dive #948 & 949 July 19 2015

Dive #948 July 19 2015
Today's temps were expected to be in the 90'sF. Hot< hazy and humid.
 I couldn't have picked a better day to be out diving . Aboard Easy Diver we had Chris and Fred in charge. Pete. John from froggies minding the lines. Kate, Jackie and Sandy. Andy helping out with everything-especially the anchor.
Thank you Andy!
We ventured south to cathedral rocks. There was a slight breeze off the south so it would at least cool the Captain off while we anchored.
The water surface temp was 57F with crap viz. At 40 feet the viz was 12 feet but freakin' freezing at about 48F. My right ear cleared with a  slow ascension. I followed the lobster lines so I wouldn't get lost. I saw many schools of pollack.I noticed a rock formation that looked like a skeleton head. There was a slight surge and a current I had to watch out for.
Andy fixed the anchor in a better position since it looked it it would've been a bear to extract from the rocks crevices.I kept my wetsuit on "just in case" I was needed to jump in.
There was a lot of boat traffic and the boat was rocking. I felt a little seasick from the surge. As I was helping Andy to load the inflatable back on the boat I lost my footing and plopped down on the captain's lap.
 The poor guy.
I think I knocked the wind out of him when my big bum landed on him!.
dive #949
We anchored at the mouth of Folly cove at "the restaurant". And like last week it was chock-0-block full of boats. It was too bloody hot to be topside. John from froggies "Hampton beached" it as well as Chris. I drained my second tank nosing around lobster lines. There was definitely a thermocline. It was bloody freezing at 25 feet. The viz was a bit dicey too. I kept my eye out for anything interesting that may come my way. I saw the usual suspects of pollack, and cunners.
The on -boat solar shower felt good to at least rinse the salty brine from my face. For some reason salty water left on your body makes you sweat. ugh!.
Seriously, diving is the only thing you SHOULD be doing on a day like today!
Lucky us! :-)
Afterwards, Andy, Kate, Pete and I, as necessary, took the tanks to get filled. You can really determine the boat traffic because of how long and how often you have to wait at the Blyman bridge. Wow! So many boats!

dive #946 & 947 July 12 2015

dive # 946 July 12 2015
It was the perfect summer day.
The temp was to hit 90F. Everyone and their mother hit the beaches. I am thrilled that I was out on Easy Diver for a day of diving.
 A light wind from the south so we headed north to "the restaurant" at the mouth of Folly. We had Fred and Chris in charge. Pete.  John from froggies managing the lines. Andy helping out along with Kate and Amy. We also had Lynda and Myanna who are ol'time experienced divers.
Water temp on the surface was about 52F. At 25 feet the temp dropped dramatically to a "freeze-your-scroggies-off" 42F with a 12 foot viz. I had a little trouble clearing my right ear. This seems to be a "norm' for me now so I take my time going down.
I hung out by the wall hoping no fishermen were dropping their lines in. The viz was better and it was warmer. I saw a tautog, a skate and some colorful starfish. It turned out that Andy got his wetsuit sleeve caught in the large fishing lure. Thankfully, no damage was done to his person. Lynda and Myanna only came back with one legal sized lobster. So far this year I've only seen small lobsters
dive#947
We inched over to the mouth of Folly cove. I've never seen so many boats anchored in the cove in my life! There were at least 20 boats, not including floats and paddle boards. I had some air left over in my tank so I popped back in.The water was a good 10 degrees warmer. I got 58F on my gauge! The viz was pretty poor so I just skimmed by the rocks investigating. I scared the crap out of some poor girl paddle boarding since I surfaced right next to her. Maybe she thought I was some big ugly fish. This was definitely the day to be in the water. I am soooooo lucky to be here.
Just another fantastic day with awesome pals. :-)

dive #945 July 5 2015

dive # 945 July 5 2015
A slow start this year but I finally made it out for my first scuba dive of the season on Easy diver. Seriously, it is so good to be back.
It was a perfect summer day.  Everyone was out and about enjoying the day. The wind was blowing from the north so we headed south to the wreck of the New Hampshire. We had Fred and Chris in charge. Pete onboard as well as John from the froggies. Andy helping out as well  providing sandwiches. Two surprise guests- Kate and her pal Amy. I haven't seen Kate in ages so it was a delight to see her and chat up about old times.
Even though it was my first dive of the season everything went fairly smooth. Although I packed two "right" booties . One bootie was bigger than the other some even though it was for the wrong foot it still worked. A few spiders and earwigs got flushed away out of my wetsuit. The water was a chilly 50F at 25 feet. I had a little trouble clearing my right ear but that was to be expected. The viz was 12 feet at best. By the rocks I saw some good size stripers, a hake, some big crabs and a large nosey tautog. Bits and pieces of copper still lays around in the wreck site. I got a little disoriented but again, I expected that and stayed close to the boat.
 All in all it was a fabulous day.
Gotta love the summer!

