This morning, while it was still cool, I decided to clean up the sawdust and shavings that were scattered all over the dinghy from the previous days project to cut down the transom. I got into the dinghy with a bucket and sponge, and started to gather the residue into piles with the sponge. As the sponge became dirty, I would reach over the side of the dinghy and bang it against the side to shake out the sawdust, before dunking in the water and repeating the process. About the fourth time I did this, I looked over the side and was surprised to find a manatee less than two feet away. He seemed as curious about what I was doing, as I was about what he was doing. I reached out and touched him, and he realized that I was not a threat. This fellow (male?) was about 8 feet long, and yes, he had some superficial propeller cuts on his lower back and tail. He looked hungry, so we broke out the fresh lettuce that we had just purchased. For the next half hour, I cleaned the dinghy while feeding our friend. Something about his looks made us nickname him Monk. Sterling estimated that Monk probably weighed about 800 pounds, using the rule that they go about 100 pounds a foot. They are gentle giants. It is the unusual sights of cruising that make it so fascinating, especially those having to do with nature. Across the canal, an iguana that is at least 6 feet long perches on a davit base and suns itself each day. The first day I saw it, I pointed it out to Margaret and told her I thought it was a brown statue. A few minutes later, it inflated its dewlap into a fiery crimson. Surprise, it was no statue. Later in the day, as we were dinking out to the bay, a small iguana swam across our path. They swim with surprising speed. While it was swimming, it was brown. As soon as it reached and climbed out onto a mangrove branch, it turned a brilliant green. We have seen Atlantic crocodiles and Florida alligators swimming past our docked boat. They seem to ignore civilization, but I cant say the same for us. The sea wall is very low here, less than a foot above the canal. There is almost no tidal variation on this side of the Florida Keys. I have never seen them on a sea wall, but I wouldnt put it past them to scale the wall in search of a poodle dinner. One time, when we were staying at the Indiantown Marina on our former sailboat, a resident bull gator saw us entering, and our large, standard poodle was on the deck. At 1:00 am, we heard its claws scratching the outside of the hull in an attempt to get closer to our poodle. Fortunately, the two never met. Finally, at sundown Margaret was taking pictures of a spectacular sunset. Nature again asserted itself in the form of a large white heron down at the end of the dock, in front of the sunset. The scene seemed to have been posed. Just another day in paradise. Martin Veiner & Margaret Shearon Cruising aboard Micha Currently lying Key Largo, FL, @Mile Marker 106 Cell: 352-209-7533 Email: veiner@juno.com & martin.veiner@gmail.com ________________________________________________________________________ Interested in getting caught up on today's news? Click here to checkout USA TODAY Headlines. http://track.juno.com/s/lc?s=198954&u=http://www.usatoday.com/news/front.htm? csp=24