Baby Sea Turtles in Trouble

There are three types of sea turtles that nest on the shores of Alabama's Gulf Coast: Green Sea Turtles, Kemps Ridley Sea Turtles, and Loggerhead Sea Turtles. All are endangered due to human development and habitat destruction. Lean more about the turtles of the Gulf Coast at www.alabamaseaturtles.com. Find out how you can keep the beach turtle-friendly, volunteer,  and adopt a nest.

Length of feather: 7"

It came from the deep

Ocho!! 

This was a lot of fun to paint. I'll definitely have to do some more in this theme.  I love swimming in deep waters and feeling the bottom drop out below me. It is terrifying and wonderful. It was such a rush to swim out into the Atlantic Ocean from Puerto Rico in 2006. I felt a such a visceral sense of the fragility of life,  thus feeling utterly and completely aware of being alive. That must be the same sort of rush that sky divers get when they leap. 

Length of feather: 8"

Like Jelly

Jelly fish, that is.  The jelly fish at the New Orleans Aquarium are one of the most fantastic things I've ever seen in that city. Note to swimmers new to the Gulf of Mexico: if you get stung by a jelly fish, have a friend pee on you. It neutralizes the poison and makes for a good story too.

Length of feather: 6"

Shrimp Jubilee

I recently applied to be an artisan at the Daphne Jubilee Festival, and as part of the application process I needed to apply for an Alabama Business Licence. In the past, the state hasn't enforced the licence at arts and crafts festivals, but they are going to start being more stringent. I had to make a few phone calls to find out how much my fee would be for the licence ($17) and in which category I should register (174. Transient Vendor/Peddler). The business choices listed in the form are delightfully antiquated! It is incredibly fun to read, and well worth your time if you're interested in late nineteenth and early twentieth century American history. There are many fantastic business categories; here are just a few of my favorites from the form:

95. Devices for testing skill and strength used for profit
109. Hat cleaning establishments
119. Legerdermain and slight of hand
132. Moving picture shows; Transient Operators
144. Playing cards
155. Scientists, naturopaths and chiropodists


Length of feather: 7"

Day 94: Mississippi Shrimp Boats

For mom.

Even though I grew up in Ohio, I spent every summer on the Gulf Coast, with time divided between Pensacola, Gulf Shores, Dauphin Island, Mobile, Biloxi, and New Orleans. My mother grew up in Pensacola and we have friends and family all along the coast. Over the years, I've eaten a lot of Gulf shrimp that we bought right off the boat. It really is a wonderful thing to go down to the docks each morning to pick up the tasty things you're going to cook for lunch that same day.

Length of feather: 22" (my longest one to date)