Remembering Bobby

DIVE LOG

date: July 21 1984             number: 1
place: Folly cove-west wall-Gloucester
depth:26 feet
submersion times: down-7:11am     up-8:04am
weather condition: sunny    temp: 70F
water condition: calm (high tide)   temp: 47-53F
water viz: 15-20feet
partners: EP Williams PADI-dm# 19872   Bob Boyle PADI-instructor #17390
equipment used: 30lb weight, rental suit 64L, sm.hood
(information for rentals) rinse equipment at dive shop
notes: marine life: star-fish, moon snail egg casings, anemones, crabs, flounder, urchins, snails, sand dollars, horse shoes crabs


It is hard to write this as I copy this from my first log book describing my first UW session with Bobby.
And now 30 something years later, almost 1000 dives later, I still dive.
All because of Bobby.
I remember him as a skinny kid with blond shaggy hair and always barefoot
I even took an UW photography course from him some time in the 1980's. We still stayed in contact all through the years. I would stop by his shop on occasion with my friend John who also took scuba lessons from him as well. I bought all my initial equipment from Bob at Northeast scuba in Danvers and many years later I bought my DUI dry suit from him at his shop at Undersea Divers on water st in Beverly as well. He was always cheerful and always eager to talk about diving adventures.

Dive# 222-236 March 16 1998 Bonaire
I took my first trip to Bonaire with Bobby (along with Fred, Chris and Ann L)
And of course, I fell in love with Bonaire.

The last time I saw Bobby was at the froggie's holiday party last year (I think 2013) We would joke about who's been to Bonaire the most times. He, of course, had been there the most(-even when he was sick he would still go).I would call him on occasions whenever I saw a super deal on air flights to Bonaire to give him the "heads up".
I really hope there is a heaven.
And I hope heaven is like Bonaire.
Someday I will see you there Bobby.
Keep an eye out for seahorses, will ya?

June 13th Pigeon Appreciation Day

Palomacy (a pigeon rescue in California) announced that June 13th is pigeon appreciation day.
I like to check their facebook page on their rescue stories and for the most part they have happy endings.
It is summer time on at the beach so I can no longer feed the pigeons. I did feed them in the winter because there is no food available for them. There are less and less pigeons at the beach and therefore less nests. Mostly because the pizza shops built barriers so the pigeons can't roost there. I did see a couple youngsters on the beach. I can tell they are youngsters by their pinkish beaks and residue fluff hairs. I saw one chase an adult for food. I found a few new nests under the pilings which makes me nervous at every high tide.
A week ago I got a call from a lady who found an injured pigeon on rte 114. from what she described there would be nothing I could do initially unless she could bring the bird to the vet first of all. The wing was torn off at the tip and there was a hole in the chest (crop) Once a vet checked the bird out and did what needed to get the bird in the right direction I could step in and provide the palliative care (i.e. give medication, clean dressings, feed, clean ect...)
It has been a problem finding a vet who will examine pigeons especially ones found in the "wild". The odd thing is that they are not considered technically as "wildlife" since they can be kept as pets or..as food in some cases. (gasp)
With the help of "Jody' (wildlife rehabber) to have her vet look at the pigeon. I awaited the call so I could step in and help this bird.If the wing was so damaged that he could not be released but still could live out his life as a pet (resident) he would be welcomed in my home.
Sadly, the wing was'nt the only thing  messed up. The injury on the chest was a torn crop and it was seriously infected. (The crop is what holds the food in). This little pigeon was a youngster and must have stumbled into the traffic to have obtained these kinds of injuries. With that being said, he couldn't be saved.
My pigeon must have known something was up because she followed me everywhere I went in the house. People don't realize how smart, loving and loyal these birds are.

