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December 11, 2008 - The view from Shangri-La22A • The Suffolk Times • December 11, 2008 fik t f.f,T' On a dock in front of us, one of our neighbors has thrown out his cast net as mullet swim by. Heavy weights on the bottom of the net will make it fall quickly over the fish, and when enough fish are caught, they will be smoked. Suffolk Tortes photos by BarbWa Stmtenburgh The view from ShanLrri*=La At this time of year, for a little change in temperature why not travel with Barbara and me as we take you south and then on one of the typical days we spend down here in Florida. Some years back we were lucky enough to find a spot that fitted us both in location and dollars. It's on an island that lies between the inland wa- �— terway and the FOCUS glorious waters of the Gulf of ON Mexico. NATURE Each year when We " by Paul down,we're Stoutenburgh amazed that it takes us only about three hours to touch down at Tampa Bay Airport, and then we're just an hour to our Shangri-Ia The moment we touch down we no- tice the diffArence in the bird life, reflect- ing the change from the cold and windy weather back home to the semitropical weather here, when we see the cattle egrets feeding, the wood storks and just off the runway, great white egrets testing atop a nearby building. And, yes, star- lings are grubbing for forgotten morsels in the cracks of the cement runway. We travel 60 mph over the glistening golden Sunshine Skyway Bridge that dominates the area and it seems as if we are standing still as cars pass us by. It's not long before we are over the bridge and after a short time we reach our new home away from home. To greet us is a great blue heron looking for a handout At home you would never be lucky enough to get to see one so close before it flew off to a more isolated hunting ground. There's a lot to see down here, but I m afraid the area is not known for its wildlife but rather for its sun worship- pers on the beautiful sandy beaches and its swimmers in the sparkling green - tinted water of the Gulf Don't get me wrong, we enjoy the beaches and the wonderful water, but the out- x'. V h,. Wan of -the -way places suit us as well. At least that's the way it is for our family. For example, when our sons visited us recently, they walked around the fish docks and found a unique trip on a crab boat where they could actually take part in pulling in the crab pots and see new species of marine life. One of the interesting finds while they were Above: If you want to see something comical, you should be around when a small trash fish is thrown to a wait- ing great blue heron. Wdb its pointed bill the bird picks up the fish and tosses it so that it tums around and goes head fast into its gullet. You can see the bulges in its throat and neck as the fish Is slowly swallowed. Left: This unique crab, called a deco- rator or seaweed crab, has seaweed covering its entire body. ft Is so well camouflaged, the only time you can see this crab is when it moves. out on the water was a small crab that came up in one of the pots. It was com- pletely covered with seaweed. They were told it was a seaweed cab, or a decorator crab. Some of the crab pots even contained an octopus After they returned from their day on the crab boat and showed us their finds they let the little decorator crab go, and when it was amongst the sea weeds and other debris, it was almost impossible to distinguish it. What gave it away was when it moved, then we could make it out- What was new and interesting on the trip, they told us, was watching the captain remove off the claws of the stone crabs.They are allowed to break off both claws if the crab is legal size. This is the law. It used to be only one but now both claws may be removed, and then they throw the crab back in the water to grow a new pair for next season. This is the law. Of course we hadn't been down here long before we had to get a taste of these delicacies in one of the many res- taurants where you could get just about anything from the sea. But our eyes were on stone crah.They are brought to the table all cracked, and it is no wonder why. If we had to crack them ourselves, wed probably still be there. They need to be cracked the right way in order to get all the delicate meat out Back from the stone crab trip, we all tried some fishing from the pier near our place. The big thing down here is the cost of a saltwater fishing license — $50. But if you fish off the piers it's free. Wed take th at an d off we went We caught fish, small ones, about the size of a big snapper, and I caught two small, undersize groupers that had to be thrown back in, but the trip out on the pier was worthwhile. We saw dolphins cavorting, and her- ons all around, waiting for a handout- When we threw one a fish, the heron would take hold of it, flip it and turn it around, and then down it would go. You could actually watch the fish as it slid down the long neck of the bird. There's a small private dock in front of us where neighbors enjoy fishing. This week they were using their cast nets to catch mullet to smoke, which reminded me of years ago when I would see natives in the Philippines tossing their cast nets to catch fish. The Suffolk Times • December 11, 2008 n....