New Header

Time for a new header.  Cropped this photo so I could zero in on this school of Yellowtails (Yellowtail Snapper) and liked the way it looked.   Perfect for a new header and these fishies are such pretty little things.

Below is the original photo.  I managed to get pretty close to them as they exited out of a swim through. 

(double click on this photo to see the details)

There were huge schools of these in Cozumel, always full of color and curiosity.  Mostly, they were just looking for food as many dive groups will bring fish food to get them to swim around their divers.  I don't care for the practice as it takes them out of their natural environments to obtain food from man rather then naturally in their home the reef.

These were a nice healthy size, about 8-10 inches in length.  Brilliant yellow, they will follow you around if they think you have fish food.

Just looking at these photos cools me down. This brutal heat wave that is hitting the US makes me wish I was back in the sea again.  Wishing everyone a cool weekend.  Sea Witch

New Header

Finally got around to producing a new header with one of the photos I took while in Cozumel.  As I mentioned in a previous post, the waters were so turbid with limited visibility that the few photos I had taken were dark and cloudy.  So below are a few photos of the water world and a few land animals that we saw each day. All photos enlarge when you click on them.

Not a lot of fish life for this trip but I did get a neat shot of a juvenile spotted moray eel. He was about 10 inches in length and kept popping his head out to see what was going on.

 Blue branch corals. This was a large patch of branch in a rich, french blue color.

This variety of coral is usually a brilliant purple.  This cone coral was a deep blue with white edges.

One of my favorite reef fish...a juvenile trunk fish. They have the sweetest faces...like they are puckered up and ready to give you a kiss.

Lots of sea turtles.  This one swam directly under me and I got the tail end of him swimming away.

My honey and I were walking towards the dining room when we came across this braying ass.  He was not happy to be out in the hot sun and let everyone around know it.

This iguana had a house under our deck and the minute he heard us open the sliding door, he would come out and sit on this concrete base waiting for us to toss him a few grapes.  He had all of the guests trained to do this.  It was hilarious.

This sweet face belongs to the howler monkeys that lived in the trees next to our room. Not my photo, they never came in close to the guests but you could see them in the trees.

This is a close a shot as I could get.  This Howler would come visit each morning and stay until around 9:00 am and then disappear until the next day.

That's all folks...the end.  Sea Witch

ps:  Have a wonderful week.

Flamingo Tongue

Changed my header out with a recent photo taken over Christmas 2010 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The weather that week was cold and windy and no diving for us.  The last day we were there, the weather finally got above 60 degrees and I had to get in the water so I did a little snorkeling and came upon this "Flamingo Tongue" munching on a fan coral.

Flamingo Tongue Snails are small, colorful snails about one inch long. Gastropods,  which means stomach-footed, eat with their feet. As this snail crawls along the branch of coral, it digests the coral animals.  Can you see the bare purple coral skeleton (trail) where the snail has been?

Found a few neat items over the weekend.  Among them was this neat, antique toy xylophone.  Love the wood base and the numbers on the side and it has a delightful tone.

The popular "Hansen" hand scale. 

Really love this vintage advertising piece from Krusty Loaf Bread.  A large paper and wood wasp with original string, you swing it over your head and it sounds like a real paper wasp flying. 

The deal of the day is this fantastic carnival glass decanter from Imperial Glass.  Rich lustre and brilliant color.  Circa 1910-1920s.

Pretty little cabbage roses plate with brilliant cobalt flow blue frame.         Circa 1900s

Nice pair of small silhouette pictures. Inked profiles of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln.  Circa 1900s

Purchased this nifty shelf at Vintage Village. The price was right and it is a sweet little display shelf.  I think the antique carnival glass I have placed on it looks good.

I love the look of the marigold carnival glass against the white displays.

  The weather in Atlanta right now is in the 60's so we are all doing the happy dance. Have family coming in from NY for the weekend and hopefully the weather will continue for them. Have a wonderful week everyone and blessings to you and those you love.  Sea Witch 

New Header for November

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.  The weather was superb here in the south with lovely fall days, crisp blue skies and the sounds of leaves swirling in little dust devil tornadoes on the street payment. My windows are open wide with lots of fresh air coming in.  As dusk slowly closes in on the day, it gets, as my husband likes to say, "a little nipply outside" and that means warm throws on the feet at night and the toasty comforter on the bed for sleeping.  Getting ready for trick or treaters as well.  Got the urge to change out my header and am jonesing for when I will be back in water (last week of December) and remembered the photo I took of my son's first tropical dive. 

