A DRIFT IN FLORIDA

I am not ready to leave the beach, and my friend Michelle and Duane’s pool.  So I have extended my stay until June 1, before heading north.  If I needed a sign I made the correct decision, yesterday as Maggie and I walked onto the beach for our evening walk, what did I find?

A sea bean! 

To be exact: Thick-Banded Hamburger Bean.  Yes, they look like little hamburgers, but they are seeds!  They have traveled long distances from  Jamaica, or even as far away as the Amazon River.  Falling into a freshwater river traveling downstream into the ocean, only to land thousands of miles away on a south Florida beach.  The bean is a bit larger than a quarter.

“Mucuna fawcettii, was named by Ignatius Urban in 1908, from specimens found in Jamaica. Presently, it is a bit of a dilemma to those interested in drift seeds. The problem: This species has been described as being endemic to Jamaica… i.e., it grows ONLY in Jamaica. Additionally, there are statements that it is probably extinct from Jamaica (see: Perry & Dennis, 2003:179)… i.e., it probably doesn’t grow there…IF it no longer exists at the ONLY place that it grew, then why do we keep finding these seeds washed ashore?”

I will never know where my little sea bean came from, but I was so very excited to find it, these are very rare.  Could it be a sign?  Also, I shot an 89 golf score on Sunday.  A good sign of things to come?

Regardless, I am staying put on the Treasure Coast of Florida until June 1, enjoying Michelle and Duane’s pool, daily beach walks, finding shells and seeds, and improving my golf score.

Stay healthy everyone!

About Alison Reardon

Working hard on retirement and my golf game.
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6 Responses to A DRIFT IN FLORIDA

  1. Michelle Castanedo says:

    Sorry it’s only the pool. We’re taking very seriously our isolation.

  2. Cathy Callahan says:

    That seems an excellent plan. Stay put and stay healthy.

  3. LOUISE JEWELL says:

    wow what a time to be full timing! we’re making the best of it while remaining petrified and aloof! I can hardly talk to people…masked, too far to hear, etc. But, our goal is to stay alive, so be it. We made it to southern CO for the month of may. We don’t go to town, still order pick up groceries but can do hikes and drives to the less visited areas and there are many. Not quite the season yet so very laid back. Heading to Durango and Pagosa for the remainder of the month. I have a dear girlfriend in Asheville who just bought a vintage Airstream and is remodeling. That was who I was visiting when we met there. If you get back this summer I will hook you up…she’s a lot of fun, owns Adlib Clothing on the square in town and her mom is actually my first friend. Anna Sagel…and she’s a travel nut like us but still a bit too young to retire although she takes lots of time off. Maybe its my fantasy but I feel a bit safer out west…stay safe my friend.

  4. diane m peters says:

    An 89 wow did you remember to count your putts! Florida with the beach, pool and good friends seems like a perfect option. Enjoy

  5. Kate Jo Mehr says:

    An 89?! Check you out! Stay! XO

  6. hilary says:

    Sea bean?!? That’s definitely auspicious! To say nothing of the 89! Good times ahead for you my friend!

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