Wildlife of the Florida Keys

Well, I had planned to write a stunning post of supreme awesomeness this morning, but I'm afraid it is not to be.  All weather predictions to the contrary, something nasty blew over us last night from the north.  Our lovely awning, which runs the length of the boat and is fastened by a hundred tiny ties, acted as a sail and blew us a few hundred feet before we could get it down and get the anchor to hold.  Morals of the story?  1.  Nothing good comes of being woken in the night.  2.  We always seem about to blow into something in Key West.  3.  I had a good third one, but my brain is fuzzy and I forgot.

The upshot is, I'm going to go easy on the writing today, and instead share pictures of cute and cuddly animals.  Cop-out, hooray!

First, we had dolphins beside us on the sail down from Miami:

We also saw this manatee yesterday in Key West harbour.  He has a long scar on his back, no doubt from a propeller.  People feed the manatees water, which is not only illegal but also a shame: these animals are easily tamed, and thus they come into the path of the aforementioned propellers.  Very bad.  Nonetheless, here is a manatee:

I also saw a nurse shark go by just before seeing the manatee:

And there we go!  Amy's animal round-up.  I'll do better next time, pinkie swear.