He had just certified in the cold waters of the Atlantic off the coast of North Carolina and my fiance (now husband) and I thought he might enjoy a quick trip to the Bahamas to dive with us.  He was game and we all met at the Freeport Airport in the Bahamas and once settled into our rooms, we hit the waters.  The dive location was in Port Lucaya and was called "The Aquarium" as it was a shallow dive of about 35-40 feet and would have lots of fish/coral life.  Well it did not disappoint and I watched as my son was engulfed with brilliant Sargent Majors and Yellow Tails.  He was hard to find at times and was enjoying this first tropical dive with all of its colorful fish and corals.

So I cropped the photo and thought it made a nice header for my blog.  It makes me smile to see another family member get certified and enjoy the sport as much as my husband and I do.  We now have most of our family members certified and it is always a joy when all of us dive together.  On a "crowing note", I submitted this photo to the Atlanta Journal/Constitution newspaper the following spring when they held their photo contest for things you did over the summer.  I won an Honorable Mention in the category (animals).  I was quite honored and pleased that I made honorable mention as over 5,000 photos were submitted and this was my first submission.   I guess the judges saw the same joy in the photo that I did.   Have a wonderful week all.  Sea Witch

New header - Anemone

I was feeling the need to change out my header again and I came across this marvelous shot of an anemone that my husband took on our last diving trip in Cancun/Cozumel.  He had just gotten a cheap, little Fuji (my favorite camera manufacturer for color integrity) and an underwater case (less then $120.00 for both).   He usually shoots film but decided to go with digital this time.  He knows how much I love the instant gratification of having a digital camera and thought he would give it a try. My honey took some wonderful shots to include a few lionfish hiding among brilliant yellow coral.  I think he is now sold on his digital.

The full picture of the anemone.  I cropped it in for a tight shot for my header.   This anemone is actually a pale white color with yellow tips but I loved the Caribbean blue color the sea water had filtered the shot with that I decided to leave it that way.

The true color of the anemone, white with yellow/green tips.  Pretty little black and white "Butterfly Fish" swimming above it.

Sea anemones are a group of water dwelling, predatory animals that are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flower. The animal is a polyp attached at the bottom to the surface beneath it by an adhesive foot. Radially symmetric, they have a columnar body with a single body opening, the mouth, which is surrounded by tentacles. The tentacles protect the anemone and catch its food; they are studded with microscopic stinging capsules. Most anemones measure an inch to two inches in diameter, but anemones can be found as small as .16 of an inch to over 6 feet.  This particular anemone was about the size of a bowling ball.  They live attached to firm objects in the seas, usually the sea floor, rock, or coral, but they can slide around very slowly.  Sea Anemones come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. 

(screen shot of a few varieties...click to enlarge)

They are carnivores that eat fish, mussels, zooplankton, and worms and catch food using the tentacles, which have poisonous stingers.  A few fish species such as the Clownfish are unaffected by the poisonous tentacles and they work together (called mutualism).  The clownfish benefits from the housing and protection of the sea anemone and the sea anemone in return gets the scraps the clownfish brings and can sting and digest the large fish that the clownfish lures in. 

Blessings to all and those you love. Sea Witch

New header - Summer swap

Yes, it was time for a new header.  Unfortunately, I was unable to take any photos under the sea this time around.  I'll share about my recent trip to Man of War Cay in future posts. It was a trip that had highs and lows and a major decision to be made.  So I went back to our trip to Cancun last December and pulled out this shot of a brilliant blue trunk fish.  This particular fish was about 24 inches in length and brilliant blue with yellow and white leopard type spotting.  He moved lazily through the water so I was able to get a few good shots of him. 

All photos enlarge if you click on them.

I like trunk fish. They are one of my favorite reef species for their odd shaped little bodies and their slow moving confidence as they swim about the reefs. 

I finally got my summer swap sent off this week.  I always seem to be a few days behind these days so I hope the wait will be worth it for my partner.  She created such a lovely sea swap journal for me.  This was the first time I have ever produced a journal from scratch.  My partner had chosen the 1940's as her beach theme.  I tried to utilize as many vintage photos and other elements to give it a variety of 1940's beach looks.

The front cover.

Pockets full of beach treasure.

Closeup of vintage photos.

