The Adventures of Periwinkle and Stinky

 

Waiting by the Teleportation Tunnel for Stinky's arrival was always such an exciting time.  Periwinkle couldn't wait till the moment he would tumble out of the Tunnel into her waiting paws.  No sooner did she think that then he was there!  They hugged, shared whisker kisses and paw pats for a while and, finally, Stinky asked what the plan for the day was.  "We're headed to the beach" said Periwinkle.

The two hopped into Periwinkle's Mom's car, buckled up and set out for the beach.

They quickly arrived at the beach to start their Adventure.

As they approached the beach access, they both giggled when they saw the "No Dogs Allowed on the Beach" sign.  They knew they were okay because it didn't mention cartoon cats!

They took some time to read the informational sign that told them about proper beach behavior.

Just as Periwinkle was about to warn Stinky about climbing on things, she spotted him on the railing.

"Stinky, please get down!!  You know how nervous I get when you climb on things" she said.  Stinky didn't want to upset Periwinkle so he jumped right down and promised to try to be good.  Periwinkle rolled her eyes knowing how difficult that could be for him.

At the bottom of the steps, they saw the water safety "Throw Don't Go" flotation device station.

Paw in paw, the two walked down the beach.

  

They spotted burds (sorry Tabbies)

The water looked inviting and Stinky couldn't resist a quick dip even though he got his furs wet.

All of a sudden, Periwinkle let out a very loud "OH MY COD, LOOK!" which made Stinky quickly get out of the water and run to her side.  He was so excited when he saw what she was looking at.

Periwinkle spotted a turtle that had just hatched!

Always informed, Periwinkle had some facts about hatchlings to tell Stinky. "As the season rolls on, your chances of seeing hatchlings make their way to sea increase. Each species has a different egg incubation period (the time it takes the turtle to hatch), but generally, it can take anywhere between 45-75 days. Hatchlings tend to emerge from their nests in the dark and use the moonlight's reflection on the crashing waves to guide their return (which is why light pollution is so bad for them). An interesting fact is that it’s the temperature that determines the sex of the hatchlings. Warmer temperatures will result in female turtles, whereas colder temperatures produce males. Baby sea turtle tracks are also exciting to see, but difficult to detect if you don't know what you're looking for. Where they emerge from the nest looks kind of like a Ghost Crab burrow, but the tracks will wiggle out to the surf. "

Periwinkle continued: " It's estimated that only 1 in 1,000 hatchlings will survive to adulthood.Sea turtle hatchlings eat a variety of prey including things like mollusks and crustaceans, hydrozoans, sargassum seaweed, jellyfish, and fish eggs. Unfortunately, hatchlings also mistake garbage and objects like tar balls for food and ingest them. Hatchlings use the natural light horizon, which is usually over the ocean, along with the white crests of the waves to reach the water when they emerge from the nest. Any other light sources such as beachfront lighting, street lights, light from cars, campfires, etc. can lead hatchlings in the wrong direction, also known as disorientation."

Stinky got up close to one...

Periwinkle said her Mom always wanted to see turtles hatch but never had.  She was glad they brought their cell phones so they could take photos for her Mom and Stinky's Mom.

They clapped their paws as they watched the little turtles rush to the ocean.

Stinky took a video too..

They couldn't wait to get back to Periwinkle's house to tell her Mom and fursibs their good luck in seeing turtles hatch so Periwinkle called her Mom and they headed back to her house. 

After excitedly explaining their Adventure, the two snuggled into a cat bed to spend some time snuggling, whisker kissing and paw patting.

It was time for Stinky to leave.  He thanked Periwinkle for their fun day.  Periwinkle blushed and said she was glad they saw the turtles but there was no way she could have known they would see them.

One more quick whisker kiss and Stinky hopped into the Teleportation Tunnel and headed home.  Periwinkle found a nice sun puddle and napped, dreaming of her handsome boyfriend and the fun day they just had.

To learn more, click HERE and HERE,

The Adventures of Periwinkle and Stinky

Periwinkle was up super early that morning because she knew Stinky was coming for an adventure.  She paced back and forth in front of the Teleportation Tunnel waiting to hear the familiar WOOSH that would signal Stinky's arrival.

All of a sudden she heard the WOOSH and Stinky came tumbling out of the tunnel right into her paws.  The two giggled, hugged and shared whisker kisses.  They were so happy to be together!

"Hey Periwinkle, I saw that your Mom took a video of the launch the other day, did you get to see it?"  Periwinkle said she was inside the house and only saw it on television and sheepishly admitted that the loud sonic booms scared her.  Stinky hugged her and told her that he probably wouldn't like them either.

Periwinkle told Stinky that they would be staying right in her little city today.  She took his paws and led him to her Mom's carr for a short ride to the beach.

"I recognize this beach, isn't this where I went surfing?  Are we going surfing again?" asked Stinky.  Periwinkle explained that she had something super cool to show him.

It didn't take long for Stinky to see what she was talking about.  Periwinkle explained that it was turtle nesting season and that turtle was about to build a nest for her eggs.  

"What's this area for" asked Stinky.  Periwinkle said that every morning the Turtle Preservation Society comes out and looks for new turtle nests and marks them off as protected areas.

Stinky said the tracks almost looked like a car had been there!

Periwinkle explained how the turtles nest.

"The turtle will dig a hole with her hind flippers and fill the nest with soft-shelled eggs. Once the mother turtle fills the nest, the sea turtle will cover it with sand and head back to the ocean. Two months after being laid, the sea turtles hatch at night and scramble to the water. The hatchlings then swim across the Gulf Stream to the Sargasso Sea where they live in seaweed beds until they become juveniles."  Periwinkle added that there were more turtles this year.  Stinky asked why and she explained that there are several reasons why environmentalists say this could be. While warmer temps may play a role, fewer people on the beaches have led to a reduced amount of plastic, trash and beach furniture which serve as obstacles for nesting sea turtles. In addition, curious beachgoers have stayed home and not strayed onto the beaches, flashlights in hand, to search for nests because of COVID-19.

Stinky was impurressed with Periwinkle's knowledge of sea turtles.  "Take my paw and follow me down the beach a little, I want you to meet a GIANT turtle that I found.

"Whoa, that turtle is ginormous!" said Stinky.  Periwinkle said she was an 800 pound leatherback who came ashore.  When she came ashore they saw she was tagged and her name is Vienna! You can read more about Vienna HERE.

Stinky wanted to know if Periwikle ever saw any baby turtles hatch.  She said she hadn't and neither had her Mom but she showed him this video of turtles hatching that she had on her phone.

The two spent some time on the beach watching the waves and the birds. The held paws and shared whisker kisses.  Periwinkle brought a basket with snacks and they had a picnic on the beach.  They were very careful not to leave anything behind when they were done.

Soon it was time to call Periwinkle's Mom to pick them up.  They returned to Periwinkle's house where Stinky visited with Periwinkle's fursibs.  As always, Allie asked him to give Mau a big hug and a kiss for her.  Finally, the two tabbies knew it was time for Stinky to return home.  The shared more hugs, paw pats and whisker kisses and he entered the Teleportation Tunnel to return home.  The two kept eye contact as long as they could.  They both noticed tears in each other's eyes as Stinky left.   With a WOOSH, he was on his way.  Periwinkle hoped he had a good time and went off to take a nap and dream away the hours until their next adventure.