Sarasota Friday, June 15, 2012

Woke up a bit earlier today, but lay back down and suddenly - 11 a.m.! I knew Ryan was going to call around noon, so I dashed about getting ready. I notice while brushing my teeth or showering here that the water smells like sulfur. It is really unpleasant. A few articles have mentioned sulfur smell at the beach, so I guess it is a local problem. We are spoiled by our water in Humboldt, so I'm just whining here.

Ryan called right on time - his practice time was over and he had a window of time before his chance to use the actual performance piano at the Opera House. So I drove up to get him and we went for a great walk in the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.

First thing I noticed was Ryan's T-shirt. He has taken up brewing beer as a hobby, even though he doesn't drink much of it. Inspired by his new hobby, my parents sent him a T-shirt that says "My Indian name is Runs With Beer". He had it on and was proud to show everyone.



One of the first plants we saw was a very bright something palmy near the bird of paradise plants. In honor of Michigan Representative Brown - silenced today for using the offensive word "vagina" - I have decided to name it the Vagina Plant. Ryan was kind enough to provide contrast for the photo; he is used to my rants.



So many incredibly bright tropical plants. Gardens full of little lizards who stop and try to look tough, doing push-ups if you get close to them.



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One exotic pitcher bush had actual cups hanging from long tendrils at the ends of the leaves. The plant traps bugs in these and then digests them as a source of protein. One of the orchids had long arms that went behind it like a butterfly swimmer.





The requisite buddha statue, and so many intense colors!



There were some young boys who had food for the koi and were enjoying the attention from the water. These fish were huge, and came up with their mouths open wide. I would never have thought of fish as cute, but they certainly were!



Ryan was trying to get his phone to take a picture of a spider, but I got a pic of Ryan. There were banyan trees all around. Interesting root systems, and I caught Ryan under one contemplating the sign and the roots. The mangroves were also fascinating to see, with the whole ecosystems at work right there at their roots.





A faux leopard, a bridge through a canopy of trees, trees on trees, and general lushness that only happens in the tropics.









Further along the walk we saw an interesting bird in the mangrove trees, and noticed some of the high-end real estate. There is a lot of waterfront in this town, and mansions built on it. Add all the yachts and cabin cruisers, and one can only conclude this is a very wealthy community.





After our walk, I took Ryan to the opera house so he could have some time on the piano he will be using tomorrow night. It was back stage, which made for interesting acoustics, but this was something he needed to do. I left him there and headed off to the Mote Marine Aquarium and Laboratory.









The aquarium reminded me of HSU's Trinidad aquarium, only on a bigger scale. Most of the displays were informational with several touch tanks and area where scientific research and study were ongoing. The first tank that caught my eye contained the purse jellyfish. They have no tendrils, but rows of waving tissue that serve to propel the animal. In the right angle with the light, these thickened areas look like iridescent strings and give the creature surreal coloring that almost looked like rows of electric lights.



A giant squid cadaver was on display, a creature that had been 37 feet long and 500 pounds. The sign claimed that no one has seen these squid alive in the ocean because they live and feed so deep and so secretive in the ocean. I would not want to meet up with one personally...



Stingrays and sharks.





The seahorse nursery - they are called "fry" when they are babies like this. About 1-2 cm long here at about 2 weeks of age.



A bit older at almost 3 months, these baby seahorses are learning to use their prehensile tails. They were in clumps, some even wrapped around their siblings. Very cute to watch.



Then the manatees, Hugh and Buffett. "Huge" and "Buffet" would be more like it - they eat 72 heads of lettuce a day! Talk about yer roughage! They were massive, almost walrus-like, but graceful and serene in their own way. I couldn't come to Gulf Florida and not see a manatee!



This endangered species of sea turtle was very sweet. His shell had been damaged by a motor boat, which also injured his spinal cord so that he is unable to use his back fins. His shell was "superglued" back together, and the result left him with an air bubble under that part of this shell. So he motors along, pulled by his front fins, with his "rudder" bobbing along behind him. The docent said the turtle manages to get down under a little bridge they built him and it helps hold him under water where he likes to be until he needs a breath, but he is not able to get down deep enough or frequently enough to feed in the wild. Poor little guy is only 3 years old, so he will be the rest of his life in captivity. But he has his own space and all the food he needs. His job now is to educate the public about the dangers that boats bring to the local wildlife.



Cute kid with a large turtle. She moved away to let me get a photo, but I said "no, no, I want you in it!" She was very sweet to pose for this shot.



Poor Mr. Frumpy has to live with the manatees.



There was a dolphin in a large pool rehabilitating for release back to the ocean. He was wild and had never been trained, but every time the trainer blew the whistle while feeding and working with the manatees in an adjacent tank, the dolphin would rattle his head and create a percussive sound as his mouth rattled like castanets. He was very tuned in to the whistle.



On my way back from the marine facility, I stopped at Lido Beach to compare the sand to Siesta Keys. It was warm underfoot, probably because it had some darker grains and shells mixed in. But it was still a beautiful spot. It was clear that a storm was brewing, so I made my way back to the car and to my hotel.











I picked Ryan up at 6 p.m. We got some food, parked, and went to the Opera House for the evening's music from the Sarasota Music Festival. We got our tickets, but the doors to the venue were not open yet, so we walked around the town square and got some air. I noticed some beautiful blue strands of lights on the trees. Ryan got some tea, and then we began to walk back. But wait ... the lights on the trees were purple now, then red ... a whole rainbow if you watched long enough.



Suddenly the lights began to flash and spasm through all the available colors. A thought occured to me - we looked at the time and it was 7:30. The venue doors must be open!



"This place is like Disneyland," I said to Ryan. "Yeah, like a town within Disneyland, like Toon Town," he answered. Just then a trolley full of people pulled up behind him and offloaded. Yup, just like we said!



It was a delightful program, and well-played. Some of the pieces included faculty, which was an added treat. The first was a piano quartet by Faure, a Janacek piece for winds (including Richard Stolzman on clarinet), and a Schubert piano quartet (Adagio and Rondo F Major D487) that brought the house down. Well done!



We sat next to some very nice people who started up a conversation with Ryan. After a few questions they figured out that he was the guest performer for the next night. It is fun to listen to him try not to give himself away; so humble.



The second half started with a Schubert string quartet, followed by Schumann's piano quintet in Eb Major (op.44). This was beautifully played by the faculty, with Robert Levin on the piano. The balance and dynamics were so lovely, their ensemble skills excellent. I had never heard this piece live in its entirety, and I was thrilled. The last piece was another wind piece with 11 musicians, (Dvorak). A great event.



At this point I made my way home and hit the hay after a full day. More tomorrow!