Fresh coat

Longboat Key Turtle Watch has spruced things up with a fresh coat of paint on its turtle monitoring stakes. 

Instead of seeking out new stakes, volunteers Charlene Donnelly, Mike Herron and Lavette Mullinix spruced up the ones Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium had already provided for the Turtle Watch beach patrollers.

Once the accredited volunteers spot a turtle nest in the sand, they use the (now) bright yellow stakes to mark the site and also signal beachgoers to stay clear of the area.

By the looks of things, the volunteers plan to stay pretty busy this season. The batch of stakes filled Donnelly's familiar sea-scape decorated Jeep.