Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Cold tolerance, Wilderness, Thanksgiving and No Food For Thought

Ahhhh, there's nothing like chillin' in the subtropical climate of South Florida (just south of Miami). No, I didn't tranfer to a fishing boat in Alaska. I'm still working on coral reef fish surveys in Florida. Here we are (Max, Shelby and Vanessa from left to right) trying to stay warm BEFORE getting in the 68 degree water for our dive. Indeed, the weather is warmer than I've ever experienced around Thanksgiving time, but I don't know that I feel that warm. My loss of cold tolerance seems to be compensating for relatively warm climate. I think that I did too much sweating in Bonaire.
Things are going to be quiet at Biscayne National Park, so I'm going to slip into the backcountry wilderness of the Everglades for Thanksgiving. With 1,296,500 acres, the Everglades has the the largest wilderness area east of Mississippi to explore.

I won't get the chance to get mauled by giant, overly playful dogs while having Thanksgiving with my sister in Washington this year, but I hope that you have a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your time with family and friends.
Although there is no shortage of reasons or stories to remind you to be thankful, I heard an especially powerful story on NPR this morning that I think you should listen to. This audio slideshow regarding the food crisis in Zimbabwe is an excellent reminder of how lucky you are and how far we have to go to care for the less fortunate.

2 comments:

Laurie said...

Jerred,Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy your time in the Everglades. Thanks for the reminder that we truly have much to be thankful for; it's so easy to become complacent and forget that there are so many people suffering in the world.

Anonymous said...

hey Jared,
This is danny from your biology for majors class last year... And See that you mention the Everglades in south Florida and the funny thing I was actually watching a the National Geographic Channel on the Everglades and how there has been a tremendous shortage of freshwater due to urban areas. Also, how it effects plant habitats and animals in there survival. Well, hope you enjoy your time there. Take care.

Daniel Orozco