Fish Plates

Along most of the handrails of the boardwalk are these small metal plates with people's names on them. The earliest ones, from 1998, are at the part of the boardwalk closest to the main building.

And here's the latest. It's in the big gazebo near the sign about the gas rigs.

There's still plenty of space left in the gazebo, and none on the pier yet.

The parking lot

The Estuarium parking lot has a built-in filtration system for cleaning car gunk out of the water that lands on it, before letting the water get back to nature.

I actually first saw this type of parking lot all over the place in southern Taiwan. There weren't any signs explaining why it was like that there, but now that I know, yay for other countries having technologically advanced infrastructure!

Flowers for butterflies

The water level was extra high today - so far up that it was past the plants. The crate has disappeared now too. Some kind of diving duck landed after I took this shot, but dove before I could take another shot.

Meanwhile, scattered patches of bright orange flowers have sprung up. They look a lot like the kind that make the berries around the butterfly sign - and the few remaining butterflies seem to like them.

The crate again. Also, the Boardwalk Sandbox

Well, now the log is gone, but the crate is still there. High drama!

Meanwhile, a completely different kind of boat. This is the Miss May May. She sits just off the parking lot at the Estuarium entrance.

Behind the Miss May May is a sea turtle. There's a couple educational signs about sea turtles on either side. Behind the sea turtle is a shrimp trawler net, with signs about turtle exclusion devices (so that turtles that get caught in shrimp nets can escape before they drown).

Yet Another Boat and More Debris

These little boats that say "Pilot" on the side are also regulars at the docks next to the ferry. They're about the same size as the Coast Guard boats, but I think they're with the cargo ships.

Meanwhile, now there's a black plastic crate next to the log from before. That cooler is also still there. Near the cooler there's a small tire and some other people-generated debris. Someone should probably do a cleanup.

A closer look at the newest boardwalk display

Some closeup shots I promised.

The back is a map of the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta with water flowing down it into the bowl at the bottom. The bowl is filled with oyster shells. There's a hand crank for making the water flow faster - I think it's supposed to simulate storms in the upper parts of the delta causing higher flow into Mobile Bay.

Then there's two signs, one on either side. Here's one about watersheds.

And one about estuaries.

The lighting under the gazebo isn't great for my crummy little phone camera, alas. These pictures are from a cloudy day when the contrast between sun and shade isn't as bad.

Random Debris

Today there were great big dark masses of floating plant debris all along the other side of the line of rocks.

Also, a log at the far end of the stretch of sand. It was there yesterday too. It looks clean-cut and is about the right size for a fireplace. No idea how it could've gotten over there.

Low tide, High tide

I go walking at about the same time every day. Sometime the water level is low.

Other times the water level is high.

There doesn't seem to be any pattern to when the water will be low or high.

A Coast Guard boat and some ducks

There's a Coast Guard station right next to the boardwalk, but this is the first time I've actually seen one of their boats come or go. Most of them are about that size, either floating at their dock or on a trailer next to the dock.

In other news, about a dozen ducks have been hanging around that spot for a while now. At least two are mallards. The rest probably are too, but mostly they're just brown and fuzzy from a distance.

A swarm of schoolkids

Today the boardwalk was covered with children. So, no fauna in sight. The near group is taking turns looking through the coin-operated telescope.

Mourning Dove, More Fuzzy Plants

The flock of mourning doves are back. Here's one that sat still long enough for me to get a fuzzy picture.

Meanwhile, the hills are suddenly covered with these fuzzy-looking things.

Cooler reprise

That cooler I first spotted back in September is still there. It's slowly making its way uphill, and maybe at some point it'll get close enough to the boardwalk for me to snag it.