U. S. O.
20 April 2006 | Saint Augustine, FL
Anne
That's Unidentified Swimming Object. Leslie spotted this thing swimming near the dock and raced back to the boat to get me. Neither we nor the gentlemen on the boat next to it were able to identify it, even with the help of our Audubon guides (though the men said they'd seen them down in Palm Beach recently). It looks sort of snailish on the front, bulgy in the middle, and has wings that it flaps in a ray-like way. It has no apparent gills and a mouthy part that seemed to grab onto the net sometimes.
Earlier we were having a lovely quiet day and on our way for a cool dip in the pool, when Leslie got stung by a wasp. We made a quick trip back to the boat for an application of topical benzocane. Once she was no longer in pain, I shared one of my family's favorite crazy limericks (which is attributed to Arthur Sullivan):
There once was a man from St. Bees Who was stung in the arm by a wasp. When asked, "Does it hurt?" He replied, "No, it doesn't," "Thank goodness it wasn't a hornet."
(29 54.994'N 81 18.489'W)