...MAN o' WAR that is.
Some would see these and consider that they are jellyfish, which in fact, they're not. They are actually several sea animals in one. And after walking through this 'invasion' on our beaches the other day about two weeks ago, I had to see what is causing this heavy influx of them washing ashore. They have absolutely no self-propulsion using the 'bladder' like pouch as a 'sail' to drift on the oceans' currents. Their sting is very painful, and beware, even after their death their tendrils still hold and can release its venom. Don't step on them, don't touch them. But, to much chagrin, I found nothing about the Coastal areas of Texas and the huge amount of these Man o' War coming inland. But I did find a news clip of some Floridian telecast that their shores are being invaded [or were invaded] by the same creatures and no one knew the reason for such a huge amount showing up on the beaches. Its long tentacles can extend to about 30 feet beneath the surface of the water and are armed with stinger cells called nematocysts, which are filled with venom, even if the tentacles are broken off, the venom still exists and you still can be painfully 'bitten'.
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Linking to Camera Critters and Shadow Shot Sunday2 [linked buttons found above]
Our home is back to the norm once again. Today, we woke up to a heavy dense fog and the temps are reflecting a bit of a warming spell. It was near mid 50s at 6 a.m.....love it. But, another cold front is moving in for the New Year's weekend. Perhaps a sprinkle here and there. Hopefully I can get out of the house and do some walking on the beach later.
...from my house to yours ---MAY THE YEAR 2012 bring you happiness, good health and peace of mind!! CHEERS!!
Some would see these and consider that they are jellyfish, which in fact, they're not. They are actually several sea animals in one. And after walking through this 'invasion' on our beaches the other day about two weeks ago, I had to see what is causing this heavy influx of them washing ashore. They have absolutely no self-propulsion using the 'bladder' like pouch as a 'sail' to drift on the oceans' currents. Their sting is very painful, and beware, even after their death their tendrils still hold and can release its venom. Don't step on them, don't touch them. But, to much chagrin, I found nothing about the Coastal areas of Texas and the huge amount of these Man o' War coming inland. But I did find a news clip of some Floridian telecast that their shores are being invaded [or were invaded] by the same creatures and no one knew the reason for such a huge amount showing up on the beaches. Its long tentacles can extend to about 30 feet beneath the surface of the water and are armed with stinger cells called nematocysts, which are filled with venom, even if the tentacles are broken off, the venom still exists and you still can be painfully 'bitten'.
Read more
Linking to Camera Critters and Shadow Shot Sunday2 [linked buttons found above]
Our home is back to the norm once again. Today, we woke up to a heavy dense fog and the temps are reflecting a bit of a warming spell. It was near mid 50s at 6 a.m.....love it. But, another cold front is moving in for the New Year's weekend. Perhaps a sprinkle here and there. Hopefully I can get out of the house and do some walking on the beach later.
...from my house to yours ---MAY THE YEAR 2012 bring you happiness, good health and peace of mind!! CHEERS!!
I agree this is not a jelly fish. It's some kind of a monster ready to invade or it is invading already. There must be a reason why this creatures comes to the shore, maybe some kind of war underwater? ^_^ Wishing you and your family a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
ReplyDeleteThese are really strange but beautiful creatures. I wonder what is causing the influx? Thank you for sharing this amazing event. I guess they have died, huh?
ReplyDeleteDespite their beauty, which they are ver pretty ... ouch! Interesting the influx ...
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you, sweet lady ~
TTFN ~
Hugs,
Marydon
Großartige Fotos!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIch wünsche dir alles Liebe und Gute im neuen Jahr, vor allem Gesundheit. Möge 2012 so gut werden wie du es dir erhoffst.
Herzlichst ♥ Marianne
Oh, my. They are pretty from here, but I am sure they are not so nice there!
ReplyDeleteOh, that is so sad to see so many of them on shore...
ReplyDeleteI'm leaving my Christmas decoration up until after the 5th. I'm hosting a planning meeting for my club here on that date and just don't want to have to rush to get it all put away before that....I have turned my dining room/studio back into a studio and plan to do some sewing in there this weekend.
Happy New Year, Anni
Mama Bear
Lois....they ARE pretty in color. Blue, pink and purple against the clear bladder. But I wouldn't want to come upon one without my knowledge. Y'know?
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you too!
ReplyDeleteWow - the photos are beautiful but my goodness, there are so many! It's like a mine field.