Pretty batik fabric and other elements.

A Weekee Watchie mermaid look.

Trips to Jones Beach brought memories of cars in traffic, postcards, picnic lunches and souvenirs.  This was a fun swap and I got the opportunity to work with handmade paper, creating my own binding system and filling various pockets with treasure.  I learned a lot about what you can and can't do with handmade paper along the way as well. Part of the fun of creating is having to take a new tack from what originally envisioned.  I hope my partner enjoys her sea swap journal as much as I had making it.  Wishing everyone a wonderful Friday. Sea Witch

New header for the sea witch

Hello everyone.  Was in the mood to switch out my header again so I went back to the Cancun photos to see what I could find to share with you.  This shot was taken at the same lovely reef, Machonies - Cancun Mexico. 

 

Visibility was good and the sun was shining through the waters so lots of color was there to see.  We had a little bit of surge or subsurface motion, the wave like motion of rocking back and forth under the water.  You can see the surge movement by the lean of the soft branch corals to one direction.  The brilliant cobalt blue fish you see are called Blue Chromis.  Usually no more then 6 inches or 15cms in length, they are a shimmering blue with a black dorsal shading, forked tail and dark eyes.  Usually shy, they will often dash to the cover of reef when it feels threatened and has been observed to dim its bright blue coloration to a duller gray. 

(google photo of closeup)

Chromis will travel in multispecies schools, especially when feeding, but are territorial when feeding on algae and will defend an area against other algae-feeding species.  I have seen these little blue fish go after larger ones at a rocket speed, it is amusing to watch.  My  own observation with Chromis is they like to huddle next to large coral patches and hiding themselves deep into the soft, flowing corals when they perceive danger. 

This school of Chromis hovered around this soft coral patch with no fear of me taking the photo. Usually they will hide when "large swimming creatures" enter their space, but when there is surge in the water, I do not swim towards them, I allow the surge to carrgy me to their location which gives the illusion of another water creature along for the same surging ride.  That is how I got this shot. 

Wishing everyone a "surge free" but colorful weekend.  Sea Witch

French Grunt Header

I was going through some of the underwater shots I took in Cancun last December when I pulled up this particular image of a French Grunt.  This was a shot that was unplanned.   I was doing a deco stop before my final ascent to the boat when I saw this lone, French Grunt swimming next to a large coral head.  The fish was a good 20 feet from me so I used the zoom feature to bring it in closer.  However, when using the zoom underwater, you often get highly distorted photos unless you utilize an external flash unit.  I do not have an external flash (too cost prohibitive at this time) so it was a shoot and pray shot.  When I uploaded the photo, I was delighted to see the painterly effect the photo had. 

 The grainy image of the grunt and the tiny coral polyps in the background looks like the Pointillist technique used by late, 19th century Impressionists such as Seurat and Cross.

The Eiffel Tower - Seurat - 1889

Beach on the Mediterranean - Cross - 1891

Technically, this would be a photo you would toss away, but artistically, I think it is a keeper because of its abstract look.  Besides, I think it lends itself beautifully as a Sea Witch header.  Have a lovely Friday all.  Sea Witch

New Header - Brain Coral

Hello everyone.  It was time to change out my header again.  With so many new photos taken in Cancun, I wanted to share some of them with you and a header change is a great way to set that stage.  The dives we took in Mexico had lots of fish life but scattered coral beds.  The hurricanes from previous years did a lot of damage to their natural reefs.  Still, reefs are amazing colonies and they have already begun to rebuild themselves as the locals have shared.  My new header is a cropped close up of a large brain coral located in Machonies Reef, Cancun, Mexico.  One of my favorite of the hard corals, these maze lined corals are all different in design and pattern and when you get close enough to look, have lovely blended colors.  (all photos enlarge when you click them)

Lovely muted shades of blue, pink and yellow.

This is the uncropped photo of the brain coral above.

Coral reefs are one of the richest and most complex ecosystems in the ocean. A huge variety of plants and animals make their home in the warm waters around coral reefs. Colonies of approximately 2,500 different species of corals live in the oceans and virtually all of them in the shallow water off tropical coasts.

Brain coral is one of my favorite coral animals. It is a type of stony coral which is named after its unusual appearance. As brain coral grows, it develops a rounded surface covered in deep meandering ridges and grooves, causing it to look like a brain. I have seen golf ball size brain corals to some as big as a Volkswagen. The life span of the largest brain corals is 200 years.

