Stars Over Alabama…Sea Turtles

The early evening was quite exquisite as it unfolded from layers of colors painting the sky. A steady but gentle breeze kept bitting flyers away and kept the air cool. Soft, white sand moved underfoot as I walked over the dune to join my teammates near a nest that was due to hatch. One hundred fifty loggerhead sea turtle eggs had been producing active hatchlings over the past few days and when I listened with the stethoscope at noon, the high level of activity gave me hope that tonight would be the night they would make the journey to their new home…the sea.

I settled into my beach chair and adjusted the back so I could gaze into the kaleidoscope of color above me. Of course I left my big Nikon at home and had only my iPhone to attempt to capture the beauty. We took turns listening to the turtles through headphones as they worked their way up from nearly two feet under the sand. We united with excitement as their work was almost non-stop.

The night was so welcoming to us and the newly hatched loggerheads. The nearly full moon arched across the Gulf of Mexico and we hoped it would encourage the babies to continue their climb.

At midnight, the first nose appeared in our monitor screen. WOO HOO! We tend to get our gloves on too soon sometimes. We wear gloves in case we have to help one that loses his or her way and tries to climb toward a porch light or street light or condo lights down the beach. I was one of the counters so I got in position and then realized it could be a while as the first ones to the top of the nest generally rest a while until their brothers and sisters join them.

Finally, I stretched out on the sand and laid gazing into the starry sky. The sand was a bit chilly but it felt quite good on my back. The moon couldn’t obscure the bright stars and I found myself lost in star energy while my body remained grounded on the Earth. As I relaxed my eyes and breathed in the sweet cosmic energy, I felt a subtle yet powerful shift within myself. I felt transported to another dimension and went into a meditative state. Then….a small, human head poked up from behind me and two eyes met mine from an upside-down perspective.

“May I help you?” I quietly asked. “What are you doing?” the boy asked.

“I’m looking at the stars,” I replied. “Oh,” he said and then added, “When are the turtles gonna hatch?”

We continued a quiet conversation until he got bored and wandered off. I continued to lay in surrender to the night, to the turtle’s time frame and released my need to hurry or push.

I stood up after a while and went over to the iPad monitor where the infared camera was delivering a play-by-play of the progress. The sand appeared to be breathing as it swelled and bulged and moved as more babies made their way to the surface. I began videoing at the suggestion of our team leader and within seconds the ‘boil’ started. All those sleepy, resting turtles were catapulted into action and thus began the next step of the journey for this group of loggerhead sea turtles.

It’s past 2am but I needed to wind down a little. The shooting star that streaked across the sky on my way home topped off the evening nicely. I wonder if it would be too much trouble to ask my cats for a sleep-in morning….