A cruising beachcomber's look at sea beans

I don't know much about sea beans, although I am expanding my knowledge just a tiny bit at a time.  I am, however, surprised at the boaters that I meet that don't know what I'm talking about when I say "sea bean."  So here is a non-intellectual post for the mildly interested who like picking up cool small objects as they walk the beaches.

What are sea beans? 

Really cool seeds that float, have a hard shell, like a piece of wood, and can sit dormant for years.  They come from a variety of plants, so there are bunches of different looking kinds.  There are sea bean identification books, just like there are bird identification books... and there are people with the same zeal for collecting them as some bird-watchers develop.

I'm into sea beans with about the degree of sophistication that I'm into birds. I can identify a few, but mainly get my joy in just exploring and finding the sea beans. and just watching and listening to the birds. 

Here are a couple of different sea beans that I've picked up over the last few months.  A sea pearl, a hamburger bean, a heart bean....

Nickerbean tree

Where do sea beans come from?  There are numbers of tropical trees, and bushes that produce these seeds.  This is a nickerbean tree miles from the coast, in an area surrounded by mangrove creeks.  This particular tree is on ground several feet above sea level, and 150' from the nearest water.  The seeds could sit under this tree until the next flood from a hurricane to begin their journey.  Scott, a sea bean guru, told me that these seeds may sit dormant for 40 years.  I've never seen a sea bean that was sprouting, but hey, what do I know.  I've also never planted one, and after hearing the "may sit dormant for 40 years" thing, have no intentions of doing so.

This is the only occasion I have ever rooted around for sea beans, but rooted through the dried leaves and found some sea pearls.

Sea Pearls

I grabbed these seed pods off a nickerbean tree overhanging a mangrove creek, where, when they pop open, they would fall into the water, beginning their journey a little quicker than the tree I was digging through the leaves under.  Each of these pods had a couple of "sea pearls" in them.

Where do I find sea beans?  Along the islands and mangrove creeks of the tropics, the seeds eventually end up floating, and they can end up almost anywhere at the whim of the currents.  The sea beans drift up on many of the sandy beaches I like to walk in the Bahamas.  They also collect in the porous rock holes along the coasts, where they get pushed up with the waves, and then caught in the holes as the water rushes away.  I've found sea beans along the top of a porous rock face that was ten feet above high water, where they had been airborne in surge hitting the rock.

What do I do with sea beans?  Years ago, when someone showed me my first one in the Tortugas, they gave it to me with these words:  If you find a sea bean, you find luck, but if you give it away you find a friend.  I pick up the ones I can find, clean them up a little, keep a few of each kind, and give some away.  A lot of folks carry one in their pocket for luck.  I carry one in my pocket sometimes to have one ready to find a friend.  In the Bahamas, I've seen them being sold as tinkets, as well as being fashioned into jewelry.  (I may make a necklace one day...)

Kayaking in the mangroves

I love exploring in Bahamas, and in the Everglades, and pretty much anywhere off the beaten path.  That means I also enjoy exploring the out of the way places not too far from my home.  Today, a friend invited me to join in some kayaking fun.  We took the kayaks into some of the mangrove creeks of the island of Big Pine Key, in the Florida Keys.  The wind was howling, which made it a great day to poke around in the creeks rather than paddling around the coast.

First step, find a few other like-minded friends!

 

Grab my favorite kayaking companion, and find a mangrove creek

 

 Convince someone else to go in front to knock down spider-webs!

 

And most importantly, HAVE FUN!

 

We explored a few different routes, out of visual range from each other, staying in touch in a simple way, befitting our maturity.  "Marco?"...."Polo!"

Manatees in the canals

I've been enjoying the manatees in the canals here the last couple of weeks.

We don't have manatee in our canal system every year, and I've never seen the numbers that have been in here this year.  The other unusual thing is the length of time that they have stayed.

This winter has been unusually warm (until this past week!) so the manatees aren't all congregated in their normal places.  I'm glad they are visiting us!

The Miami Boat Show

Or, I must be crazy....

I really wanted to meet the guys from Nordic Tug, so I got up in the morning, packed an ice chest, and got underway for the Miami Boat Show.

Every year I think, they'll have these parking problems fixed by next year.  Every year I am proven wrong.  I don't think I will ever do their park and ride again.  I spent over  2.5 hours on their stupid buses today to get from the Marlins stadium parking to the Trawlerport, later to the Convention Center, then back to the stadium.  I am not a tourist, don't want to see downtown, and can't believe that none of the bus drivers can tell you where any of the buses except theirs go.

Aside from the transportation debacle, the show was good.

Mercy enjoyed the manatees that we saw at the Trawlerport.  I enjoyed meeting with some folks with Nordic tug, and also enjoyed the parts of the trawlerport seminars I heard.

I walked around the convention center for a bit before calling it a day.

Unfortunately, even after the long bus rides to get back to the stadium, I still had a long drive home.

I must be crazy....

Cataracts and clear vision

This summer my vision had deteriorated sharply, and when I reluctantly made a trip to the eye doctor, I was relieved to find that the blurred, yellow vision that I was experiencing was the result of cataracts. 

On Wednesday before Christmas, I had the first one removed, and a new, prescription lens inserted into my eye.  The surgery was fast, relatively painless, and by the next day, I was amazed at the vision improvement.  I walked around for a week covering one eye and then the other, amazed how clear the "new" eye was, and how the "old" eye looked like I was looking through really smudged yellow sunglasses. 

Two days ago, one week after the first surgery, I had the second eye done.  I thanked the opthamologist yesterday and told him that he had given me the second greatest Christmas present I had ever received. "What was the best one," he asked, "a boat?" 

"No," I told him, "The greatest was the First Christmas gift, the Christ!"

I told him that I didn't know if the surgery made such a dramatic difference to everyone as it had to me, but thanked him.  He smiled as he told me he enjoys working on Thursdays (the day after his surgeries when everyone comes back to get their eyes checked) 

After the original consultation with the Dr., I chose to put in two monofocal distance lens.  He said they were not as inclined to glare on the water as some others, a high priority in my book.  That means I'll wear reading glasses for close-up focus, and the rest of the time, I'm happy to report, that I am seeing well without further prescription glasses.  I bought the first pair of non-prescription polarized sunglasses today that I've bought in a LONG time.

I always enjoy colors in flowers, sea, and sky, and it is fun to have them so bright and spectacular again!

By the way, mom and dad, the wetsuit when I was 13 ranks #3!

I choose to be thankful

I am thankful!

This day I choose to be thankful! I am continuously amazed at the goodness of God's details.

I look at the glorious sunrises that are different each morning due to the minute changes in the atmosphere, and I am thankful.

I enjoy the plants in the yard, and their diversity in shape, size, and color, and am amazed at the intricate detail of the structure of the leaves, flowers, and seeds, and I am thankful.

I anticipate the potluck Thanksgiving dinner today, thinking about how every individual tweaks their recipes a little differently, and I am thankful.

I am blessed to have such a variety of personalities in friends and family that contribute so much to my life, and I am thankful.

 God has blessed us abundantly by caring about even the smallest details of life, and I am eternally thankful.