Brain corals extend their tentacles to catch food at night. During the day, the brain corals use their tentacles for protection by wrapping them over the grooves on their surface. The surface is hard and offers good protection against fish or hurricanes. Branching corals, such as staghorn coral, grow more rapidly, but they are more vulnerable to storm damage.

Grunts swimming around fan corals.  These are soft corals and are very pretty.  The fan corals at this reef were large and very healthy.

A  nudebranch living on a large fan coral.  These shell-less mollusks, part of the sea slug family, have the most interesting patterns and shapes. I love these neat sea creatures.

This sea turtle was swimming through the coral reef to the sandy, grassy area filled with turtle grass.  He was very far away so I had to use several filters to bring up his natural brown and white patterns. 

Brain coral is a major player when it comes to reef building. It develops extremely slowly, sinking resources into developing a very strong skeleton and base making it difficult to dislodge, so it will endure hurricanes and other threats. Once brain coral establishes itself, it can provide shelter for other corals and organisms, contributing over time to the development of a true coral reef. 

Thanks for swimming by and have a wonderful day.  Sea Witch

Header change, holiday playlist, spa time and a treasure hunt.

It was a cold, dampy weekend with lots of rain, wind and a some snowflakes. The perfect weekend for treasure hunting, using up the last of my spa certificate from nearly a year ago and why not change out my header and produce a new playlist to boot.  So let's start with the header.  This neat looking fish is called a Black and Gold Grunt but is more commonly known as the Pork Fish.  The Atlantic porkfish is the only Caribbean grunt with two black vertical bars and yellow stripes. They are a gentle fish and you can touch them if you move quietly to them.   They are primarily nocturnal predators and Porkfish, like all grunts, produce grunt-like sounds most often heard during duress.  The one in the photo was a good size, almost as big as an adult cat.  

By now you must be listening to my holiday playlist.  Just a few of my personal favorites.  I hope you enjoy them as well.  Also changed out the background to Raviolis for Lunch, the blog I maintain for my grandchildren.  Now it features Christmas Dick and Jane illustrations.

Had some spa time left on a gift certificate at Spa Sydell, one of Atlanta's premiere spas.  This was a perfect weekend to spend some pampering of me time so I booked a Reflexology appointment and a facial.

For the very young age of 55, I have learned several months ago that I have really advanced arthritis in my left knee.  Not a good thing for someone as active as me as it can hurt like a motha and I'm not a pain pill kinda gal. Other than having to wear "too sensible shoes" most of the day and adjusting to a limp when the weather is really bad, I manage.  Swimming helps a lot and as much as I love being in water, I can't sit in a tank at my office so I'm always game to try something sensibily holistic.  Read that reflexology (massage and pressure point work) may help arthritis so that was my first appointment.  One word...HEAVEN.  Not only did the session feel terrific but actually diminished the pain and my limp.  I am interested in seeing how long it will be before the pain returns and I'm back to limping, especially with the damp weather right now.  If I can go a few weeks without, then I'm back for a monthly appointment as I hate limits on what my body can do.

I followed up the reflex work with a facial.  Lovely way to relax and I'm really glad that I took the time to do this for me.  Following my time at the "spa" I then hit one of my favorite places for treasure hunting and I scored.

A vintage chopping bowl in terrific condition, pretty Victorian quadruple plate teapot with engraved initial "E" on it.   Pretty ivory turnings on handle. Neat photo on thick backing from the 1940s, US Army Medical Unit butter pat -- WW2 era,  nice vintage, pine needle basket.    

  Delightful late Victorian child's desk with locking drawer and pull out writing board and in lovely golden oak.  Needs some work, but very minor.  Will have to find a key to lock the little drawer. 

Crazy about this Antique lobster handle server.  Gold lustre on this handsome lobster and pretty transferware flowers trimmed in brillina salmon pink edging. I'm thinking of keeping this myself...something a Sea Witch should have in her home.  We shall see.

Sweet shabby child's chair in pale yellow with original aqua paint showing through and a marvelous Columbian Exposition etching.  No picture of the Etching, have already dropped it off at appraiser friends place for info on it.

Wonderful cast iron fireplace insert frame.

It was a great haul for a rainy, dampy day.  Now all I have to do is wait for the holidays to end so I can swap out my booth from Christmas to these wonderful pieces.  Have a great week everyone.  Sea Witch