« s_ At this time of year, for a little change in temperature why not travel with Barbara and me as we take you south and then on one of the typical days we spend down here in Florida. Some years back we were lucky enough to find a spot that fitted us both in location and dollars. It's on an island that lies between the inland wa- terway and the FOCUS glorious waters O N of the Gulf of Mexico. NATURE Each year when we fly by Paul down, we're Stoutenburgh amazed that it takes us only about three hours to touch down at Tampa Bay Airport, and then we're just an hour to our Shan2ri-La. he view hanzrim a t-_- 1 tie moment we touch down we no- tice the difference in the bird life, reflect ing the change from the cold and windy weather back home to the semitropical weather here, when we see the cattle egrets feeding, the wood storks and, just off the runway, great white egrets resting atop a nearby building. And, yes, star- lings are grubbing for forgotten morsels in the cracks of the cement runway. We travel 60 mph over the glistening golden Sunshine Skyway Bridge that dominates the area and it seems as if we are standing still as cars pass us by. It's not long before we are over the bridge and after a short time we reach our new home away from home. To greet us is a great blue heron looking for a handout. At home you would never be lucky enough to get to see one so close before it flew off to a more isolated hunting ground. On a dock in front of us, one of our neighbors has thrown out his cast net as mullet swim by. Heavy weights on the bottom of the net will make it fall quickly over the fish, and when enough fish are caught, they will be smoked. There's a lot to see down here, but I'm afraid the area is not known for its wildlife but rather for its sun worship- pers on the beautiful sandy beaches and its swimmers in the sparkling green- tinted water of the Gulf. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy the beaches and the wonderful water, but the out - of- the -way places suit us as well. At least that's the way it is for our family. For example, when our sons visited us recently, they walked around the fish docks and found a unique trip on a crab boat where they could actually take part in pulling in the crab pots and see new species of marine life. One f the interestin finds while they were out on the water was a small crab that came up in one of the pots. It was com- pletely covered with seaweed. They were told it was a seaweed crab, or a decorator crab. Some of the crab pots even contained an octopus. After they returned from their day on the crab boat and showed us their finds thev let the little decorator crab ,o and when it was amongst the sea veeds and other debris, it was almost mpossible to distinguish it. What gave t away was when it moved; then we ;ould make it out. What was new and interesting on she trip, they told us, was watching the - aptain remove off the claws of the stone crabs. They are allowed to break off both claws if the crab is legal size. This is the law. It used to be only one but now both claws may be removed, and then they throw the crab back in the water to grow a new pair for next season. This is the law. Of course we thiaccin t been down here long before we had to get a taste of these delicacies in one of the many res- taurants where you could get just about anything from the sea. But our eyes were on stone crab. They are brought to the table all cracked, and it is no wonder why. If we had to crack them ourselves, we'd probably still be there. They need to be cracked the right way in order to get all the delicate meat out. Back from the stone crab trip, we all tried some fishing from the pier near our place. The big thing down here is the cost of a saltwater fishing license — $50. But if you fish off the piers it's free. We'd take that and off we went. We caught fish, small ones, about the size of a big snapper, and I caught two small, undersize groupers that had to be thrown back in, but the trip out on the vier was worthwhile. We saw do phins cavorting, and her- ons all around, waiting for a handout. When we threw one a fish, the heron would take hold of it, flip it and turn it around, and then down it would go. You could actually watch the fish as it slid down the long neck of the bird. There's a small private dock in fron of us where neighbors enjoy fishing. This week they were using their cast nets to catch mullet to smoke, which reminded me of years ago when I would see natives in the Philippines `t Above: If you want to see something comical, you should be around when a small trash fish is thrown to a wait- ing great blue heron. With its pointed bill the bird picks up the fish and tosses it so that it turns around and goes head first into its gullet. You can see the bulges in its throat and neck as the fish is slowly swallowed. Left: This unique crab, called a deco rator or seaweed crab, has seaweed covering its entire body. It is so well camouflaged, the only time you can see this crab is when it moves.