Who knows why they show up and why they leave? A bunch of jellyfish showed up Gulf Shores, stayed for 36 hours, and left.
ReplyDeleteHi Anni, even though they can be dangerous it is sad to see them washing up on the beaches. And they do look pretty, the colors are amazig. I would think some thing must be happening with their environment. Interesting post. I wish you and your family a very happy and healthy New Year.
ReplyDeleteYou always have the best pictures! It's been in the 50s and 60s here but we have a cold front coming in next week. Brrr...I'm cold just thinking about it. Which is still better than the heat of summer if you ask me!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
Good grief the beach is covered in the Man of wars. One would not want to walk on the beach in the dark.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you, B and Winston and Tahoe from Madi and Mom and Dad too
Gosh I have never even heard of them but they sure are interesting looking - I think! lol
ReplyDeleteHAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU TOO! SANDIE
What amazing pictures!!! We have jellyfish here on the east coast but I don't think they sting. We were in Bermuda once though and our sons friend that went with us got stung by a man o war just as we were getting ready to leave the beach and they wanted 'one more' swim.......Thankfully the staff knew what to do and we got him home in one piece! Guess it hurt like the dickens though!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Anni and keep those great posts coming in the upcoming year!!!
Anni, I'd heard that these creatures were coming inland in Florida, but didn't know you had them in Texas. They certainly are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe world is changing and I wonder how many more invasions we're going to see in the coming years.
Happy New Year to you and Bud, Anni. Wishing you a very happy, healthy and prosperous year.
Blessings,
Mary
Thanks for sharing this, love your new look.
ReplyDeleteTHIRTY FEET, are you kidding????????????? You have educated me, because I always thought they were a type of jellyfish. Did you see the Will Smith film, "Seven Pounds"? It has a true killer jellyfish, maybe a box jellyfish, I can't quite remember. Well then no one can swim here, right? Are they aggressive? Wishing you all the best for 2012, Annie!!!
ReplyDeleteOhhhhhhhh! Eeeeek! Eeeek! Eeeek! Very scary, that sight. Brrrrrrrr..........
ReplyDeleteI'm sure someone will do a (costly) study and find out what caused this to happen, both in TX and FL. ,-) Meanwhile, all who were not the first to notice this influx, should be very, very happy indeed.
Imagine a load of those, drifting toward you!?! Brrrrrr....
So far so good, with the "Operation Re-Open One Earring Piercing". :-)
Wishing you a nice, calm, safe New Year's Eve. Not out in the path of the *crazy drivers* who *come out of the woodwork,* on such a holiday. Guess most all of us, are planning on the same kind of Celebration. :-)
Gentle hugs,
"Auntie"
"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves." ~Bill Vaughn
Oooops, nearly forgot to mention your new blog look. Oh my, I do love all shades of PURPLE! :-)
ReplyDelete"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves." ~Bill Vaughn
Wow, that is amazing! And moreso that you've been unable to dig up any information about the reason.
ReplyDeleteI haven't begun to put anything away yet. Just can't get my energy going to do it. I never did get my second tree up so that's one less thing I have to do. Maybe New Year's afternoon - we'll see. Tonight we're going out for the steak Dwight was craving for our anniversary dinner, and we got snafued - the place we were going was totally booked up - on a Wednesday night. Hard to believe, it was.
Believe it or not, it's been in the 40s and low 50s in the mornings here the last few days. Crazy!
Have a great New Year!
PS - your new look is fabulous, my dear!
ReplyDeleteI was stung by one of those on the beach at Corpus. Damn, it hurt!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting, we have also had an influx of sea creatures. Not as bad as what you have had, we have had Blue Bottle Jelly fish, hundreds of them washed up on the beach near us.
ReplyDeleteYour pics are gorgeous.
The man of war is beautiful, isn't that the way with many things, they look so good, but carry pain. Wishing you a new year filled with peace and happiness.
ReplyDeleteWhat a interesting post! These pictures are awesome. Anni were these pic's taken by you. Their wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHoney I would be thrilled to have you as a guest. You have such a great site and I love visiting you.
Anytime your ready to write one just send me your story to grandmayellowhair@gmail.com and I will copy and paste it. Easy peasy. Also include what ever pictures you want to use.
You would be a great one to be my first one for 2012.
Been trying to get by here to wish you a very Happy New Year. Wow I hope in the new year I have more time for blogging.
