Great White population surge

Seen some creepy spiders. Nothing major though. We have widows and recluses and all that, but it's not generally any worse than growing up in MD or what we had in CA.

The snakes though are crazy. Lots of snakes. Lots of Gators. Lots of lizards. Its a different world. But I really enjoy the wildlife. Probably more so than CA or MD. We just have soooo many different species, its pretty cool. Tropical plants, tropical snakes.... I guess this area is a lot different that the rest of the south... But its cool....

And this was a cool moment. In the winter, a lot of the birds from up north migrate down here and stay. I took a picture last winter, and it was in my back yard by the bird feeder. It was an Oriole, a Blue Jay and a Cardinal all standing next to each other... I thought for a moment, that there are three MLB teams named after Birds, and all three of them were standing side by side for like 5 minutes. Weird.... As a baseball fan, I got a kick out of it though...

I had a Bald Eagle that would come to my restaurant and sit on the pier every day. We would watch him fish and stuff. Amazing.

 

But if you like wild life and outdoors, you would love it here. Tons of sh**. If you have to have mountains, you would hate it. All sea level.

 

I was always under the impression that ticks could jump very far for their size...

 

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Oh for sure dude, and I definitely plan on it eventually. I'd love a good trek through the Smokies too. Funny b/c I love snakes, always looked for them as a kid and stuff...but spiders creep me the F out. We get some solid ones up here but i have visions of being chased around warmer climates by packs of softball size spiders. Something about the hair and that you can't look them in the eye.

Hahaha Safety First WBF.

 

Put my 5 year old in the shower the other the day after the beach. Got him out and dried him off. Told him to chill in the towel while I put his sister in the tub next. A couple minutes later I hear him yell,'It won't come off!' I look out of the bathroom and he's laying on his back pulling on his yam bag!!! I'm like easy easy what the hell are you doing!!? He says, 'it won't come off!' I'm thinking ****, he just discovered his hogan and doesn't think he should have one!! I look close and he had a small deer tick on his scrotum! From Jersey I've and pulled a few ticks off myself over the years, but never a deer tick. Don't see many near the beach where I live. Deer ticks are tiny!!!

 

I was making f$ck with Mary Lee last week...me, Gruvi and the boys from "F^ck Your Yankee Blue Jeans" tag teamed that biotchhh!

 

Dudes, we can't play play God and control the world's animal population. Anytime humans tamper with nature and try to control what animals live and which ones die it's always a bad thing. Nothing good comes from it and we as humans will suffer the consequences of messing with the God's kingdom. It's not our place to decide.

How arrogant and diluted we've become to think we actually have the power to do God's work. I'm not trying to get religious on you, because I don't believe in religion. But there is a God or Mother Nature, whatever you want to call "it", and "it" controls everything... we don't.

My advice is this, if you are too afraid of getting eaten by a Shark, then stay the F out of the ocean or find another location that isn't as notorious for shark attacks. There are only a few deaths from Sharks each year, compare that to how many deaths by automobiles, cancer, heart disease, etc., all a direct result of humans and their life decisions. Sharks are the least of our worries...

 

...and 'it' is minded, and watching, imho.


"Those who fear death most are those who enjoy life least." EA

 

Nice one...

Yeah, I guess fundamentally, that is parallel to my beliefs. Like what I said before. If it takes the bait, reel it in. People have been fishing for thousands of years. Its only in recent decades that we took it upon ourselves to be the world police, even in the ocean.

But whatever. I get a little peeved about the gator stuff down here. There is something like a million gators in this state. Sure, I don't want my child, or my dog getting chomped up by one, but I plan to keep my children and pets supervised around ponds and swamps. I think its jacked up that we have this "nuisance" gator law... So basically, if a gator gets too close to people, or basically interacts in anyway, the law is to remove it, and kill it. Period.... Pretty lame.

The guy that runs the gator regulations in my county got fired last week. Because there is a 50 year old gator, a MASSIVE one, that they guy was told to pick up on a nuisance clearing... He had encountered the gator a few other times, where it was not a nuisance situation... So, the guy took the gator, drove to another county and released him in a pond... The authorities found out about it and fired him. He apologized and said, this animal was magnificent. It posed no threat to anyone. I had a relationship with this animal and have watched him grow and thrive for decades. I just didn't have the heart to remove him from the planet. He didn't deserve it. After a public uproar for his firing, he was re-instated yesterday. Cool story. Dude said fu** the law. Fu** the system. I am going to do the right thing here.

