Sunday, December 20, 2009

Blizzard in Wellfleet/1st Snowshoe of Season





















Well after all the hype we heard on the radio and tv, we on the outer cape got blasted! Sheila and I were hoping the baby didnt decide to come today since there was no way we would be driving to Hyannis in a blizzard. So what did we do insted, snowshoe and xc ski. The road down to Marconi Beach was shut down so what better a place to xc ski and snowshoe. With only 4 days away from the baby's due date I was a little scared to actually go down there with Sheila in case something happened, but then I said what the heck, What better a story to tell the little one when he or she gets older. The beach is about 2 miles from the house so I put on Sheila's snowshoes (Mine are broken since Hawley and I still havent got a new pair) and Sheila strapped on her Xc ski's. With 15 inches of snow on the ground already we geared up in our cold weather and made our way down to the beach! The snow was a heavy wet snow but it wasnt the kind that you could make snowmen and it was very difficult snowshoe running in it. After a short sprint I just hiked and that was perfect for Sheila and I. The wind was blasting but that didnt bother us. Sheila did awesome! With all the gear on she hardly appeared pregnant. It was really weird being down at Marconi beach as it was now the middle of a blizzard. Only 5 months ago it was summertime and in the 90's and today the dunes edge by the beach appeared like something out of science fiction novel. Actually it seemed like the Top of Mt Washington with all the drifting snow and rime on the signs. The ocean waves were destroying the dunes.
The jaunt took us about 2 hours and it was just so cool being out ina blizzard. At the house we had about 20 inches. Absolutly Awesome!!! The drifts in some spots were about 3 feet. Once we finished we went over our neighbors for cookies and Guiness (well just me). The plan is to do it again tomorrow, Gotta love winter!!!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Turtle Rescue

Today at work my boss and I did a drive on the Cape Cod Bay side of Wellfleet to see if any turtles had washed ashore from the previous days storm and the Northwest winds. Well much to our surprise we rescued 9 turtles. 8 Kemp Ridleys and 1 LoggerHead. The photo is me with the loggerhead. These turtles became cold stunned because they didnt leave the Cape Cod bay waters soon enough to make the swim back to the Gulf waters. When the bay waters get cold the turtles just stunned and end of washing ashore. If they are not rescued they are sure to die. Of the nine we rescued, who knows if they will all live but without are help they would all have surely died. The loggerhead was in the top 5 of loggerheads ever picked up on Cape Cod Bay beaches. It wasnt weighed when we dropped it off so who knows, we may have picked up and saved the biggest loggerhead ever stranded on the beach. This was a very good time and felt great especially since the Kemp Ridleys are an Endangered Species. Cant believe this is my part of my job! Hell yeah!!! The bottom photo is all the turtles in the truck getting ready for transport to the Audobon Society.

Saturday, December 5, 2009