Love ya
Maggie
Parts of our beach is attacked too. I remember in Sarawak, Borneo, we have giant jelly fish which gives poisonous stings, but they are harvested and eaten by japanese and me, Always wonder why the fisherman and people (me) who eat them don't get stung.
ReplyDeleteI do wish to find another group of ladies like my friends in Singapore who would be passionate to do a similar charity.
ReplyDeleteBut no such luck. We were a group of International Faculty lives, and people who came to support us believed in the idea too.
Fascinating - but I'd rather not be anywhere near them. You were very brave to take all those photos! Never heard of these creatures before!! Have a very Happy New Year!! God bless!
ReplyDeleteoh my that is the closest I have ever seen something like that cool Happy New year
ReplyDeleteWhoa...I have never seen that many in one place, especially not in Texas. I was stung as a kid when we were at Port Aransas and believe me...they hurt!!
ReplyDeleteThis man-o-war is a fascinating primitive-looking creature. But your photos kind of make me glad Jerusalem has no beach.
ReplyDeleteHappy new year, Anni!
Very interesting and a rare site for this GA girl! Thanks so much for dropping in this a.m. I wish you and yours a happy and healthy new year.
ReplyDeletegosh...that is a lot of creatures. kind of sad. Happy New Year anni!!!
ReplyDeleteWow what GREAT photos Anni ~ Loved this post!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you both!!!
Donna
Wow! Step on that and you'd think you'd been in a war zone!!Great pix. Happy 2012.. and whatever you do, don't forget to take your camera.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness. They really are taking over!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year and all the best in 2012!
I am really curious what are those creatures...
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
wow! that's a lot of them!
ReplyDeleteGypsy....kinda like from Science Fiction movie, huh? LOL They're called Man o' War and they're very similar to a jelly fish.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless ya--and let's all go swimming!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJohn
Marvelous and beautiful shadow shots for the day! Love the beach! AND I love the quote by Jefferson!! Wishing you a very beautiful,
ReplyDeletewonderful and Happy New Year!
Sylvia
Happy New Year! And, if I don't know what it is, I prefer to learn the old adage from my parents: look, but don't touch! I suppose that wan should avoid low tide...
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post about the invasion, Anni, and super photos. Now I'm looking up the "several sea creatures in one" part. Learn something new every day, even the last day of the year.
ReplyDeleteAll the best to you and Bud for 2012.
K
Fascinating and frightening at the same time! Having been born and raised in Hawaii, we always had to be on the lookout for these and jellyfish. Seems the man o war appear about this time of year. I've been stung by a jellyfish and it HURTS! Which made me very wise to avoid them and particularly these beautiful man o war.
ReplyDeleteHNY!
Such an amazing phenomenon you have captured here! It's sad to see these sea creatures washed up on the shore to die.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of colorful jelly fish!
ReplyDeleteMy shadow, happy new year!
You've presented something very creepy in a beautiful manner! I'll never forget the article I read about these things in the Reader's Digest when I was a child (many moons ago). It made a lasting impression on me!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very scary invasion! Fascinating blue colour - almost luminous, almost translucent! And the filtered shadows are so magical as are the more defined, eerie shadow shapes!
ReplyDeleteThose are some massive MOW's...I remember being stung years ago in Florida and its not a good time. I cannot believe how many are on your beach. Have a Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteInteresting information.
ReplyDeleteWish you Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Wow! I can't believe how many you saw. Through your lens they're beautiful. It's hard to believe something so pretty can be so harmful.
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the best in the new year.
Beautiful! - on pictures - not a creature I would like to meet;)
ReplyDeleteWishing you a happy new year!
good lord- amazing photos- glad I wasn't stolling on that beach! wow.
ReplyDeleteI first thought of the race horse by this name, but then of these creatures. I have never seen one in life--they are beautiful, if potentially painful! Interesting post.
ReplyDeleteHappy new year!
Wow! Sure looks like it should be a big news story to me. They are really amazing looking creatures. What do you mean they are several creatures in one?? I guess I better employ google now to see! Happy New Year to you dear Annie!!
ReplyDeleteHappy new year dear friend!
ReplyDeleteHugs L
Several creatures in one? This is very interesting. Your photos are great.
ReplyDeleteDid you hear about the black crows which died in mass on New Year's Eve in Arkansas? Another strange incident.