Adios J Dog!

My friends, Jeana and Phil Durst are leaving our lovely neighborhood for Tampa Bay on Tuesday. I will miss my monthly meetings at the Crestwood Coffee Company with Jeana where all topics related to pets and local journalism are discussed. Jeana, pictured here enjoying one of her favorite pasttimes, sniffing markers, has become a good friend in a short amount of time and will be sorely missed.


Here are some interesting facts about Tampa Bay marine ecology:
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  • A single quart of bay water may contain as many as 1 million phytoplankton -- microscopic, single-celled plants that are an essential thread in the "who eats who" marine food web.
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  • More than 200 species of fish are found in Tampa Bay, including the popular snook, redfish and spotted sea trout.
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  • Mangrove-blanketed islands in Tampa Bay support the most diverse colonial waterbird nesting colonies in North America, annually hosting 40,000 pairs of 25 different species of birds, from the familiar white ibis and great blue heron to the regal reddish egret -- the rarest heron in the nation.
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  • Each square meter of bay sediment contains an average of 10,000 animals -- mostly tiny, burrowing worms, crustaceans and other mud-dwellers that are known as benthic invertebrates. The most numerous creature in the bay sediment is a primitive, fish-like invertebrate about two inches long called branchiostoma.

  • On average, Tampa Bay is only 12 feet deep. Because it is so shallow, manmade shipping channels have been dredged to allow large ships safe passage to the Port of Tampa and other bay harbors. The largest of these, the main shipping channel, is 43 feet deep and 40 miles long.

And the most interesting fact:

  • Bern’s Steak House in Tampa houses the largest wine collection in the world

Yes, I see a vacation in my future.




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