 

Good story, and I agree with him. Wish more people stood up for what they believe in rather than conform to what "they" think is right. If you or a loved one is in true danger then by all means do what you gotta do. But if it's not bothering you leave it be!

 

Word, that guy's the man. Welcome in my home any day.

 

Think about what you are saying. What else eats fish? Seals. Sharks keep seals in check.

Not only that but look at what happens in lakes when the dominant species is replaced with another. It wreaks havoc to the existing ecosystem. Look at that jumping carp that is invading the waterways. Kills out everything.

Removing the sharks does not automatically allow other "good" fish to move in. More than likely another more aggressive fish will move in and start wreaking havoc.

If you dont like the natural order of the world it doesnt give us the right to just change it to better suit our needs.

 

Dawnpatrol this is exactly what i was trying to get at (well except the god stuff, yeah the mother nature stuff)! I was even gona throw the "get the F out...." part in! I think this "we can just change what we dont like" mentality is ridiculous. Wouldn't think it would come from a group of surfers who supposedly know how the ocean works.

 

Right on dude, we are visitors, guests of the ocean. We should be grateful we are even welcomed as much as we are.

 

You're both righteous brahs in my book.

 

Haven't read through this in it's entirety, but seems pretty comprehensive.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/07/03/unraveling-the-mystery-of-great-white-sharks-and-what-it-means-for-beachgoers

 

I think my message didn't get conveyed the way that I had hoped. I am not treating this as an angry, shark obsessed killer. My point is, I don't think WE should be regulating the oceans the way we do. Choosing WHICH shark species live and die. Which ones we can eat and which ones we can't touch. You said it yourself, we are VISITORS, so unless we stop eating food from the sea, which makes up 30% of the worlds diet, if it takes the bait, we eat it.

You are talking about natural order right? All though we don't live in the Ocean, we would probably be considered the ultimate predator. We can eat EVERY animal in the sea if we so desire, so from the first time a guy cast out in the water and pulled a fish in, with a net or whatever, we introduced OURSELVES to the food chain... So while you could consider us "visitors" we have been as much a part of their ecosystem and the control of many species due to our tastes and needs for food...

We have been fishing for thousands and thousands of years. If you catch a shark, you should be able to eat it if you are hungry. I mean, sharks don't go bite their prey and then some other shark stops them and says, dude, that red fish isn't big enough, spit it out.... Natural order doesn't make it that way....

I am not saying to start killing white sharks because there are more of them now, I am just saying that the recent justifications for NOT FISHING them is no longer valid. They are well, they are thriving.

And I can't think of a "more aggressive" fish than a white shark, aside from a few whales. They are pretty much recognized as the top of the pecking order. So, if they move away, something else may snack on seals. The ocean is a big place, if too many seals show up in one place, they will eventually destroy their own environment. They will remove all its resource and slowly die off or move on. The ocean is a big place. If a few sharks get plucked out of the water in Cape Cod, it ain't gonna ruin the ecosystem....

The rest of the world does pretty much whatever it wants. The ocean is still alive, and to be honest, if certain species developed patterns of fear and avoidance, then we would have less interaction. There are far better places for these things to get food than inshore. They have an enourmous ocean. Let's not make the part that we recreate in so inviting. Especially when we could have boats out on a daily scooping these things up like blue crabs.....

Yes, we are visitors of their world while we surf and swim, but man, humans, we been all up in the ocean, affecting the natural order and food chain since we had our first breathe. You could argue who really is at the top of the food chain. Some killers may be dangerous, and very well skilled, but we used technique and brain power. We have every ability to snack on whatever we want. But we created a million laws to restrict it....

I am about responsible fishing. I understand you can't let people overfish and pollute of you will see things like the Chesapeake bay happen. I am not opposed to certain regulations, but out in the open ocean, if you catch one of those boys, you should be able to pull him in, hang him up and take him into shore with you. Just like any other big game fish.... Thats all I am saying.

 

Thanks Seldom, back at ya dude

 

Humbolt Squid. Way more aggressive than sharks. And arguably smarter. They just dont have the scary rows upon rows of teeth. By aggressive i guess i meant more opportunistic. Sharks really are discriminatory hunters.

And i know you arent saying "kill em all", its just that removing a few sharks DOES effect the ecosystem around it. Everything there is interconnected. Just like removing plankton would drastically effect everything in the food web above it. Look at the "cleaning stations" on reefs. All kinds of fish will swim up to one coral head because the fish that live the clean the parasites off them. Swimming in and out of the mouths of fish that could easily snap em up.

Im not saying fishing is bad, im not saying hunting is bad. I do both. I just believe it should be enough to feed you and yours. Not excessive.