on the camera. We returned to the mother ship, did what we had to do to create more memory on the card, had lunch, and got back in the dinghy for a repeat visit.  I was somewhat more successful this time, and the manatees were cooperating nicely, until the camera shut down of its own accord.  WHAT??  Out of battery this time, much to my chagrin.  And so, we just sat and watched for a while.

Sunset brought about a flurry of activity near the mangroves in our new anchorage.  Small schools of fish, obviously feeding, splashed and thrashed around in the shallows.  This caught the attention of the wading birds in the area, and they all descended to take advantage.  Great egrets, snowy egrets and herons perched all around the water's edge, and even a pelican or two came to see what all the fuss was about.  The gulls, of course, showed up too.

We never seem to tire of watching all that goes on around us.