Travels with Tam

Fab Photos Friday: Do you love Anemones?

June 4, 2015 By Tam Warner 3 Comments

Long fascinated by anemones, I take photos of them on almost every dive. Other photographers look at me like I’m crazy (probably am, I admit), but I think they are incredibly beautiful. Anemones are close relatives to corals and jellies. They have stinging polyps and spend most of their time hanging out on coral reefs waiting to take in the next prey. “Their bodies are composed of an adhesive pedal disc, or foot, a cylindrical body, and an array of tentacles surrounding a central mouth. The tentacles are triggered by the slightest touch, firing a harpoon-like filament into their victim and injecting a paralyzing neurotoxin. The helpless prey is then guided into the mouth by the tentacles.” (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/sea-anemone/). I have seen them hitch rides on other creatures, and close up their body. You’ll often find crabs nearby, and anemone fish. There are over 1000 types of sea anemone, and obviously I have only seen a few, but take a look and see how lovely they are, and how deadly (but not to humans).

05 coz creatures march 05 anemone mouth — Beautiful Giant Anemone with mouth showing.

para 14 corkscrew anemone best — I LOVE Corkscrew Anemone. Cozumel.

coz cp 12 sun anemone — See the tiny blue Pederson shrimp lower right on this Sun Anemone?

10 sc 10 para anemone mouth and cleaner fish — Anemone mouth and tiny cleaner who is immune to the sting…or is he a goner?

10 sc 10 sr branching anemone goatfish — This is Branching Anemone.

07 isla anemone — Soft white anemone in Isla Mujeres, MX

coz 11 pnight anemone open - Copy (1)X — You can really see the texture on this Giant Anemone.

coz 10 jan fran knobby anemoneX — Knobby Anemone. Cozumel.

coz 10 jan cardona branching anemone2 — Branching anemone in Cozumel

coz 13 sr h anemone — See the tentacles folding within the body? Also look to the left….and at the next photo…

coz 13 sr hairy clinging crab and anemone — There’s usually a crab or a shrimp near an anemone! This is a Hairy Clinging Crab. Cozumel.

Magnificent Anemone in Thailand, Andaman Sea.

wr 14 caves humbug damsel in anemone — Humbug Damsels in Anemone

moz 12 ma clownfish best — Clownfish in anemone, Mozambique.

moz 12 giant id anemone and 3 spot humbugs juvenile — Huge anemone! In Mozambique

coz paradise night 09 hermit and anemones on board — FOUR anemones are hitch hiking on a Starry Eyed Hermit Crab! Not sure the anemones do anything to help the crab, though!

The Sun is Finally Shining in Texas!

May 31, 2015 By Tam Warner 16 Comments

After three solid weeks of pouring rain, flooding and storms, Dallas is sunny. For the first time since 2012, Texas is not in a severe drought, which is good, but the rains have cost people in the state both lives and property. Texas can never do anything in a small, reasonable way…if it is going to exit the drought, it’s going to do it in a BIG way.

The weather says sunny for several more days, and I can only hope that is true. I now understand the concept of depression without sunshine. I love rain and storms, but even I am completely sick of the weather. Sunny weather, please do stay!

The famous Oasis in Lake Travis during 2013 when the lake was 52 feet low on water.

Lake Travis is at its highest level since 2011, but Texas is still not out of water trouble. Some cities were within 90 days of running out of water. It only took Texas 5 years to draw our water supplies down to critical drought level. Hopefully, Texans will be a little more conservative with water use now. If we go back to months of relentless sun and heat, our water supply won’t take long to dry up again.

Texas is such a conservative state that one never hears anything about critical water levels (except water restrictions for lawns), and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality won’t comment on whether or not water conservation will continue. Hopefully it will!

So, here’s hoping for several sunny days…but we will hope for rain on and off throughout the summer to keep water supplies topped off!

