Water Maggots

I've tried to several times to capture good images
of these things, but they never turn out.  You just have to
come out and swim with me to really appreciate them!

How did the slang term "Sea Monkeys" ever come up for brine shrimp?  They don't even resemble monkeys in the slightest!  Whenever I swim at the GSL they remind me of a snow storm underwater.  Today they seemed bigger.  Some have progressed from all white to brown or red.   About 1/4 inch at the biggest I'm guessing.  They remind me of maggots.  But not in a gross way.  If there were really millions of maggots in GSL I wouldn't swim there.  These guys are harmless and I'm sure ALOT less germy than a bunch of squirmy maggots!

This morning I took my time getting out the door.  I was in the water at 7:02am and did the "Gridley Straight" route but continued to the far eastern buoy past the marina, and then exited from the water from the rocky path just east of the lookout.  Today's swim was fun!  It was quite choppy today.  I also got a bug to fly in my mouth at the same time I was breathing at exactly the time I was inhaling.  Spent about 10 strokes to recover.  I was coughing and gaging underwater.  Also during a couple places on my swim, I felt something in my mouth and fished out a few "water maggots" out of my mouth with my tongue.  How the heck did they get in there?  I didn't end up taking in any water that I recall.

I hit a real cold spot on the way to Black Rock that took my breath away.  Made me say to myself, "Gordon you panzy! I bet that was probably 65 degrees!"  Made me excited to jump in when we do the polar plunge on New Years.

3.25 miles total


I'm feeling MUCH better and no longer destroyed due to the walking pnemonia symptoms.  I did see the dermatologist yesterday about an issue with some itchy red skin on my left hand that has been getting worse over the past couple years.  Guess what?  Ringworm!  No it's not contagious.  Nobody in my family has it, just me.  And I think I know why!  A couple years ago we picked up a stray kitten up in Idaho at a family reunion.  It was beautifully colored.  We found out from the vet after a couple weeks that the cat has ringworm.  So he gave us this sulfuric smelling solution that was just nasty!  We had to bathe this cat in this stuff twice.  Guess who was assigned that task?  You guessed it, Dad!  I'm guessing the ringworm fungus transferred to my left hand and there it stayed.  Until now.  I'm on meds to get rid of it which will be nice, cause it sure is annoying!  I've been living with it for two years and I've had enough.