I don't own birds... they own me

"Button's" health has been improving since I've tweeked her diet by adding cooked food and bringing her outside for some muted sunlight.
 I've been trying to alternate the rest of the birds to bring outside as well for sunlight.This has now been added to the daily routine as well as cooking and cutting up veggies for them.
I had been recently diagnosed having extremely low Vitamin D and I now have full blown osteoporosis. I am relatively young to have such a severe case. The bone density level dropped dramatically within a year span since my last test. I'm not really sure of why but it could be medication (?) I take that could suck calcium from my body, hormonal changes, lack of sunlight from the winter and I now think, overhead fluorescent lights.
With this being said, I think my birds as well  are all suffering from low calcium and low levels of vitamin D.
"Lucille' laid an egg that was paper thin. The colouring on Button's beak was anemic looking. So lately, as well as bringing them outside for sun and air, I've been also feeding them with nice big delicious dandelion greens. These leaves are loaded with vitamin and minerals. I told my husband not to mow down the dandelions in the back. People think dandelions are just pesky weeds but they are actually a golden food source (the dandelion leaves)
On a decent day, I'll bring two birds at a time to sit with me outside. Their food is healthier and my egg layers get a sprinkle of calcium on their food.
I've just started taking calcium tablets and vitamin D3. I do eat calcium enriched foods such as broccoli, collards, spinach and almonds but apparently not enough, and no, I don't eat yogert, cheese or drink milk.
Yuck. Dairy makes me gag.It feels slimy in my mouth.
My doctor prescribed fossamax but it is sitting on my counter unopened. I've heard only bad side effects from taking this stuff-like jaw bone resorption. I haven't heard from a single person so far touting the benefits of this pill.
So there it sits.
Remarkably my beak less pigeon who has/had a bone eating disease appears to be healthy and strong. She sits by the screen to take in the sun. She is kind of fat and flies on occasion but mostly likes to walk. Her main diet is harrison's enriched pellets and pigeon peas. She also loves Indian food in which she will mob me to get a share of my left-overs. She hasn't laid an egg but lately is very "nesty". She took a bottle cap, pushed it under her chest as if it was a egg and guarded it.She has taken over my slippers and charges me if I take them away so I've left those slippers there and I just wear a different pair for now.
I just went food shopping and my thoughts were "what will be healthy and yummy for the birds..oh yeah, what will be healthy for me too.."
My priorities seem to be always about my birds,

horseshoe crab bonk-o-rama May 18 2015

On occasion, I would see horseshoe crabs at our shore-lines from Hampton beach all the way down to  Rhode Island. In the 1960's, I remember seeing hundreds of horseshoe crabs at the Rowley landing (boat launch).
My husband reported to me there were sighting of horseshoe crabs converging at Great Bay in New Hampshire.
The Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is quite a large area dipping inland of the New Hampshire coast. We sought out first in our quest to find horseshoe crabs in Stratham, NH (Sandy point). It's a nice place to take easy hikes and bird watch. We walked around the shore line but no horseshoe crabs.
 The next place we ventured to was Turtle Quarry. This spot is located deep in the woods through unpaved roads in Newmarket. We wore hooded sweatshirts, long pants and hats but it was no match for the ridiculous swarms of horseflies and mosquitoes. We got lost in the woods  but lucky for us, we found our way back to the car unscathed. This place looked like a scene from the Blair witch project.
We found other more "civilized paths" in Newmarket to view the ocean but none close enough to walk on the actual shoreline.
The next spot we went to was Adams point in Durham next to UNH's research lab. You absolutely have to wear long pants here. The walkways are one big a poison ivy 'farm". I've never seen so much poison ivy and sumac in one area in my entire life.
We found our way to the shoreline and alas! And there they were! The shore was teeming with horseshoe crabs in various stages of coupling. The horseshoes that were amiss in the action were quite mobile trying their best to kick one male off the female to gain position.It was easy to spot the females because they were larger. The males were like little jockeys. It was a horseshoe crab bonk-o-rama.
It was interesting that the horseshoe crabs picked this particular area to mate. Whereas a few hundred feet away around the bend, I didn't see any. Perhaps it is the mineral content of the mud here that is best for them and their babies.
Anyways, it was fun looking for them.