Fab Photos Friday: Elephants

May 28, 2015 By Tam Warner 13 Comments

Donald Trump Jr holding the the tail of an elephant he killed this past week (yes, I know holding the tail is an African sign of respect) caused quite a ruckus online. For this Fab Photo Friday I thought I would share elephant photos from my safaris and from my volunteer experience in Thailand. Elephants are charismatic animals…touchingly close and maternal, majestic and often friendly. I still think it is an oxymoron to say that in order to save a species, hunters need to pay to kill a member of that species, but that’s just me. Even when the herds are too big, I can’t say I am enthusiastic about hunting. Since humans seem to have screwed up nature’s balance, I suppose hunters are needed…but I could never kill an animal myself. Yes, I feel badly enough about chickens and turkeys and pigs and cows…factory farming not only harms our environment but is cruel and unnecessary. Anyway…here are some of my favorite elephant photographs. The Asian elephant numbers are down to about 2,000 in the wild in Thailand…their extinction is almost a sure thing. Notice how elephants ears take the shape of the continent they are from?

You can see the coloration of the mouth...an albino elephant in Sabi Sabi, Kruger, South Africa. — You can see the coloration of the mouth…an albino elephant in Sabi Sabi, Kruger, South Africa.

elephants use tools! — Asian elephants using tools in Thailand

The African elephant in Chobe, Botswana. Photo credit Randy Minton.

Mama and her baby — Elephant moms and their babies are inseparable, and it takes many years for mother to teach her baby all it needs to know. Taking a baby from its mother is cruelty for such highly evolved, intelligent and emotional creatures.

tan 12 sg eleph — Only bulls come into the Ngorogoro Crater in Tanzania.

tan 12 lm elep rubbing — Enjoying a rub down in Lake Manyara, Tanzania.

A parade of elephants! — A parade of elephants in Tanzania

tan 12 lm eleph baby nursing — Nothing like a mother’s love, Tanzania.

tan 12 lm ele long tusks (2) — This elephant is musking (*producing scent) and look at those tusks! Lake Manyara, Tanzania.

tan 12 sg elephants on hill — Elephants on the hillside….Serengeti, Tanzania.

chobe 09 elephant herd water — In the waterhole, Chobe, Botswana.

ally chobe 09 elephant fam — After a nice drink and soak. Chobe, Botswana.

sabi 09 pat and elephant — Our tracker, Pat, did a great job finding elephants! This guy is among the largest we saw. Sabi, Kruger, South Africa.

ran sabi 2nd day 09 elephant crossing — Big guy.

ran 4th day sabi sabi 075 — An adorable baby…so curious! Sabi.

ran sabi 2nd day 09 elephant eye — Close up.

chobe 09 elephants young bulls 4 — Two young bulls testing their strength in Chobe.

chobe 09 elephants drinking family — A drink in the marshes, Chobe.

ew 14 ally feeding nelly — My daughter and I volunteered at Elephant World in Thailand in 2014. This elephant was blind.

Randy and Wes taking photos in Chobe, Botswana.

John with a 78 year old female! — Affection after a mud bath! Thailand.

With Lam Duan, a 57 year old blind elephant

Swim! — Swimming in the river with elephants, Thailand.

Nicely submerged for a nice cool off to end the day’s activities.

And I’m Back from my Adventures!

May 18, 2015 By Tam Warner 14 Comments

What a whirlwind the last month has been! I’ve been to two weddings (one of them was my son’s) and had a major surgery. I’ve either been walking on the beach, dancing, hosting a rehearsal dinner, or recovering. Right now, I am recovering from surgery. A long story short: a MRSA infection several years ago left me with a tummy deformity…and the idea of fixing it was always with me, but the fear of going through 3 months of MRSA stayed my hand. Finally, I went to see a Reconstructive Surgeon at UT Southwestern, and did it, 2 days after my son’s wedding. With no time to fret or think much about it with all of the wedding activities going on I can say now I am very happy I went through with it. Surgery went well, and I know I will not only feel better physically, but I will be more confident emotionally.

A Corgi/Retriever Mix! I met this little cutie in Crystal River.

The first wedding I attended was in Clearwater Beach, FL. My daughter went to school in St. Petersburg, and my in-laws lived on Siesta Key, so I was familiar with the area though I had never been to Clearwater Beach before. Prior to the wedding I drove up to Crystal River, FL which is famous for snorkeling with Manatees. I took my underwater camera and was excited to meet some manatees, but alas, the water was so murky you could be 2 or 3 feet from one and wouldn’t be able to see it. So…that was a bust. I was very disappointed, but I had fun exploring the Crystal River area. I even saw Black Bears! I had no idea that Black Bears existed in Florida, but they most definitely do. The black shapes crossing the road stunned me, but since I was driving, there was no time for a photo. They were moving quickly into the woods adjacent to the sea grasses.

Plantation Inn at Crystal River, I recommend it as the best place to stay!

Sandpearl Resort is the place to stay in Clearwater Beach!

Clearwater has a beautiful beach, a terrific walking beach. Randy (who is doing very well after two hospitalizations this year due to viruses) and I also came across interesting critters I had never seen before. (to learn about Randy’s Double Lung Transplant, click HERE)Have you ever heard of Sea Pork? I have spent my entire life visiting sea shores, and this was the first time I had ever encountered it. These weird blobs are actually colonies of tunicates covered by cellulose for protection. They were all over, and I even found a heart shaped one! The whelk and conch egg cases were beautiful, and so intricate and delicate. There were plenty of birds to entertain me as well! The birds screeched all through the outdoor wedding ceremony, but it added rather than detracted from the event. Of course, not everyone felt that way.

Randy found another heart for me! A cool colony of tunicates!

2015 cb whelk egg case — A conch/whelk egg case…so incredibly intricate. Don’t you just love nature?

My son’s wedding was in Austin, and we held the rehearsal dinner at Abel’s on the Lake, an iconic restaurant in Austin with a view of the sunset over the lake. It was an incredible setting for a great party. The wedding itself was at Inn of Wild Rose Hall, an absolutely charming venue complete with horses, donkeys and goats! It was owned by Stevie Ray Vaughn’s bassist. My daughter-in-law used vegetables like artichokes, and succulent plants for decor, and the men wore air plants on their shirts. Many of the guests had never visited Austin before, and believe me, Austin, Tx is easy to fall in love with. It is an active city, people are walking, running, kayaking, paddle boarding, etc. Add to that one of the most beautiful Capitol buildings in the country, 6th street with all of its music venues, and UT Austin. Yes, a very active city!

The View from Abel's on the Lake — The View from Abel’s on the Lake

A very pretty venue, Inn at Wild Rose Hall.

As I recover, I look forward to my future travels, and to my daughter’s wedding in October. 2015 has been a non-stop year, and it will continue to be so! Stay tuned.

Fab Photos Friday: Beach Birds of a Feather

May 8, 2015 By Tam Warner 5 Comments

I love the ocean, and I also LOVE ocean birds. Birds are beautiful creatures, predator or prey. Here are some of my favorites. Birds of a feather!

Our little friend was quite comfortable with us.

Fab Photos Friday: Beaches!

April 30, 2015 By Tam Warner 3 Comments

I have been on many beaches…all over the world. Here are a few of my favorites (of course, I love everything to do with oceans!). It certainly makes me ready to go back…to all of them! Now that I am going through them, I’m having a very tough time stopping!

My brother and I on Ft Lauderdale's beach. — My brother and I on Ft Lauderdale’s beach.

Big Sur's elephant seals! — Big Sur’s elephant seals!

chs 12 isle of palms — Isle of Palms, Charleston, SC

1524955_200228290182120_1685414675_n — In the Exumas with the pigs! Pig Beach?

So, so beautiful. The Black Sand Beach in Shelter Cove, CA

The cliffs at Minack in Cornwall, England.

Challenge yourself! James Island Beach, Phang Nga, Thailand.

ex 14 more ig eating — Iguana Beach in the Exumas, Bahamas.

The Grand Isle Resort and Spa, Georgetown, Exumas, Bahamas

Randy and I at Boulders Beach, South Africa

After ocean safari — Tofo Beach, Mozambique

Siesta Key, Florida

Travel Adventures!

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